A hallmark Neil Simon comedy shot with Panavision parameter by film/stage director Gene Saks, his second feature film, paired with Lemmon and Matthau, the second out of their 10 collaborations, after their prize-winning bash in Billy Wilder's THE FORTUNE COOKIE (1966).In the main, it is a one-apartment knockabout, the eponymous couple, Felix Ungar (Lemmon) and Oscar Madison (Matthau), are best friends but equipped with diametrical personalities, Felix is a fastidious neat-freak whereas Oscar a congenital slob. In the opening scenes, we follow Felix wandering off a hotel-dotted Manhattan in the night, he checks in a high-story room and decides to kill himself spurred by the unforeseen cessation of his 12-year marriage, only to find the window is jammed.Starting with a suicidal attempt going awry, that's the spirit a quality comedy should have because it heralds that nothing would go more serious than that! So once Felix thinks better of it, he goes to Oscar's place, literally a divorcé's dump littered with garbage, food and permeated with smoke, sweat and other repugnant odor, where he meets their usual poker friends, after a flurry of misunderstanding, Felix moves into Oscar 8-room apartment, that's when the discord begins to ratchet up. It is a time-honored template of mis-matched buddy romp, Neil Simon's script ensures that their disparity runs to the maximum in opposite scales, even to a fault at the expense of its characters' likability, especially Oscar, emblazoned as a macho ingrate, in comparison with Felix's nagging but at least good-natured punctiliousness. Thankfully, the two stars' chemistry gratifyingly hits the right mark (Lemmon is a compelling sprain-prone dynamo and Matthau is in his element with his trademark rakish sloppiness), and leavens the implausible story with trenchant one-liners (that F.U. monogram for instance), including a hilarious double date with the Pigeon sisters (Evans and Shelley) from Britain, where sensuality humbled by sentimentality. In retrospect, THE ODD COUPLE is an archetype of urban bromance (minus the gay undertone), likens the friendship between two men to a married couple (the only missing link is the consummation) when they are shoved under the same roof, and aggrandizes their tough/vulnerable dichotomy for laughter, a thoroughly pleasurable pot-boiler (if not a sharp-edged satire or an irresistibly droll goofball) borne out of an ingenious idea.

Felix Ungar has just broken up with his wife. Despondent, and at a total loss, he goes to kill himself but is saved by his friend Oscar Madison. With nowhere else to go, Felix is urged by Oscar to move in with him, at least for a while. The only problem is that Felix is neat, tidy, and neurotic, whereas Oscar is slovenly and casual.........Matthau and Lemmon bounce off each other in this wonderful, sniping, sarcastic comedy, with just a little darkness thrown in for good measure.If you could sum Felix and Oscar up, they would be like the little demon and angel that would sit on your shoulders helping you to make a good or bad decision, they are so different, that the only thing I really questioned during the movie was how on earth did they become friends?A film about a neurotic, suicidal man, living with a couldn't care less slob, gradually falling out sounds like a chore to watch, but one would never question this, and I doubt they ever have, because it's written by a genius, and is bright and breezy, despite some of the dark subject matters it deals with.Some of the humour now seems a little tame, because of the world achangin' over the years, but it's not very often, and it's still funny, because if you've seen this, the chances are you like other comedy's from this era.It's funny, and the two leads are fantastic. It wouldn't surprise me if they were best friends in real life.

'The Odd Couple' is a stunning comedy, that is boasted by two mesmerizing performances by the late/great Jack Lemmon & the late/great Walter Matthau. Two of the legendary performers go at each-other in this breezy, well-written comedy classic, that hasn't lost its charm even after nearly 5 decades since its release. 'The Odd Couple' Synopsis: Two friends try sharing an apartment, but their ideas of housekeeping and lifestyles are as different as night and day.'The Odd Couple' is pure fun from start to end. I laughed & laughed all through. Neil Simon's Screenplay, which is based upon his Play by the same name, is notoriously funny & well-worded. The camaraderie between Lemmon & Matthau, is the highpoint of the enterprise. Gene Saks's Direction is proficient. Cinematography is vast. Editing is rightly done.And coming back to Lemmon & Matthau, words fail to describe their work here. As best friends turned into foes, both of the blessed talents deliver probably the greatest comedic performances ever. I'm not kidding, their performances here, are simply matchless.Don't waste your time thinking, Watch 'The Odd Couple'. Two Big Thumbs Up!

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.