''Nothing Personal'' is a 1980 Canadian-American

romantic comedy film Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

starring

Suzanne Somers Suzanne Marie Somers (née Mahoney; born October 16, 1946) is an American actress, author, singer, businesswoman, and health spokesperson. She appeared in the television role of Chrissy Snow on ''Three's Company'' and as Carol Foster Lambert on ...

and

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films ''Citizen X'' (1995) an ...

. Sutherland plays a professor who objects to the killing of baby seals. Somers, a

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

-educated attorney, tries to aid him. The film has been extremely poorly reviewed. Cinema Canada criticized the film's "coarse, obvious humour", "unfunny and unexciting" car chases, and claimed that the film's principal concern was "speed, not coherence". Leonard Maltin described ''Nothing Personal'' as an "inane romantic comedy", while TV Guide described the film as "tedious, witless, and implausible, with nonexistent direction and scythe-wielded editing." Even star Suzanne Somers wrote disparagingly of the film in her autobiography, claiming it quickly became apparent during filming that credited director George Bloomfield was in over his head. According to Somers, Donald Sutherland informally assumed direction of the actors as the making of the film continued. Numerous cast members of the Canadian comedy series '' SCTV'' turn up in bit parts in this film:

Joe Flaherty Joseph Flaherty (born June 21, 1941) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. He is best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy '' SCTV'' from 1976 to 1984 (on which he also served as a writer), and as Harold Weir on ''Freaks and G ...

Eugene Levy Eugene Levy (born December 17, 1946) is a Canadian actor and comedian. From 1976 until 1984, he appeared in the Canadian television sketch comedy series '' SCTV''. He has also appeared in the '' American Pie'' series of films and the Canadian ...

Catherine O'Hara Catherine Anne O'Hara (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her comedy work on ''Second City Television'' (1976–84) and ''Schitt's Creek'' (2015–2020) and in films such as '' After Hours'' (1985), ''Beetleju ...

(in her film debut) and

Tony Rosato Antonio Rosato (26 December 1954 – 10 January 2017) was an Italian-Canadian actor and comedian, who appeared in television and films. He was best known as a cast member on both '' SCTV'' and ''Saturday Night Live'', and for voicing Luigi in '' ...

. This casting was entirely due to the connection with director George Bloomfield, who had also directed ''SCTV'' from 1977 to 1979, and who brought the ''SCTV'' actors into the fold for this film. A similar casting situation occurred with Bloomfield's next film, ''

Double Negative A double negative is a construction occurring when two forms of grammatical negation are used in the same sentence. Multiple negation is the more general term referring to the occurrence of more than one negative in a clause. In some languages, ...

'', released just two months after ''Nothing Personal''.

Plot

Cast

as Roger Keller *

as Abigail Adams *

Lawrence Dane Lawrence Joseph Zahab (April 3, 1937 – March 21, 2022), known professionally as Lawrence Dane, was a Canadian actor and film producer, best known for his role as Lt. Preston in ''Bride of Chucky''. Life and career Born in Masson, Quebec, Dane ...

as Ralston *

Roscoe Lee Browne Roscoe Lee Browne (May 2, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American actor and director. He resisted playing stereotypically black roles, instead performing in several productions with New York City's Shakespeare Festival Theater, Leland Hayward's ...

as Paxton *

Dabney Coleman Dabney Wharton Coleman (born January 3, 1932) is an American actor. Coleman's best known films include '' 9 to 5'' (1980), '' On Golden Pond'' (1981), ''Tootsie'' (1982), ''WarGames'' (1983), '' Cloak & Dagger'' (1984), ''The Beverly Hillbillies ...

as Dickerson * Sean McCann as Jake *

Chief Dan George Chief Dan George (born Geswanouth Slahoot; July 24, 1899 – September 23, 1981) was a chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, a Coast Salish band whose Indian reserve is located on Burrard Inlet in the southeast area of the District of No ...

as Oscar *

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...

as Senator *

David Steinberg David Steinberg (born August 9, 1942) is a Canadian comedian, actor, writer, director, and author. At the height of his popularity, during the late 1960s and mid 1970s, he was one of the best-known comics in the United States. He appeared on ...

as Talk Show Host * Craig Russell as Talk Show Guest * Sean Sullivan as Dean Collier *

Michael Wincott Michael Anthony Claudio Wincott (born January 21, 1958) is a Canadian actor. His deep, raspy voice has often led to his being cast in villainous roles. Some of his best-known roles include Guy of Gisborne in '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' ( ...

as Peter *

as Audrey * Douglas Campbell as Crichett, Sr. *

Jonathan Welsh Jonathan Welsh (April 3, 1947 – January 27, 2005) was a Canadian actor of stage, television and film, best known for his principal roles in Canadian television series, notably the 1986–1989 adventure comedy ''Adderly'' and the 1989–1994 j ...

as Critchett, Jr. * Patricia Collins as Mrs. Ralston *

Maury Chaykin Maury Alan Chaykin (July 27, 1949 – July 27, 2010) was an American–Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, as well as for his work as a character actor in many films and television programs. Personal lif ...

as Kanook *

as Patrol Car Policeman *

as Marty * Derek McGrath as Gas Jockey *

as Pickup Truck Driver *

Angus MacInnes Angus MacInnes (born 27 October 1947) is a Canadian actor. He is most famous for his role as Jon "Dutch" Vander in ''Star Wars (film), Star Wars'', and as former hockey great Jean "Rosey" LaRose in the comedy ''Strange Brew''. He also appeared ...

as Military Policeman * Kate Lynch as Audrey Seltzer (uncredited) * Saul Rubinek as Pete Braden (uncredited)

References

External links

''Nothing Personal''
at New York Times * *
''Nothing Personal''
at TCMDB 1980 films 1980 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films Canadian romantic comedy films English-language Canadian films Films directed by George Bloomfield 1980s English-language films 1980s American films 1980s Canadian films {{1980s-romantic-comedy-film-stub