Such a frustrating disappointment

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Good start, but then it gets ruined

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

And how many times has it been made and remade? I'm probably more familiar overall with the TV series version, with Jack Krugman and Tony Randall, which by necessity had to broaden the story and pump up the minor supporting characters. There's even 1-2 FEMALE versions.But the original has more lives than a cat -- several FILM versions, plus countless stage productions since the 1960s.I've never completely got what is supposedly so funny about it, except some universal battle between sloppy folks and neat freaks.Just caught some of it on late-night TV, and one thing -- nit picky, but it drove me nuts (my inner Felix Ungar?) -- is when Felix is cooking dinner for Oscar and two ditsy Pidgeon sisters.The whole thing is predicated on Oscar coming home "late" -- by about 30 minutes -- and Felix's meatloaf is "ruined". In fact, we see it later as a flaming charcoal briquette....why not turn the heat OFF?This is the kind of departure from reality that makes me crazy in films. Meatloaf is about the easiest, most relaxed food on earth. It keeps for HOURS -- even DAYS -- once cooked, you can eat it COLD (it's delicious -- try it some time!). You can cook it and reheat it, and if anything, the flavor is even better having mellowed.There is no way, not even for a nut like Felix, that a meatloaf would have to be served instantly or "go bad". For starters: after cooking, the meat must "rest" for 20 minutes or so.On top of that: when he goes shopping....and the whole premise is they are eating at home to "save money"...Felix goes to the butcher and orders FOUR POUNDS of freshly ground beef. Good lordy! Neil Simon clearly never cooked a meatloaf in his life, nor even bothered to look up a recipe! FOUR POUNDS! that would make enough meatloaf for a dozen people, with leftovers.Meatloaf is a classic Depression-era recipe intended to STRETCH a very small amount of ground meat - with fillers, bread crumbs, chopped veggies, beaten eggs, etc. -- so that a pound of meat or LESS could feed a family. A meatloaf that was "all beef" would be greasy, heavy and terrible.It makes no sense for two "broke bachelor's" trying to save money on a dinner date, to buy FOUR POUNDS of ground beef (even at 1967 prices). Even considering how eccentric Felix is - - how OCD -- the way he's cooking this, and acting like a meatloaf is a fragile soufflé, just makes zero sense.NOTE: as a broke young woman years ago, I used to be able to concoct a full sized -- and delicious! -- meatloaf from one scant HALF POUND of ground beef, bolstered with a lot of add-ins like bread crumbs and beaten egg, and a few secret ingredients. I will happily supply that recipe -- Lily"s Famous Meatloaf" on request to anyone interested!

There are many things in life that are meant for each other. Things such as me and my movies or Albert Einstein and science. In cinematic terms, you can add Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon to the list. In terms of pure comedy, the matchups of Matthau and Lemmon over many decades resulted in great comedy films. They are like very close brothers because they have been in so many films together. One such film is The Odd Couple. The movie is based of the smash Broadway hit which was written by Neil Simon. Simon also wrote the screenplay for the film, which is one of the highlights of the films. As older people may remember, the film share many similarities with the Broadway play. The play was directed by Mike Nichols, and it's been told the two share a sense of similar direction despite this film being directed by Gene Saks. Walter Matthau acted as the character Oscar in both mediums. I've also read they even shared the same sets. So basically, this film is the exact same thing as the Broadway play but now it has accessibility to people over the world because it's a movie.This film surpassed my rather high expectations I had for the film. Honestly, I've never seen any movies with them in it but I heard they are just incredible comedic talents. There wasn't a moment that go by I was not entertained or laughing. There are times where it feels like a drawn-out television soap opera, and that got a little grating at times. But that is very low criticism. The charms and comedy of Matthau and Lemmon are just too good to miss.The Odd Couple is about a man named Felix Ungar (Jack Lemmon) who is in the state of depression because of his very recent break-up with his life. He was on his way to commit suicide when his best friend Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau) intervenes. Oscar offers Felix his home for the temporary being. Felix reluctantly agrees. But the two men are polar opposites when it comes to cleanliness. Oscar lives in a house that a pig would be proud off, while Felix possesses a tidy nature. Those two personalities clash and hijinks ensue between the two friends.It seems like all I mentioned so far were how good the two leads are. They are great real-life friends, and you can see that by how they work with each other in the movie. They feed off each other very well, and the chemistry alone is worth watching this movie for. Lemmon plays his role as Felix straight, while Matthau's character is way less serious, as evident of his slobiness. My favorite scene is where Felix decides to clean Oscar's kitchen much to dis dismay. Felix decides to play the motherly character and cook a hearty meal for Oscar each night instead of his excessive junk-eating he had been doing prior to Felix's arrival. I also liked the scenes where Oscar decides to take himself and Felix on blind dates with some neighbors. Oscar had some high intentions, but they hilariously backfired on him.Overall, The Odd Couple is a fine little comedy. It may not be recognized by modern audiences, but it really should be seen. The performances are excellent and Neil Simon's screenplay is sharp and I love how me makes the contrast between neatness and tidiness a big factor in the relationships of the two men. The film started off pretty serious, but I loved how the tone progressively gotten lighter as the minutes went on. It's a sharp-written and funny movie, even if there are some mindless soap opera moments.My Grade: A

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.

What a combination Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon made in this 1968 great comedy.The two were made for each other, except when it came to the divorced man (Matthau) living with the recently separated Lemmon. Matthau is essentially the slob and Lemmon, a meticulous person, if ever there were.Neil Simon uses the New York backdrop where the film takes place to remind us that we're in New York. While on a park bench, Matthau says to Lemmon: "Let's get going as it's almost time for the muggers to come!"Lemmon practically takes on the traditional female role in running a house.The scene with the Pigeon sisters visiting is hilarious, especially when the two express sympathy for Lemmon's outburst when he thinks of his wife and children.The ending proves that you have to watch out for the quiet types. They succeed with women.