SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
WillSushyMedia
This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
Allison Davies
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Gary
The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
bkoganbing
Without missing a beat, Neil Simon's The Odd Couple went from successful movie to successful TV series. After seeing the antics of Felix Unger and Oscar Madison on the big screen, we had them in our living room once a week for five seasons.Two very big film names, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau weren't about to be had for a weekly TV series. But Tony Randall as the fussy Felix and Jack Klugman as Oscar whose room at their apartment was designed by the brothers Collier were a perfect fit for The Odd Couple.Tony Randall as Felix was the last word in anal retentive. No wonder he drove his wife Gloria played on the series by Janis Hansen in occasional appearances crazy and she threw him out. Still she loved the fuss budget and as the series ended they were going to give marriage a try.When that happened Oscar could go back to living like a pig. If I let it slide I would be as sloppy as Oscar. But that's why I have someone cleaning up for me. I always thought it was that Jack Klugman thought a maid was a luxury he could not afford. That was the job of the wife in this case his then real wife Brett Somers playing Blanche.Somers appearances were few and were gold. Her scenes with Klugman reminded me of the famous Bickersons from radio's golden era. Could those two scrap and Klugman and Somers were just great. I'm not sure some of that wasn't adlibbed.In the film version it begins with Felix coming over to Oscar's place and interrupting a weekly poker game. Those pasteboard parts from the film became real characters. We got to know Murray the cop played by Al Molinaro and Speed played by Garry Walberg and the others.This was a great series, a real New York slice of life courtesy of Neil Simon.
Stebaer4
Yes How I recall when I first saw this during the Springtime of 1971 and the episode with the Parrot of whom apparently died and then arose from the "magic" box and flew away but then flew back but my most favorite one as my Big Brother J.Kevin agrees is the one with the Racing dog named Golden Earrings from the Springtime of 1972 and my 2nd favorite is the one of which Oscar and Felix meet an Elderly Odd couple of which is significant of how when least expected you can see reflections of yourself and others in others and in this apartment it was full of stacks of chairs upon entry and beyond.Felix even said to Oscar something like "In just a couple of years our apartment will look like this if you don't start cleaning up your act too."Each roommates' nephews calling Oscar and Felix "Uncle" were very nice touches for the show too.The Shows ending is very nice with Gloria and Felix renewing their vows in their apt.Along with Felix dumping over the wastebasket as a dedication to Oscar and Oscar saying in return how he was in return to dedication to Felix going to pick it up.Naturally it ended expectedly with Felix coming back in saying without Oscar hearing him "I knew you weren't going to pick it up."So he picked it up.Yes this is a very funny show for a number of reasons including like when Felix went through his camera filming phase and in doing so followed Oscar everywhere including into work and naturally getting thrown out because he didn't belong in there.We do see other great Stars like Penny Marshal who's Lavern of Lavern and Shirley Fame as Oscar's Secretary and Jack Klugman's then wife and as billed as Brett Summers Klugman at the time.The Games with the Poker buddies are great including The Cop of Murray played by Ed Molinaro who both spent some time in Oscar's and Felix's apartment when his wife threw him out too and later he returned to her. Also how Murray had to arrest Oscar and Felix for dog-napping the collie called Silver The Wonder Dog.Just about any episode can be appreciated when you think of/recall it.Sadly in 1993 for The TV-Movie of The Odd Couple together again The Absence of both all molinaro as Murray and the other Poker Buddies each having stand in actors was not appreciated.But Felix returning to Gloria again after being thrown out again is appreciated.But please do check out my review there too on this IMDb site.Truthfully,Stephen "Steve" G. Baer a.k.a. "Ste" of Framingham,Ma.USAP.S.I get Ste as the result of my Big Brother J.Kevin being a year older than me and unable to say Stephen at the time.
jclauser
For the most part Season 5 is wonderful, and it's obvious why Tony Randall snagged the EMMY for it, but Paramount Home Video has destroyed what has got to be one of the most joyous moments in t.v. sitcom history. In the last episode when the the minister announces that Felix and Gloria are once again husband and wife, Oscar erupts into a dance and belts out "I'm Singing in the Rain." Not so in this truncated release. The song is wiped out completely and the scene is ruined. Could the rights to the tune really have been that expensive? There are other musical edits throughout the season, but this one is unforgivable.
revenskater
At first, Jack Klugman wasn't interested in doing this show. But when he found out that Tony Randall had signed on, Jack changed his mind. I believe that they turned out to be the greatest comedy team in TV history.There is so much about "The Odd Couple" that is wonderfully endearing-especially when you examine its history. It ran for five seasons(1970-75 )with 114 episodes. But the ratings were very marginal all through its original run on ABC.Then, something happened when it went into syndication in the latter half of the 1970s. People tuned in to the show on local stations all across the country. "The Odd Couple" became a sensation. WPIX-TV in New York City was showing it four times a day, at one point !The first season used the vertical set with the gate and canned laughter for the episodes. Tony and Jack went to executive producer Garry Marshall about this. If the show was picked up for a second season, they wanted a horizontal set and a live studio audience for the show. Marshall had seen the chemistry between this pair. Tony and Jack got what they wanted and more. They each received five percent ownership of the show ( quite rare for actors on any series ). This gave them both a dose of creative control. They 'punched up' many of the scripts, threw in some of their own ideas, and made the show even funnier.Jack's "Oscar" took home two EMMYs for the show and Tony's "Felix" took home one of his own, as well.There has been plenty of debate about the guest stars that came on the show. It was mostly opera stars & ballet dancers for Tony ; various sports figures for Jack. But it worked and could often be hilarious. Of course, Felix was always the neat-freak and Oscar was always the slob. That's part of what made "The Odd Couple". Tony and Jack turned it into an American classic.Just one question..."Can two divorced men share a DVD set- without driving each other crazy ?" I'm betting they can :-).Jeffrey McAdam-Reed (
[email protected] ) .