Only When I Laugh Reviews

Neil Simon's play The Gingerbread Lady was not a huge success, and neither was this film version of it. Georgia (Marsha Mason, who received an Oscar nomination for her role) is a divorced actress just released from an alcohol-treatment program. She is trying to reestablish her relationship with her teenage daughter Polly (Kristy McNichol) after having neglected the child in favor of booze for several years. She also has a chance to get her career back on track by starring in a play by her former lover (David Dukes), and as the pressure mounts, so does her desire for liquor. It's all pretty predictable, but there are some sincere moments, especially between Mason and McNichol. James Coco, playing a gay actor who never hit the big time, and Joan Hackett, who gets all the best lines as a tart-tongued egotist, received Oscar nominations for their supporting work.