Since it's been around 60 years since this was a smash hit on Broadway with Walter Matthau & Art Carney, 56 years since this film with Walther Matthau & Jack Lemmon was released and another 49 years since the excellent hit TV series with Jack Klugman & Tony Randall came to an end, not to mention a mediocre remake since then, I assume everyone knows that this is about 2 divorced men trying to share an apartment together. It's still a very funny piece though it's not quite as humorous as I remembered it to be but I think my memories of this piece have become a tad combined with the humor of the Klugman/Randall series. Nevertheless, it's a very good time. Matthau shines in his first of many films with Lemmon, but I think this is one of the rare performances in which in brilliant Lemmon is not at this best. He's not bad. He's just not all that funny. I didn't see Carney, but I think Randall was a better Unger than Lemmon. I hadn't seen this in who knows how many decades and was surprised at just how simple it is, but that's typical of the great Neil Simon's best plays. The supporting cast here is a true delight from the Poker players to the Pidgeon sisters. If you've never seen it, despite the years, it really doesn't date much at all. Enjoy.
Review of The Odd Couple
