The Worst Film Ever

Sorry, this movie sucks

A Disappointing Continuation

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

And how many times has it been made and remade? I'm probably more familiar overall with the TV series version, with Jack Krugman and Tony Randall, which by necessity had to broaden the story and pump up the minor supporting characters. There's even 1-2 FEMALE versions.But the original has more lives than a cat -- several FILM versions, plus countless stage productions since the 1960s.I've never completely got what is supposedly so funny about it, except some universal battle between sloppy folks and neat freaks.Just caught some of it on late-night TV, and one thing -- nit picky, but it drove me nuts (my inner Felix Ungar?) -- is when Felix is cooking dinner for Oscar and two ditsy Pidgeon sisters.The whole thing is predicated on Oscar coming home "late" -- by about 30 minutes -- and Felix's meatloaf is "ruined". In fact, we see it later as a flaming charcoal briquette....why not turn the heat OFF?This is the kind of departure from reality that makes me crazy in films. Meatloaf is about the easiest, most relaxed food on earth. It keeps for HOURS -- even DAYS -- once cooked, you can eat it COLD (it's delicious -- try it some time!). You can cook it and reheat it, and if anything, the flavor is even better having mellowed.There is no way, not even for a nut like Felix, that a meatloaf would have to be served instantly or "go bad". For starters: after cooking, the meat must "rest" for 20 minutes or so.On top of that: when he goes shopping....and the whole premise is they are eating at home to "save money"...Felix goes to the butcher and orders FOUR POUNDS of freshly ground beef. Good lordy! Neil Simon clearly never cooked a meatloaf in his life, nor even bothered to look up a recipe! FOUR POUNDS! that would make enough meatloaf for a dozen people, with leftovers.Meatloaf is a classic Depression-era recipe intended to STRETCH a very small amount of ground meat - with fillers, bread crumbs, chopped veggies, beaten eggs, etc. -- so that a pound of meat or LESS could feed a family. A meatloaf that was "all beef" would be greasy, heavy and terrible.It makes no sense for two "broke bachelor's" trying to save money on a dinner date, to buy FOUR POUNDS of ground beef (even at 1967 prices). Even considering how eccentric Felix is - - how OCD -- the way he's cooking this, and acting like a meatloaf is a fragile soufflé, just makes zero sense.NOTE: as a broke young woman years ago, I used to be able to concoct a full sized -- and delicious! -- meatloaf from one scant HALF POUND of ground beef, bolstered with a lot of add-ins like bread crumbs and beaten egg, and a few secret ingredients. I will happily supply that recipe -- Lily"s Famous Meatloaf" on request to anyone interested!

Felix's (Jack Lemmon) wife has left him and he is contemplating suicide. His friends sense his depression and one of them, Oscar (Walter Matthau), volunteers to take him in until he is fine again. The two of them are like chalk and cheese - Oscar is fun-loving, gregarious and slovenly, Felix is a shy, stay-at-home, obsessive- compulsive neat-freak. Being around Oscar brightens Felix up, but he quickly starts to irritate Oscar...Adapted by Neil Simon from a play he wrote, a movie that perfectly captures one of cinemas most enduring and prolific comedy duos - Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Though not their first movie together - that honour belongs to Billy Wilder's The Fortune Cookie from 1966 - this is the movie that ensured there'd be more Lemmon- Matthau collaborations. Both are in fine form here, and are perfectly cast for their roles. Wonderful delivery and sense of timing on both their parts.Great script too. The dialogue is snappy and very funny, with some great one-liners. Some great sight gags too.A comedy classic.

What a combination Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon made in this 1968 great comedy.The two were made for each other, except when it came to the divorced man (Matthau) living with the recently separated Lemmon. Matthau is essentially the slob and Lemmon, a meticulous person, if ever there were.Neil Simon uses the New York backdrop where the film takes place to remind us that we're in New York. While on a park bench, Matthau says to Lemmon: "Let's get going as it's almost time for the muggers to come!"Lemmon practically takes on the traditional female role in running a house.The scene with the Pigeon sisters visiting is hilarious, especially when the two express sympathy for Lemmon's outburst when he thinks of his wife and children.The ending proves that you have to watch out for the quiet types. They succeed with women.

The disadvantage I seem to have is that I'm such a big fan of the TV show with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. I saw them first and so many times that they define the Odd Couple for me. So I was conscious of my bias when I began watching this for the first time the other day.Nevertheless Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau did a fairly admirable and funny job with this assignment. The same opening theme music that was used later in the TV series sets the proper mood and I was surprised to see so many of the later elements used here, obviously for the first time. The bit that really got me was when Felix (Lemmon) started his honking routine to clear his ears, closely followed by the 'brown sandwiches or green sandwiches' offer from Oscar (Matthau) to his poker buddies. One thing I don't remember from the series, and it's something I might have missed, was that not only was Felix divorced, but he had kids.There's another layer of entertainment woven into the picture for viewers like myself who grew up in New York (State, not the City, but still). The scene at Shea Stadium was pretty cool, and when Felix goes shopping at a Bohack Supermarket it was like a trip down memory lane. That goes for the prices too - bagels at four for ninety nine cents and turkey roast at sixty nine cents a pound. But the one that really got me was when Felix checked in to a New York City hotel and got charged five bucks! Holy cow, for a minute this comedy became a fantasy flick!