By Mark Dawidziak | The Plain Dealer

Everybody loves Patricia Heaton as Debra Barone. The Bay Village native has won two Emmys for playing Ray Romano's wife on "Everybody Loves Raymond," the long-running CBS situation comedy that continues to rank among the nation's 10 most- watched shows. 

But will everybody love Heaton as Paula McFadden, the title character of Neil Simon's "The Goodbye Girl"? She knows it's a logical question, particularly because Marsha Mason received an Oscar nomination for the beloved 1977 film version of Simon's story about a divorced single mother forced to share her New York City apartment with a hard-charging actor. 

Heaton received an early vote of confidence from an unqualified expert on such movie matters: Neil Simon. He's an "Everybody Loves Raymond" fan. He's a Patty Heaton fan. And he had no doubts that the sitcom star was the ideal actress to portray Paula in a cable remake of "The Goodbye Girl," which TNT will give a three-play premiere at 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 18. 

There it is. Simon says she's perfect. And in retrospect, Heaton says, perhaps her work on "Everybody Loves Raymond" was superb preparation for "The Goodbye Girl." 

"I think what we do on Raymond' is very similar to Neil's work in terms of pacing, rhythms and timing," says the actress who has played Debra Barone since 1996. 

"It's the kind of thing I love to do. And I think one of the reasons Neil agreed to have me do it was because he'd seen Raymond' and knew I could do it. He's a pretty tough guy. I did a reading of Goodbye Girl' at his apartment, and he wouldn't have been above letting me go if he didn't think it was going well. 

"I think our show is unusual in that it's a lot about the relationships and not as much about the situations. And it's very brisk, rapid-fire and quick, but, like the best comedy, it's rooted in pain. That's very much in the tradition of Neil Simon's writing." 

Heaton believes that the author of such Broadway hits as "The Odd Couple," "The Sunshine Boys" and "Lost in Yonkers" is one of America's most important playwrights. She also believes that Simon doesn't get his due because of critical and academic biases against comedy. 

"Drama always is given more weight," Heaton says, "even when people in show business admit that comedy is tougher to do. Comedy is far more difficult than drama, yet it doesn't get the recognition. You're making people laugh, so people think of it more as entertainment than art. And that thinking has led us to undervalue a Neil Simon as a playwright. 

"It's an honor to be chosen for a Neil Simon project by Neil Simon. And the joy of doing Neil Simon is the words. That's the reason I took this. It's one of the most beautifully crafted scripts I'd ever seen." 

Widely regarded as Simon's best original screenplay, "The Goodbye Girl" first was filmed with Richard Dreyfuss as struggling actor Elliot Garfield. His high-energy performance won him an Oscar for best actor. Directed by Richard Benjamin, the remake features Jeff Daniels as Elliot. 

"If you're thinking there was pressure on me, imagine the pressure on Jeff Daniels, following the Oscar-winning performance of Richard Dreyfuss," Heaton says. "Well, you can't think about that when you're doing it. You can only worry about your own performance, but that shadow of the original is hanging over you, and you have to work to keep it at bay." 

It was a blessing and a curse that the shooting schedule was so intense for the cable movie. The long hours and hectic pace guaranteed that Heaton and Daniels had little chance to think about comparisons with Mason and Dreyfuss. 

"But it was hard work, I'll tell you that," says the daughter of former Plain Dealer sports columnist Chuck Heaton. "We had to shoot a feature script on a TV movie schedule, which is about half the time you'd get for a feature. Our days were very long. Our minimum, I think, was a 15-hour day. And I think the longest day was 21 hours." 

The film's final scene proved particularly arduous for Heaton. 

"It's such a romantic scene in the rain," she says. "And I remember thinking, I just can't wait to shoot that scene. And then, of course, it was the most uncomfortable I've ever been in my life." 

The fake rain was very cold, Heaton says, "and Richard didn't want to cut. And the third time, my lips were blue, and I shouted at Richard, You know what, Richard? I've decided I don't want to be in movies anymore. I'll just go back to my little TV show now, OK?' But it looks great." 

Also in Benjamin's cast are Hallie Kate Eisenberg, who plays Paula's precocious daughter, and Alan Cumming, who portrays the eccentric director staging an off- off-off-Broadway production of "Richard III." Heaton thinks "The Goodbye Girl" is another deceptively well-written work that, in structure and texture, shouldn't be dismissed as simple Simon. 

"It's a remarkable script," she says. "It's not about two drop- dead gorgeous people. They're both kind of lovable losers who win by finding love - who win by finding each other, if nothing else, in this city. I think that's what makes this story so incredibly appealing. 

"Jeff and I aren't gorgeous movie stars, and that's not what you want for this. You want two actors who look more like normal people. You see these two regular people struggling along, and while struggling, they end up in each other's arms. That's hugely romantic." 

After saying goodbye to the "Goodbye Girl" cast, Heaton started wondering if she soon must bid farewell to her "Raymond" family. Romano has said he will call it quits after this season, the eighth. 

"I hear we won't be coming back," Heaton says, "but that's not for sure. We haven't been told that, but, supposedly, this is our last season. Everything we've heard is that we won't be doing a ninth year." 

What is certain is that CBS president Leslie Moonves will do everything in his power to convince Romano and the team to return. Expect a Brinks truck to be backed up to Romano's house. 

Regardless of the outcome, such speculation has Heaton contemplating life without "Raymond." 

"I think about it a lot," she says. "I won't say I'm worried about it, but I'm not sleeping quite as well as I have been. It is a great unknown looming out there. 

"I think, at first, it will be great to have some time to get back to who I am without the show. I mean, it has changed my life immeasurably, and it has been wonderful. But it will be good to get back to just being, as opposed to being on a hit show. It will be nice to get a breath and think about what the next thing should be." 

And the next thing probably will be another sitcom. Although "Raymond" will be a tough act to follow, she has reasons for sticking with the form. 

"If you have a family, there's nothing better," says Heaton, who has four sons with husband David Hunt. "You can go to your job after you take the kids to school. You can be home for dinner. You have your weekends off. You have more than your summer off. It's far more conducive to family life, and you make good money, too."