Best Friends 1982

Richard Babson and Paula McCullen are seasoned Hollywood screenwriters who have built their careers side by side, sharing ideas, drafts, and a long history of collaboration. Richard longs for the security and commitment of marriage, while Paula remains nonchalant about formalities. After delivering a new script to producer Larry Weissman, the couple decides to tie the knot without informing anyone, choosing to cross the country by train and reveal their decision to their families along the way.

Their first stop is Buffalo, New York, during a brutal midwinter. Paula’s parents, Eleanor and Tim McCullen, are old-fashioned, so Paula explains that they will need to sleep in separate beds. Richard resents the chilly reception and the sense of being treated like a child, even as he tries to project happiness about the secret marriage.

Next they head to Virginia to visit Richard’s parents, who live in a towering high-rise condo where no window opens. Paula begins to experience mounting panic and a desperate need for fresh air, while the Babsons misread their relatives’ reaction—believing they are newly engaged rather than already married. The family’s elation gives way to disappointment. Larry Weissman makes a late appearance, urgently seeking pages for a rewrite, and Paula insists on returning home to California, while Richard convinces her to stay through the week.

A celebratory restaurant party for the “newlyweds” brings uncomfortable moments as guests’ comments sting Paula. The mounting stress leads Paula to start taking Valium to cope, and the couple’s personal and professional relationship continues to fray. A misstep—an accidental overdose—lands Paula in the hospital, leaving their bond even more strained.

Upon returning home, they scarcely speak to each other as their collaboration and partnership deteriorate. Larry Weissman confines them in a room, forcing them to work in a tense, bickering environment with little progress. Paula again craves fresh air, and Richard impulsively breaks a window, a moment that finally pushes them to confront the truth: getting married may not have been the right move after all.

In the end, they finish the rewrite, and walk off toward a sunset that is revealed to be nothing more than a Hollywood prop. The journey forces them to reckon with their ambitions, their dependence on one another, and the reality that their relationship—both personal and professional—has evolved beyond the simple notion of a perfect, public union. The story closes on a note of ambiguous possibilities, framed by the glitz and deception of the industry they inhabit, and the quiet acknowledgment that some dreams need revisiting.