Willy Clark (Walter Matthau) and Al Lewis (George Burns) used to be a famous vaudeville comedy duo. Agent Ben Clark (Richard Benjamin) struggles to help his grumpy absent-minded uncle Willy. ABC wants to do a variety show of comedy history and they want both Lewis and Clark. They can't stand each other and haven't seen each other in 11 years. Al has been living the quiet life with his daughter in New Jersey. Ben needs to convince them both to reunite for just one night.I find Willy Clark more sad than funny. He is super grumpy and his bitterness doesn't make it easy to like him. He needs more loveability. It takes away from some of the comedy early on. George Burns is funnier. He's so deadpan. I love the Ah-stick. When the two of them get together, they are hilarious. Matthau's grumpy old man and Burns' biting remarks fit perfectly. The duo is a comedy master class. Their rehearsal together is comedy insanity. The movie with them apart isn't quite as funny.

For any who are interested in learning the art of acting in comedy, this is the film to watch. And the performances almost didn't happen.Certainly, there is the Academy Award winning performance of George Burns. As many know, the role of Al Lewis became his after the death of his best friend, Jack Benny. Benny was set to start filming when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Burns struggled with his decision, but finally chose to do it as a tribute to Benny. Remarkably, his performance makes you wonder how anyone else could have been considered. Sans his usual toupee and cigar, Burns essays a deft performance as the quieter, more retiring half of the vaudeville act. His opening scene opposite Richard Benjamin is beautifully played, as he tries to shake off his befuddlement. His final scene demonstrates his very legitimate abilities as an actor. But his greatest accomplishment is not being overshadowed by a greater performance.Walter Matthau's Willy Clark is one of the greatest performances by an actor in a comic role ever captured on film. This is not a performance by a comedian. This is acting in comedy, something much harder. It is complete, filled with nuance, subtleties, and bombast all at once, but never losing its reality. The heat was with Jack Nicholson that year, and his performance in "One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest." Unfortunately, that meant that perhaps the greatest opportunity for the Academy to reward acting in comedy was lost. And the performance itself nearly didn't happen.A few years prior, Matthau received an Oscar nomination for playing an old man, the title character in "Kotch," directed by his friend and frequent co-star, Jack Lemmon. He asked Neil Simon to be considered for "The Sunshine Boys." Older actors, such as James Cagney, Phil Silvers, and even Bob Hope (as part of a Hope-Crosby pairing) were considered. Finally, Matthau and Benny were chosen. Ultimately, it became Matthau and Burns, a blessing for moviegoers.Matthau accomplishes a most rare and difficult feat for an actor: Making an unpleasant character sympathetic and even lovable. He often said he based the character on his mother, who was a very dour person. And Willy is ferociously - and hysterically - unpleasant. He is the quintessential show business has-been, a guy who had some fame, and can't accept that he's lost it. From the opening scene, where he asked by an old acquaintance what he's doing in Time Square and barks back, "I'm working! What the hell are you doing?" to his berating the Japanese for the failure of his television, to the all-out warfare with his former partner, Matthau is the most hysterical bully in film history. He is all posturing and poses, refusing to give up his only love: Show business. If he doesn't get enough laughs with his tantrums, he has plenty of low-and-inside lines. Matthau runs the complete range of delivery, never overplaying, never reaching for comic effect, but keeping it a real acting performance.Richard Benjamin has long held the reputation of being a great utility guy in the business, not only as an actor, but as a director as well - he helmed the superb "My Favorite Year." He does a serviceable job as Willy's nephew/agent, hitting the right notes of exasperation, dedication, and love along the way. And he has the great taste not to try and top his two co-stars. He wasn't the first choice, either.For years, George Burns told a story in his stand-up act about working on "The Sunshine Boys." He said that the director, Herb Ross, told the actor playing the nephew that, at a certain point, he would go into the bathroom."Why?" the actor asked."Whaddya mean 'why?'" Ross replied."Well, if I'm going into the bathroom, I need to know what my motivation is." "You just had lunch." "What did I have?" "What did you have? Why does it matter what you had?" "Well, I need to know how long to stay in there." "I've changed my mind," said Ross. "Don't go into the bathroom." "Why not?" says the actor.Ross replied, "There won't be any room. The actor replacing you will be in there." Burns buttons the story by saying: "From then on, whenever Herb Ross looked at me, I went to the bathroom." George never said who the actor was, but Harvey Keitel was originally cast as the nephew. He was replaced by Richard Benjamin, who apparently never asked why he was going to the bathroom.The key ingredient to it all, of course, it Neil Simon's screenplay. This is the best of Simon, the guy who gave us the Great American Comedy, "The Odd Couple," the Brighton Beach trilogy, the original Heartbreak Kid, and "Lost in Yonkers." He is firing on all cylinders here and doesn't miss an opportunity for a great, memorable line. He once said this was his favorite film of any of his plays. His cast and Herb Ross's firm direction are good reasons for that accolade. But, he had to have known that it was some of his best writing, as well.With every new comedian, television show, or movie being hailed as "Comic Genius," "The Sunshine Boys" provides an example of the real thing.

There's not a drop of sunshine in "The Sunshine Boys", which makes the title of this alleged comedy Neil Simon's sole ironic moment. Simon, who adapted the script from his play (which goes uncredited), equates old age with irrational behavior--and, worse, clumsy, galumphing, mean-spirited irrational behavior. Walter Matthau is merciless on us playing an aged vaudeville performer talked into reuniting with former comedy partner George Burns for a television special (it's said they were a team for 43 years, which begs the question "how long did vaudeville last, anyway?"). Burns, who won a Supporting Oscar, has the misfortune of coming to the film some thirty minutes in, after which time Matthau has already blasted the material to hell and back. The noisier the movie gets, the less tolerable and watchable it is. Director Herbert Ross only did solid work when he wasn't coupled with one of Neil Simon's screenplays; here, Ross sets up gags like a thudding amateur, hammering away at belligerent routines which fail to pay off (such as semi-incoherent Matthau showing up at a mechanic's garage to audition for a TV commercial). At this point, Matthau was still too young for this role, and he over-compensates by slouching and hollering. It was up to Ross and Simon to tone down the character, to nuance his temperament to give "The Sunshine Boys" some sunniness, yet Walter continues to project as if we'd all gone deaf. The picture looks terribly drab and crawls along at a spiritless pace; one loses hope for it early on. *1/2 from ****

At first this looked like a boring comedy like The Odd Couple, but when I got into it it turned out to be a really funny film. Basically forgetful ex-comedians Willy Clark (Golden Globe winner, and Oscar and BAFTA nominated Walter Matthau) and Al Lewis (Oscar winning, and Golden Glove nominated George Burns) were a great comedy duo, and a brought back together to revive their hospital sketch for a TV show. Willy's nephew, Ben Clark (Golden Globe winning Richard Benjamin) is confident they can get together again with no hard feelings for each other, how wrong he is. They cannot get on all the time, they are both forgetful, especially during conversation, but they do it eventually. Also starring Lee Meredith as Nurse in Sketch (Miss McIntosh), Carol DeLuise as Mrs. Doris Green, Al's Daughter, Rosetta LeNoire as Odessa, Willy's nurse and Muppets from Space's F. Murray Abraham as Mechanic. I think the best line of the film is Burns mentioning that Matthau called him "a son of a bitch bastard". It was nominated the Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted From Other Material, it was nominated the BAFTA for Best Screenplay, and it won the Golden Globe Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy, and it was nominated for Best Screenplay. Very good!