The Odd Couple
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Movie Reviews of The Odd Couple
Movie Review: The Humor is Dated, But the Movie is Great
Summary: 5 Stars
The late, great Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau were one of the greatest comedy duos in the history of movies. This was (as far as I know) their first pairing, but they would reunite all through their careers and even died within months of each other. "The Odd Couple" introduces that same humor that we'd see in the "Grumpy Old Men" films and their other collaborations; The humor here is kind of dated, but it has its moments of fun and is, of course, incredibly charming. Jack Lemmon plays Felix Unger, a man whose wife has just filed for divorce. When we meet Felix, he's on the verge of committing suicide. Walter Matthau plays Oscar Madison, a divorced bachelor who spends his days gambling and getting calls from his ex-wife about how his alimony payments are late. With Felix's troubles, Oscar decides to let Felix stay with him.
The problem is, Oscar is a laid-back slob while Felix is a neurotic, neat freak...It doesn't take long before the two start to get on each other's nerves. The turning point comes when Oscar sets up a date for the two of them with two English sisters Cicily and Gwendolyn Pigeon and Felix breaks down, destroying the rest of the night. The film is written by Neil Simon, based on his play and this is a film that can truly be called perfect. As I said, the humor is dated and it's not as hilarious as it probably once was but there's not a single scene in the film that doesn't need to be in the film and there are no jokes that fall flat. They either work or they don't. Lemmon and Matthau are at the top of their game here and this is the best collaboration I've seen of theirs (although, the only other ones I have seen are the two "Grumpy Old Men" films). "The Odd Couple" is a human comedy that's realistic and funny with some great moments and a terrific, paradoxical ending. I highly recommend it.
GRADE: A
Movie Review: Friendship With A Few Laughs
Summary: 5 Stars
I just adored the original "Odd Couple". I have seen both tv and movie versions and am most enamored of this movie version. Not that I have anything against Jack Klugman (Oscar - tv version) and Tony Randell (Felix - tv version) who are phenomenal actors.
The movie version is basically the premise to the tv show. Felix Unger (played by Jack Lemmon) has just been thrown out of his house where his wife declares him a neurotic nut. He wanders the streets at night and attempts to commit suicide. What a downer, right? No, wait! It does, in fact, get lighter and funnier.
Anyone who has watched either movie or tv version knows that Felix moves into the house of his good friend, the slob, Oscar Madison (played by Walter Matthau). Oscar likes his friend Felix. He cannot, however, stand living with him. Felix is just too neat and too clean for our Oscar.
Felix is like the happy homemaker, cutting up sandwiches deli-style for the poker pals, cooking a roast and calling Oscar to see when he would be home so that it wouldn't dry up and spraying a room with enough air freshener to choke a horse. This behavior drives Oscar crazy. Not to mention Felix' constant hacking, wheezing and coughing because of his long list of allergies.
In the end, the twosome decide to split up but still remain friends. I like the contrast between the two characters and also the relationship between Oscar, Felix and their poker friends. This show proves that even good friends can have differenecs and still be friends.
Movie Review: THE SCRPT IS THE STAR - FUNNIEST MOVIE EVER
Summary: 5 Stars
I've watched this movie over a dozen times, and it actually gets funnier the more times I view it - especially with friends and family. Though the classic comedy pairing of Lemmon and Matthau give an exceptional performance, the star of this picture is the script. Originally a stage play, the "odd couple" were in fact based on an "odd trio" of divorcees living with Neil Simon's brother. Amalgamated into two people we have Oscar Madison and Felix Ungar, two completely opposite personalities. Fastidious Felix's desire for order and cleanliness would today be diagnosed as an obsessive compulsive disorder. Meanwhile Oscar is a confirmed slob whose huge apartment would never pass a public health inspection. The story begins with a suicidal Felix attempting to throw himself out of a hotel window after his wife asks for a seperation. After failing to open the window (and injuring his bad back in the process) he makes his way to his best friend's apartment, where he is losing big in a poker game. Oscar invites Felix to stay, setting up a catastrophe of lifestyle clashes. The film contains an enormous 250 plus gags, based entirely on Simon's attention to minute character detail. Subsequently the film fails to date one bit, and remains hilariously funny. Lemmon and Matthau have rarely been better, though the successful transition to TV of the series, proves the importance of a script of this rarest of quality.Movie Review: A Classic Movie from a Bygone Milleau
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a New York movie from the New York of the post-war years. A city in which a sports writer like Oscar Madison could afford to rent a seven room apartment on Central Park West. It is a film from an era where Felix could be heterosexual and a man could be rejected by his wife because he was too neat. The plot is full of ironies and scenes which demonstrate the bizaare predictiment of personality extremes Felix and Oscar and their relationship to each other. Last and most importantly, the movie is incredibly funny. None of the jokes are cliche or recycled and each reveals something about the extreme personalities of Felix the neurotic and Oscar the ultra-slob. The city is always the star, even as we are focused on the conflicts and complements of the Odd Couple's relationship. But it is always there, in a way which is familiar to someone who lives in Manhattan. Once of the last scenes of the film have Felix and Oscar arguing on the roof of their building, with the New York City Westside Skyline in the background. That is one of the best New York scenes in any movie. Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthaw are brilliant and the Odd Couple. I only wish that a movie of the genre could be made now, films about personalities and men and New York which are beyond today's narrow box of social types.Movie Review: Odd Couple on VHS
Summary: 5 Stars
Probably the funniest, if not most profound play by Neil Simon turned film. As a kid I saw the original staging on Broadway; in an unusual twist, the film version was even better, owing in part to the incredible cast. The most famous Oscar, of course, is TV's Jack Kugman; he is very good. But Walter Matthau was born to play Oscar as Zero Mostel was born to play Max Bialystock (the Producers). Kids going batty over the current TV poker craze will love the card playing scenes. Hypochondriacs will love Jack Lemmon as Felix. And for you news junkies -- when Felix tells a Pigeon Sister he writes the news, and she asks, "where do you get your ideas?"...there is nothing dated here.
I've caught the rather mediocre Broadway revival with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. Stick with the film -- it is funny, at times hysterical, with a subtext of pathos missing in the TV and stage versions. This is the definitive version. Like all great work, it stands the test of time because the characters, situations and relationships are timeless.
Buy one. Buy three... and give two as a gift. It's that good.