Barney Cashman Alan Arkin is a seafood restaurant owner who wakes up beside his wife and feels the weight of a life that’s gone flat. Burdened by the routine, he dares to flirt with change when Elaine Navazio Sally Kellerman piques his curiosity and convinces him to meet at his mother’s apartment for a discreet rendezvous. Barney’s nerves show from the start as he tries to summon confidence and charm, only to be met with Elaine’s growing impatience. He admits he doesn’t smoke, drink, or gamble, hoping to turn his first fling into something meaningful, but his awkwardness undermines every smooth line he hopes to deliver. Elaine’s frustration bubbles over, and she leaves, leaving Barney in a muddle of reconciled expectations and mounting self-doubt.
Later, a chance encounter on a park bench sets the stage for another attempt. Bobbi Michele Paula Prentiss—a striking, flirtatious woman who borrows a dollar with a tempting smile—offers a form of gratitude that lures Barney back into the game of seduction. Back at the apartment, Bobbi arrives wearing a revealing dress, and for a moment the idea of a red-hot affair flickers before Barney’s doubts return with a sharper edge. The encounter quickly sours as Bobbi proves to be not only demanding but deeply unhappy and neurotic. A suggestion to smoke marijuana spirals into tears, transforming fantasy into a tremulous, fragile moment of truth for both of them.
The evening continues with a party hosted by friends Jeanette and Mel Fisher. Jeanette Renée Taylor appears warm and inviting, while Mel’s secrets spill into the open, revealing that he’s been seeing someone on the side. The revelation unsettles the group and shifts the night’s dynamic in an unexpected way. Jeanette ends up sharing a quiet, pivotal moment with Barney at the apartment, a scene that exposes the fragility of desire and the awkwardness of trying to be more than a casual lover. Barney oscillates between being suave and awkward, even stripping down in a bid for connection that ultimately lands in a hollow, revealing triumph of vulnerability over bravado.
As the evening threads together, Barney comes to a quiet, humbling realization: he is not a natural, red-hot lover. The fantasy he seeks dissolves into a reflection on his own limits and the gap between expectation and reality. In a final, telling gesture, he reaches for a connection that matters most, calling his wife to join him at the apartment and acknowledging that genuine love and fidelity may hold more weight than any fleeting romance. The story closes on a note of reconsidered priorities, where longing and romance are tempered by self-awareness, and the search for meaning takes on a more grounded, if imperfect, form.
Barney Cashman’s attempts weave a tapestry of humor, longing, and self-reproach, inviting readers to watch a man grapple with desire, failure, and the quiet courage it takes to choose something lasting over a momentary thrill. The film’s portraits—of Elaine, Bobbi Michele, and Jeanette—are painted with warmth and empathy, reminding us that attraction is messy, complicated, and human, even when it falls short of the fantasy.
