The Odd Couple

The Odd Couple, one of the very best comedies to have emanated from Broadway in recent years, arrived on screen not only intact but actually enhanced by the transition.

Capitalizing on almost every funny line in the play, and keeping physical setups to a wise minimum, playwright-screenwriter Neil Simon and director Gene Saks have adapted to the screen, fidelity-sharp, the embattled hilarity of The Odd Couple.

The Neil Simon comedy that lit up Broadway for more than two years shines again in this flawed but still funny screen adaptation.

...a durable classic, the sort of comedy that doesn't try to yank laughs by cramming its fist down our throats.

Lemmon and Mathau's finest hour.

For all its overfamiliarity, this is a good play, easily Simon's best, and Matthau and Lemmon inhabit it with grace and style.

The two stars go together like scotch and soda, and their rapport lifts every scene.

...a deliberately-paced and often unabashedly stagy comedy that benefits substantially from the justifiably iconic work of its stars...

Lemmon and Matthau have an undeniable chemistry that allows their highly contrasting personalities to generate a fitting camaraderie and plenty of comical conundrums.

I enjoy some moments of this comedy directed by Gene Saks when I see the fabulous pair of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, although the tour is somewhat repetitive and superficial. [Full review in Spanish]