REVIEW: The Odd Couple II By Luke Buckmaster (bucky@alphalink.com.au)
Cast: Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Barnard Hughes, Christine Baranski, Jonathan Silverman, Lisa Waltz Director: Howard Deutch Screenplay: Neil Simon Australian Distributor: UIP
Australian theatrical release date: August 6 1998
>From 0 stars (bomb), to 5 stars (a masterpiece): 3 stars
The addition of yet another Jack Lemmon-Walter Matthau combo film will no doubt bring cheers from many and groans from some. I was optimistic: the only Matthau-Lemmon films I had seen were Grumpy Old Men and its sequel, and I enjoyed both. Whilst The Odd Couple II is not particularly fresh, funky or funny, it is nice to see these two old-but-energetic actors up to their usual antics.
Reunited after many years, Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon) are the classic odd couple. They find themselves on the open road, and on the way to a wedding. During their trip, Felix and Oscar have all kinds of wacky adventures: their car explodes after rolling off the side of a road, they become imprisoned three times for three different reasons, and a mate of theirs dies whilst driving possibly the world's slowest Rolls Royce. If it could happen to anyone, it happens to them.
Neil Simon has passively written the screenplay which, at times, is a touch too simplistic and a lot too dependent on its main characters. That is the best and the worst thing about the film - Lemmon and Matthau are wonderful in their roles, but are given way too much screen time. Thus, the gags and capers end up feeling cramped and forced, as there are no other characters to lighten the load. In the two Grumpy Old Men films, we were not only treated to a terrifically cynical extra-old-man, but also love interests for the two men. This is something that is severely lacking in Odd Couple II, and is most felt about three quarters of the way through when we start to get a little tired of their bickering.
But The Odd Couple II is never boring, never intimidating and never patronizing. I really got the feeling that I was there because I wanted to be; and if you know what to expect, you're not likely to be disappointed. It's far from perfect - but it's far from boring.
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