Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com Not every pairing is a perfect match. Everyone has their idiosyncrasies that only suits them. It's this part of living with someone else, one must learn to accept those differences. There's a give and take when it comes to these kinds of set ups. During the mid 20th century and before, married folks were under much more pressure to maintain their vows. If a divorce occurred, it was frowned upon, so many stuck it out. However, if one partner did leave the other, sometimes it was never brought to light. As time has progressed though, the notion of marriages not lasting forever isn't as uncommon. But would any of the separated ones hang out with another person from another divorce? Well look no further than to Neal Simon's film adaptation of one of his famous plays. Best known for putting the show on Broadway, Simon took it to the next step by writing a screenplay for the film.The story follows two men divorced by their wives that find some level of compensation through each others' tendencies. Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau) is a slob who can't get his act together for anything, especially maintaining any sort of common cleanliness. Felix Ungar (Jack Lemmon) is the exact opposite. He finds keeping things neat and tidy something that's fulfilling. However, Ungar took it to the extreme; finding almost EVERYTHING not to his liking because it was no according to his level of order. Yet somehow the two boneheads manage to make it work, at first. Until they start to realize how polarizing their preferences are, that's when things go bananas. And for what's shown, the execution is well done thanks to director Gene Saks. He may have not directed that many films in his lifetime, but he did helm Barefoot in the Park (1967), Cactus Flower (1969) and Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986).There's a great mix of comedic timing and writing handled by the actors and Simon's writing. Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau are a funny duo in this feature film. Lemmon perfectly drives up the hypochondriac scale past its peak, making cleaning and timeliness feel way more important than it should be. While Matthau distorts any sort of reality by feeding his guests with varying color assorted sandwiches. But of these two, the actor who steals the show was Matthau. His comedic talent shines through with some of the most hilarious lines ever spoken. And though what's said at times may not make sense immediately, the reasoning can be validated. There's also appearances from Herb Edelman, John Fiedler, David Sheiner, and Larry Haines, who play Oscar and Felix's gambling buddies. They two have their funny moments. One of the greater interactions however performed between Matthau and Lemmon were with Monica Evans and Carole Shelley.These two actress really nailed their skills in sounding like sisters. Their giggles and reactions to either Matthau's and Lemmon's lines or themselves is well articulated and timed. Walter Matthau was known for several films like JFK (1991) and Grumpy Old Men (1993). Jack Lemmon is best known for other films too like The Great Race (1965), Airport '77 (1977), Short Cuts (1993) and Hamlet (1996). Both would also star in The Odd Couple II (1998). John Fiedler was best known for playing Piglet in all the Winnie the Pooh related films up until his passing in 2005. Herb Edelman was mainly a TV actor in shows like The Golden Girls and The Love Boat. The same could said for David Sheiner and Larry Haines. For Monica Evans, her career would not go much further but she would still voice Abigail from Disney's The Aristocats (1970) and Maid Marian from Robin Hood (1973). Carole Shelley also voiced characters in those two films but also voiced Lachesis from Hercules (1997).The only component to not really come out looking unique was the camerawork. Provided by Robert B. Hauser, the cinematography is adequate for the movie. The problem is that it just doesn't have a real iconic setting. Sure, Oscar Madison's apartment is one of the more well known places to be featured in a movie, but it's just an apartment. The camera lens is wide enough to take all of the den and then some. Yet the audience only gets a good view of that, the kitchen and the main hallway. There's a bunch of other rooms but they're not explored that much either. Hauser also filmed for The Sweet Ride (1968), How to Steal the World (1968) and Soldier Blue (1970). For the film score, Neal Hefti brought the popular main theme to life. Although he only scored for a couple other films after, it would be this motif that would forever make his name recognizable. Throughout the movie, music isn't that abundant. But when it is, it's a classic sound.While the cinematography is professionally crafted, it's just not that engaging when it comes to variety of areas to explore. Aside from this though, everything about this classic comedy works amazingly well. The music is catchy when heard, the comedic timing from the actors is well done and Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau steal the show with their funny lines.

Python Hyena The Odd Couple (1968): Dir: Gene Saks / Cast: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Monica Evans, Carole Shelley, Herb Edelman: Easily one of the best comedies of the decade. This is a hilarious film about clashing personalities. Felix is divorced and makes failed suicide attempts. Oscar is divorced but spends evenings playing cards with the boys. Felix is fussy and constantly cleaning up while Oscar is sloppy and leaves things as is. Central plot regards Oscar allowing Felix to move in and driving him up the wall with his constant tidying. Director Gene Saks seems to open up what appears to be the inspiration for sitcoms. It is given two hilarious performances from Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Lemmon has sinus issues which also annoys Oscar. Matthau is the straight arrow here who grows irritated when a double date goes sour. Among other roles are two women played by Monica Evans and Carole Shelley who arrive as dates and are swept away with Felix's sob story. They will surface later in the film's final comic payoff. Herb Edelman plays Murray the cop, one of their poker pals who uses his cruiser to search for Felix when the boys worry. Very funny film in that opposites attract or relate manner that most viewers should relate to when being around anyone for lengths of time. The message reflects tolerance of one another and all of our odd traits and habits that conflict with others. Score: 9 / 10

Ross622 Gene Saks' The Odd Couple (1968)is based on the 1965 Neil Simon play on Broadway but one difference between the play and the movie is that in the play Art Carney played as Felix Ungar ad then he was portrayed excellently by Jack Lemmon in the movie. The movie tells the story about a man named Felix Ungar (played by Jack Lemmon, as mentioned earlier in the review) who had just been divorced by his wife Frances and then gets emotional about and almost goes on a nervous breakdown and kills himself, meanwhile Oscar Madison (played by Walter Matthau)is playing poker in his 8 room apartment with friends Murray (Herb Edelman), Vinnie (John Fielder), Roy (David Steiner), and Speed (Larry Haines). One of the things that is funny in one of the beginning scenes is that When Felix shows up at Oscar's apartment Oscar and the others act as if nothing even happened before Felix walks in the door, any way after the poker game is over Oscar wants Felix to move in with him but after a few days (especially after the double date with Gwendolyn and Cecily.) Oscar for some reason gets ticked off at Felix when Felix didn't do anything wrong for Oscar to be mad. Then Felix gets kicked out of Oscar's apartment ans Oscar doesn't really care what happens to Felix because he thinks that Felix doesn't even worry about him." But in the end the movie had a good story as well as good performances, and especially a good amount of laughs.

jimbo-53-186511 They always say that you never really know someone until you live with them and the Odd Couple demonstrates this point in a way that is utterly hilarious for the most part, whilst it also managed to be quite touching on occasions.Felix Ungar (Jack Lemmon) has broken up with his wife Frances. He loved his wife dearly and the break up has affected him pretty badly. Felix ends up moving in with his good friend Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau). The trouble is that Felix has a clear case of OCD and Oscar is a slob so to say that Felix and Oscar had arguments and problems whilst living together is an understatement. I think the funniest thing about this film is the fact that although Oscar is divorced and Felix is going through a divorce, both men act more like they're a married couple than friends. Felix is the 'wife' character - he cooks, he cleans and constantly nags at Oscar. I was in stitches when I saw the scene when Felix was rollicking Oscar for returning home an hour later than he'd agreed because it just isn't what we're used to seeing. The chemistry between Matthau and Lemmon is a big plus and this is down to a combination of great acting, great scriptwriting and great comic timing by both Matthau and Lemmon. It would be impossible for me to name all the funny moments in this film, but I guarantee that from start to end you'll be laughing and you'll be laughing regularly.Another interesting aspect with this film is the support cast; Lemmon and Matthau are supported by their friends Vinnie (John Fiedler), Murray (Herb Edelman) and Roy (David Sheiner). On a number of occasions, the support cast are given very little material and are more often merely foils for the two lead actors. However, Oscar's friends are well written and I believe we managed to get one or two laughs from each of these characters (which isn't bad considering the screen time that they were given).Whilst The Odd Couple is an absolute laugh riot for the most part, it also manages to be quite touching at times. Even though Oscar and his friends probably wouldn't make ideal dinner guests, they do all show surprising compassion towards Felix (particularly when he arrives at Oscar's house). The initial set up would lead you to believe that they are uncaring, but this isn't the case. All the characters are likable and I'll admit that the scene where Felix arrives at Oscar's is both touching and hilarious at the same time.The Odd Couple is an absolute gem of a film that everyone should watch and when I say everyone, I do mean everyone. This is a film that has no profanity and no vulgarity so it is something that the whole family can watch and enjoy together. Whilst I'm not averse to profanity and vulgarity in films, it is nice to see that some writers can create a film with a simple premise and with good writing can create a film that is clean and a whole lot of fun. Go ahead - watch the Odd Couple. You won't be disappointed.