Robyn Douglass in The Lonely Guy (1983)

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Based on the highly underrated and beneficial primer for male happiness, The Lonely Guy’s Guide to Life by progeny-rich author Bruce Jay Freidman, The Lonely Guy (1983) elevates a simple self-help book to a widescreen triumph of the comedic spirit. The tragedy of solitary middle age is transformed into the glory of an aging single male who catapults into a top tax bracket when the book he writes about his pain and frustration as a dumped forty-plus dude becomes a runaway bestseller. Everyman sad sacks Steve Martin and Charles Grodin combine their deadpan evocations of universal disappointment and dread to instill a heart-lightening dollop of hope to even the most morose loser stranded on his own.