SUCH GOOD FRIENDS

Manhattanite Julie Messinger, a complacent housewife and mother of two raucous young sons Matthew and Nicky, is married to Richard, a chauvinistic and self-centered magazine art director and author of a best-selling children's book. When he falls into a coma during minor surgery to remove a nonmalignant mole on his neck, Julie learns from his doctor, Dr. Timmy Spector, that another surgeon nicked his artery, necessitating a blood transfusion to which he had a rare allergic reaction. The following day, Julie is told Richard has overcome the blood reaction, but his liver has sustained serious damage requiring immediate treatment. In quick succession, his other organs begin to fail.

While trying to comfort Julie, family friend Cal Whiting reveals that his girlfriend Miranda Graham has confessed to having an affair with Richard over the past year. Distressed by the news, Julie seeks advice from her egocentric mother Mrs. Wallman but finds herself unable to discuss her husband's infidelity. She decides to confront Miranda and asks her what future she anticipated having with her husband. Miranda confesses that she and Richard are deeply in love and have discussed marriage, although thus far she has been unable to make such a permanent commitment.

Julie begins to unravel emotionally. She visits Cal, whose attempted seduction of her fails due to impotence. At the hospital, she tells the unconscious Richard she will never divorce him and vows to ruin his reputation. Timmy invites her to his apartment for drinks and admits he was aware of Richard's affair not only with Miranda, but with other women as well, and kept them secret out of a sense of loyalty to his friend. Stunned and confused, Julie lashes out at Timmy, then seduces him, and he succumbs to her advances.

At home later that evening, Julie finds a black book in Richard's desk and realizes it contains coded data about his numerous extramarital affairs, many of them with her friends. She gives it to Cal, who then shows it to Miranda to prove she was just one of Richard's many conquests. The following day, Richard goes into cardiac arrest, and Julie realizes she wants him to survive despite his betrayal of her. When Timmy reports her husband has died, a grieving Julie takes her sons for a walk in Central Park to contemplate their future.

Richard dies following a series of complications, and Julie mourns with her sons in Central Park, contemplating their future.

The ending underscores the film’s darkly comic tone, denying its protagonist any simple catharsis or tidy resolution. Julie is left alone with her children, burdened by the revelations of her late husband’s infidelities and the hollowness of her former domestic stability. The final scene in Central Park serves as a subdued reflection on resilience, ambiguity, and the high cost of emotional self-discovery.