Buddy Evans (Burt Reynolds) is the most eligible bachelor in New York managing Madison Square Garden. He's 44 and something is missing from his life. With his friends Larry (Norman Fell) and Kurt (Paul Dooley)'s advise, he decides to find a surrogate mother with whom to have a son. The search runs into various roadblocks including a misunderstanding with interior designer Jenny (Lauren Hutton). Maggie (Beverly D'Angelo) is a waitress at his diner hangout who gets accepted to study music in Paris. While chasing after Jenny, Buddy gets into a cab with Maggie. Buddy loses Jenny but Maggie needs the money and accepts the unusual proposal.
Burt Reynolds uses all of his roguish charms to make this one work. There are warning signs that my young mind probably didn't understand while watching this back in the day. Watching it today, Burt hanging out with a bunch of kids is awkward at best. Since it's Burt, it's still pretty funny. The most memorable sequence is chasing Lauren Hutton. It's so memorable that I conflated her character with Maggie. This has some awkward fun while able to maintaining a light-hearted feel.
Paternity
1981
Comedy / Romance
Paternity
1981
Comedy / Romance
Plot summary
Forty-four year old Buddy Evans, an executive at Madison Square Garden, is considered one of the most eligible bachelors in the city. But rather than be a womanizer at this stage of his life, although he has had his fair share of female companions, he feels what he is missing to be truly fulfilled is a biological son. Not wanting a wife, he decides to achieve his goal by getting one of his former girlfriends to be a surrogate to carry a child, who he would raise without her. Not as easy to find that surrogate among the women he knows, he ultimately finds a willing woman in Maggie, a waitress at a restaurant he frequents. A struggling musician - a trumpet player - who needs the money to attend a prestigious music academy in Paris, Maggie also agrees in wanting to feel that part of being a woman without the responsibility of being a mother. As Buddy and Maggie go through the process of trying to become biological parents under this legal, financial and unemotional arrangement, they may come to other realizations of what they want in life which may or may not be compatible with each other and this immediate goal of the child.—Huggo
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
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Burt's roguish charms
Fun, Adorable, Sweet
Sometimes HBO will air the most random movies. I just watched "Paternity" again. I saw it back in the day and loved it then and now.
The story of a middle aged successful single bachelor who feels eomthing is missing in his life. He decides he wants a baby, but not a wife or girlfriend...just a baby. He hooks up with Maggie (Diangelo) who is a waitress who also plays the french horn saving for a trip to Paris. He offers her money to be the surrogate (not quite as common then as it is today) and she accepts. During the months that they are together while she's carrying the baby it's obvious to see that they are destined to fall in love, but while it may be predictable it is just very sweet.
Great chemistry between buddy and maggie (reynolds and diangelo).
Nostalgic RomCom for many
I was watching a marathon of National Lampoon vacation flix, and I instantly thought of this movie when I thought of Beverly D'Angelo. She's done many, many memorable movies over the years. Hair, the John Candy flick Summer Rental, and this one are standouts. Suburban Mom roles for Beverly. Odd, but she does it well.
This movie is all about Beverly, and Burt allows it. Which I think is very cool. Because she excels in the role. About as serious as an 80's RomCom can stand to be.