breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com Prior to the start of the 21rst century, movie franchises that had sequels were more or less on time with their releases. Other sets of movies were created not long after. This was due to movie studios finding it to be profitable and producing a sequel almost every year. Whether or not they actually were of good quality is a separate matter. The point is, sequels came in a rather systematic fashion. Rarely were sequels made years later except for some. A very mainstream movie series that has quite a number of years in between its entries was James Cameron's The Terminator (1984) film. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) came several years later and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) was even longer still. However the longest awaited sequel ever to be made might in fact be this movie since its predecessor goes back three decades!The Odd Couple (1968) was based on a play written by Neil Simon. This story would then also receive a TV show adaptation. But as for this sequel, the script was also written by Neil Simon but was completely original. Nothing had been written before as to what would happen if the two main odd balls would reunite. For this film, it just so happens that the daughter of Felix Unger (Jack Lemmon) and son of Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau) are getting married. When Oscar and Felix cross paths, the madness begins. The question is, will they reach the wedding in time? For being a sequel that came far after its original, the play out to this feature is not as bad as one might think. Heading the production was Howard Deutch. He's mainly known for directing TV shows now. Deutch also worked with Matthau and Lemmon in Grumpier Old Men (1995).What does work here are the two stars and thankfully much of the supporting cast. Even for thirty years later Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau are great at reprising their all time famous roles. Lemmon still plays Felix as about as stressed as ever, while Matthau plays Oscar just as relaxed and out of touch as well. Both still have the same likable chemistry and great wisecracks towards each other. The next actor to have some funny scenes is Richard Riehle the local sheriff. As Oscar and Felix try to reach their family's wedding, they continuously run into Riehle's character. Seeing his reaction every time after the first gets more comical. As for the couple getting married, Brucey (Jonathan Silverman) and Hannah (Lisa Waltz) are both okay in their roles but they really don't have a lot of shine time.The parts that aren't effective in the story deal a lot with how the script was written. The plus side is that Neil Simon takes the scenario between the iconic duo and shows the audience what happens when these two are let out of their cages. Yet somehow there's a lack of witty dialog among the whole running time. Matthau and Lemmon are wonderful no doubt, but they can't work alone. Part of what made The Odd Couple (1968) funny was the funny supporting cast. Aside from Riehle, there's not many other actors to find hilarious. On top of that, there a couple of scenes that have the two leads dropping the "F" bomb. The original movie did not use that word at all and it was still hilarious. So what was the point of using it now? Lastly there's a brief subplot that comes up out of nowhere and is quickly settled, so again, why bring it up to begin with?But aside from this there are appearances from other actors like Mary Beth Peil, Christine Baranski, Jean Smart, Rex Linn, Jay O. Sanders and even Earl Boen. For camerawork, the shots captured are decent for the picture. Credited as cinematographer was Jamie Anderson. Unlike the original where much of the settings took place in the apartment, now the whole adventure takes place outside and there's lots to see. Anderson was also the DP to movies like Piranha (1978), Unlawful Entry (1992) and Small Soldiers (1998) that same year. Lastly, bringing forth the music was composer Alan Silvestri. Being known for all kinds of scores Silvestri did a great job revisiting the famous main theme from the original and it is repeated quite often in full orchestra. A job well done.While the script may suffer from unnecessary add ins and occasionally less energetic dialog, the rest of the viewing experience is still enjoyable. Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon remain the highlight of the feature, with great exchanges, acceptable cinematography and respectable music.

SnoopyStyle It's been 17 years since Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau) and Felix Unger (Jack Lemmon) have seen each another. Oscar is still a slob sportswriter in Sarasota, Florida. Felix is a still neurotic mess after three divorces. One day, Oscar's son Brucey calls to tell him that he's marrying Felix's daughter Hannah. Oscar and Felix reunite at LAX and take a road trip to the wedding in San Malina.After the success of the 'Grumpy Old Men' movies, it was inevitable that Matthau and Lemmon would revisit these famous characters. It's also very heartening to have Neil Simon back as the writer. The old team is back but they do not age well. My first problem is that in this movie universe, the duo has become separated for 17 years. It's a sad way to start the movie and it's so unnecessary. The movie is relying on the weakest of premise. It seems to go down some comedic avenues but the movie pulls back at each section before it gets truly funny. They're not taking enough risks and relies too much on the odd couple's chemistry.

writers_reign Back in 1970 Neil Simon wrote an Original Screenplay (as opposed to adapting one of his stage plays for the screen) entitled The Out Of Towners in which husband and wife Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis were frustrated in their efforts to travel from Ohio to New York and faced more frustration when they finally did arrive there. Now almost three decades later Simon has rewritten it so that what is essentially the same plot finds Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau frustrated in their attempts to travel to the Californian nuptials of Lemmon's daughter and Matthau's son. I'm not criticizing or complaining. Anything written by Simon is fine with me and anything written by Simon and featuring Lemmon and Matthau is even finer and there are, after all, only seven basic plots as we all know. The leads of course are reprising the characters (Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison) they played in The Odd Couple (Matthau had, in fact, created the role of Oscar Madison in the original Broadway production and though it is widely acknowledged that sequels rarely work this is an exception with enough Simon one-liners to keep most of us happy. Recommended.

Maddyclassicfilms The plot of this sequel sees Oscar and Felix reuniting after 20 odd years apart for the wedding of Oscars son to Felix's daughter.The first half is practically a road movie with them travelling by car and Felix getting angry with Oscar for losing the directions,his suitcase and for getting lost out in the dessert.There are some hysterical moments especially the dead man the bird and the wig scene and Felix's suitcase rant.Although I enjoyed this a lot I felt sad because they both look so old especially Walter and where are their poker friends?I can't be the only one who missed Murray and the guys.Not as good as the first one but a must see for how their story ends and what their like in their old age.