"The Sunshine Boys" has a hint of "The Odd Couple", with a pair of men who get at each other's heels (and both written by Neil Simon). But this one goes beyond the former. The former is about a pair of unknown men forced to live together. This one focuses on a comedy team. Admired by millions, most people never knew that the two men hated each other. I guess that it just goes to show that roles that people play on screen have nothing to do with what they're like in real life. After all, it's called acting.Walter Matthau and George Burns (who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor) play the roles to a tee. Matthau is the irascible, forgetful one, and Burns is the kind, affable one. The climax comes when they appear in a TV special. What I noticed about that scene in particular was Lee Meredith's role as the cleavage-flaunting nurse. You may remember her as the busty secretary in "The Producers". She plays pretty much the same role here. What a babe! I wouldn't call the movie a masterpiece, but I recommend it as a look at what goes on behind the scenes of entertainment. The rest of the cast includes Richard Benjamin (known for playing pseudo-intellectual types in the '70s), Carol Arthur (Dom DeLuise's wife) and an early appearance of F. Murray Abraham. Director Herbert Ross also did "Play It Again, Sam", "California Suite", "Pennies from Heaven", "Footloose", "The Secret of My Success" and "My Blue Heaven".

Modern day viewers probably won't catch much of a buzz watching this film today. I was a fan of the principals during their heyday and George Burns is one of my all time favorites for his understated style and whimsical humor. He was the perfect foil for Gracie Allen's zany temperament.However I had a bit of a problem with this picture because of Walter Matthau's characterization of Willy Clark. It just seemed too heavy handed for me since Willy and Al Lewis (George Burns) worked together for forty three years, and you'd expect that they would have developed a more amiable rivalry in their relationship. Say along the lines of Matthau and Jack Lemmon in "The Odd Couple". I was expecting at some point a genuine show of affection between Willy and Al but it just didn't materialize until the heart attack, and even then it seemed pretty one sided with Burns' character.Through it all, there was some good material buried under the dialog that would have seemed more clever with an upbeat delivery. I never thought about individual letters of the alphabet being funny or not. In it's way, the business about the letter 'K' was rather inspired, and the apparent random shuffling of the chairs in Willy's apartment looked like the ex-vaudevillians were improvising; I wouldn't be surprised if they were. If only the film makers had lightened things up a bit, I'd offer an extra dollar on the toll bridge to watch it again.

'The Sunshine Boys' is about the imminent reunion of two vaudeville era comedians. However, it is not so easy to organize a successful creative collaboration between two volatile actors who have not spoken in two decades. This is not a film for viewers who don't appreciate slow films. It is neither a slow film per se nor does it feature a quick succession of events. This Herbert Ross film starts in a slow manner but gathers pace as the story progresses. If one says that the life of an old person is difficult, one can only imagine how difficult would the lives of two creative old men be. There is a lot for audiences as a lot of questions are raised about actors especially their lives and acting methods. It is said that old people are left to fend for themselves. However, one has to appreciate the dedication with which a young nephew takes care of his old uncle. Lastly, a viewer would remember this film as an excellent creative endeavor aimed at depicting true feelings of actors who are past their prime.

Neil Simon's THE ODD COUPLE set up a model for many of his later plays. Felix Unger and Oscar Madison were the unsuitably paired roommates in the original, the former being picky and neat, the latter being slovenly and loose. Simon would rewrite (less successfully) the play in the 1990s as THE NEW ODD COUPLE, with female roommates. He made it a mixed couple (a woman with her daughter, and a man) in THE GOODBYE GIRLS. He also gave it an additional twist in 1973 with THE SUNSHINE BOYS, a Broadway hit starring Jack Alberson and Sam Levine as Al Lewis and Willie Clark, the aged, semi-retired Vaudevillians. Here the "apartment" problem is reduced to a teaming of two men who can't stand each other. The 1976 film starred Walter Matthau as Willie, and George Burns as Al.In actuality, Al probably does not think totally badly of Willie - Willie is pathological on the subject of Al. First Al had little habits, such as accidentally spitting slightly when pronouncing words beginning with the letter "t", and slightly jabbing Willie with his index finger, on stage. Secondly, Al retired when his wife died. Willie was not ready to retire (and has been forcing his nephew and agent, Ben (Richard Benjamin) to try to get him jobs in commercials. But Willie can't remember lines unless they are funny, and keeps flubbing them. So he rarely is able to stay to the end of a rehearsal for a commercial.Ben is asked to get the two back together for a live scene of their most famous sketch on a television show about American Comedy. He does bring Al to see Willie, and the sparks begin flying, as neither can figure out what the other is doing (and this is just in rehearsal. On top of that, Willie is insisting on changes (minor ones, but they throw off Al) such as saying "ENTER!!!" when Al knocks on the door. The initial rehearsal is a failure, but Ben manages to get them to the taping of the show. The question is if they will complete the scene in the finished program or will Willie wring Al's neck?The three leads, Matthau, Burns, and Benjamin, do very well with the one-liners, frequently reminiscent of vaudeville patter (example: "Chest pains...I'm getting chest pains Uncle Willie. Every Thursday I come here and get chest pains!" "So, come on Fridays!"). Benjamin strives to prove his deep affection for his uncle, although Matthau's rough outer shell makes it difficult (he only smooths down when he discusses the glory days of vaudeville). Matthau has a little better grasp on reality (at first) than Burns, who seems senile by his repeating himself - but in actuality Matthau's sense of rejection by the world that once applauded him make him less willing to behave properly. Burns is not senile - he takes things slowly. But he seems far happier in accepting his retirement.I call this a final "Voyage of Discovery" for our modern Lewis and Clark. Al and Willie transcend their old skits, as they gradually end up realizing that they have more in common in their old age than they thought. Even the irascible Willie admits that Al may be (to him) a pain in the ass, but he was a funny man.Burns was not the original choice for the part of "Al Lewis" (supposedly Dale of the team Smith and Dale). Jack Benny was. Benny probably would have done a good job, but ill-health forced him out (he died in 1975). Burns (whose last involvement in any film was in THE SOLID GOLD CADILLAC in 1956 as the narrator) turned in such a fine performance that he got the "Oscar" for best supporting actor, and was to have a career in movies in the next decade in such films as OH GOD!; OH GOD, YOU DEVIL; and GOING IN STYLE. He died in 1996 age 100, having proved that he was more than just a brilliant straight man for his wife Gracie Allan.