Cinema: When Humor Meets Heartbreak

Two splendid comedies get back to basics: talk and sex

Talk is the sex of the '80s. In a time when you can hardly initiate a handshake without a note from your doctor, conversation is not just a white- collar mating dance; it is the most intimate form of safe sex. Over the telephone or a restaurant table, a man and a woman expose their emotions, exchange seminal fears and desires, make each other laugh and sob -- all without touching any organ but the heart. Talk is the consummation devoutly to be wished; no wonder they call it intercourse. It is confession without penance, therapy on the cheap. It is...

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