Everyone knows the story. The neurotic Felix Unger, Jack Lemmon, gets tossed out of his home by his long suffering spouse. His wife can't stand his neatness and his other quirks. She can't hold up to him as a homemaker. Walter Matthau, Oscar Madison, is a sportswriter and a slob. Neil Simon created the perfect situation to let these two stars do their thing. And do they ever. While at the weekly card game, Felix was tolerated because afterward he would go home. Now he is there all the time and Oscar's life is totally sent out of wack. He can put up with the cleaning and cooking, but when it comes to his sex life, that's a different ballgame. This is a treasure chest of wonderful moments with some of the most clever dialogue ever. Two great scenes are the linguine scene and the visit of the Coo Coo Pigeon sisters to a dinner party. Don't miss this.

Through the history of Hollywood, there are always movies being made about best friends whether they are earnest dramas or cop comedies. But the main granddaddy of buddy films is the 1968 film, The Odd Couple. This is an enduring classic that certainly stands the test of time. Film technical quality has gotten better and the actors come and go, but no generation can deny the pleasure of the film. The film plays like a drawn-out soap opera at times, but than can be forgiven given the hijinks our main characters get themselves into, mainly over the issue of fussiness. But thanks to the immense charms of great real-life friends, Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, this is a really fun comedy to add to the collection.This film is about a man named Felix who falls into a state of depression due to his break-up with his wife and he contemplates suicide. But his best friend, Oscar comes to the rescue by having him stay at his place. But Oscar begins to get fed up with his friend's tidy nature compared to his messy nature, and hilarious hijinks ensue.This film mainly works due to its lead actors. Matthau and Lemmon are comedy legends and if anything, this movie shows why. They don't rely on potty humor for their comedy and instead, they use their natural ability to get the laughs. Just watching them throw insult after insult at each other is a doozy, even if the act starts to wear thin as the movie draws to a close. But nonetheless, I don't think this movie could work without that great chemistry between Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.Overall, The Odd Couple is a solid, charming comedy that has Matthau and Lemmon on top of their game. Even if you despise these kind of films, I think not even the hard-hearted you could deny the charm of these two gentlemen. I also loved the interaction they had with the supporting cast, mainly with John Fiedler known as the nerdy guy in the 1956 classic, "12 Angry Men." I loved the score of the film and that main theme is stuck in my head. This film is rightfully hailed a comedy classic.My Grade: A

The majority of this film was able to capture its comedy very well. The pacing was a bit slow at times, but the comedic banter between the two leads was enough to make this movie a very positive and fulfilling experience. HOWEVER (and this is a very big "however") this ending was very unsatisfying. I knew that it would be, mostly because there could never be an ending that would please everyone with a concept such as this. However, I felt that the overall experience was dampened simply because of its lackluster finale. The movie itself isn't flawed. It instead was the idea that simply wrote itself into a corner. The acting in this film is very good. I enjoyed many of the comedic bits not only between the two leads, but also when their friends were involved in the conversation. I know a movie is very good at getting its point across when it is able to make the audience uncomfortable WILLINGLY. It does this a few times. The overall feeling that one will receive after viewing it, however, is not the awkward unfamiliarity that is portrayed by the characters, but instead a very sour taste from how fast and unsatisfying the ending comes. Instead of a usual resolution, it seems to plummet back to where it started. This could be seen by some as a refreshing change from usual movies that follow similar story arcs. This is not the case for this movie, however, since it leaves you thinking that it could have ended better. Everything leading to the climax is stellar, but the overall ending is an experience that doesn't seem to fit the rest of its charm.

No need to recap the plot. What a triumph of scripting and casting. The premise, viz. the neat freak and the slob, has got to be one of the most durable on record, accounting for both this movie and the long-running TV series. In fact, I count that early 20-minutes around the card table as one of the funniest and best-written episodes I've seen anywhere. If this isn't playwright Simon's best work, I don't know what is. And what a fine example of ensemble acting are the poker-playing buddies, even if they never seem to play. Then too, get a load of the giddy Pigeon sisters. I love it when killjoy Felix gets them out of a romantic mood with a good cry. No wonder I-need-to-touch-something-soft Oscar wants to throttle him. And I'm still wondering whether Simon came up with the name "Felix Unger" because of the loaded initials or just happened to notice them. Anyway, the initials provide a good laugh.Of course, filming a stage play is always tricky since there're minimal scene changes. Here there're basically only two sets. But I hardly notice because director Saks manages to keep somebody moving all the time. That, plus the quality of writing and acting, keeps attention from wandering. One thing I did notice. Catch how the poker players are bunched on one side of the table so that the camera can have an unobstructed angle. It's artificial but understandable.Anyway, this is one of my favorite comedies, and I catch re-runs of the TV series when I can. Thanks Neil Simon for a truly inspired comedic set-up.