"Is everybody happy?!" (The Odd Couple (DVD))

Member Name: ruth_cole

Product:	The Odd Couple (DVD)
Date:	29/10/04 (280 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: biting wit, excellent performances, hilarious

Disadvantages: none

I probably ought to have saved this for the forthcoming favourite film competition, but having just seen it again for, oh, the millionth time whilst entertaining a sick relative, I wanted the joy that is The Odd Couple shouted from the rooftops RIGHT NOW. So here goes.

Originally a Broadway smash hit, classic scribe Neil Simon's play based on the experiences of his divorcing brother was brought to the big screen in 1968 with the inspired partnership of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau leading the way and Barefoot In The Park's Gene Saks at the directorial helm. Simon, of course, penned the screenplay adaptation, and with what would soon become classic music by Neal Hefti, the stage was set (if you'll forgive the pun) for one of the funniest, warmest and most human comedies I've ever loved.

The premise is admirably simple. Thrown out by his long-suffering wife Frances, Felix Ungar (Lemmon), neurotic, obsessive and houseproud, is taken in by his oldest and dearest friend, divorced inveterate slob Oscar Madison (Matthau). As the two struggle to find their feet without killing each other, they race through some of the best observational and situational comedy ever filmed, complete with slick one-liners, occasional farce and a whole symphony of exquisite gurning from Matthau.

Orbiting around the central relationship are the poker buddies (special mention to the wonderful Herbert Edelman here), whose weekly gathering punctuates the action, and the ("coo-coo") Pigeon sisters, dotty English women who live in the same apartment building as Oscar and on whom he has his eye. (From a child I knew those voices as the ones in The Aristocats, indeed Monica Evans and Carole Shelley did voice Abigail and Amelia; and that's where knowing too much Disney gets you - random trivia).

There really isn't any more to say in terms of plot. This is not a story, it's a situation, the throwing together of such marked opposites who despite their sustained and genuine affection for each other, discover that an 8-room apartment isn't enough space for the both of them. Of course this simply wouldn't work without a brilliant pairing, but that's just what this classic delivers. Matthau's cripplingly funny facial expressions, booming voice and flailing body language beautifully complements Lemmon's restrained, quiet, measured delivery. They sparkle in their scenes together, from the early harmony (despite Felix's sinus-clearing "moose calls") to the final showdown ("so in other words, you're throwing me out?" "Not in other words! Those are the perfect ones!"). The physical comic timing in one sequence in particular, where with absolutely no dialogue the complete disintegration of their relationship is demonstrated, is absolutely pitch perfect. A simple trick with a vacuum cleaner flex is enough to make you double up, and I have literally ended up in tears before at the verbal catastrophe which follows. The chemistry and fluidity of the relationship is startling, and sometimes I find myself just looking with admiration and wondering just how many takes it took to make it look that easy.

The supporting cast are also worth a mention. The poker game scenes are some of my favourite ("it's either very new cheese or very old meat"), where the overlapping dialogue and distinct characters make for very human and familiar interaction in the setting of what is, I must say an extremely cool New York appartment (the carefully designed advantages of the set becoming obvious with the merry-go-round chases around the doors and the long, sweeping shots along the hallway). John Fiedler's whinging Vinnie and Herb Edelman's good natured cop Murray are always the most memorable to me, but David Sheiner's laconic delivery and Larry Haine's grouchy blather are wonderful too. The boys-own-gang warmth that permeates these scenes is as much a part of the success of the humour as Simon's razor sharp lines, and the bickering in the smoky air an integral part of the atmosphere. The Pigeon sisters are used sparingly enough not to become too shrill and irritating; the potential for that is there, despite excellent performances from Evans and Shelley, simply because of the nature of the occasionally 2-dimensional character beast, but in the short term, they're a very pleasant female addition to the cast (since Frances, and Oscar's ex-wife Blanche are never seen on camera). As with so many theatrical pieces, the truly hilarious is often not seen, but heard, and this includes one-sided phone calls as a regular source of comedy.

Sak's direction, too, is typically theatrical (towards the end, a scene where the characters seem to line up along the corridor is vintage theatrical blocking) and this fits in with the general atmosphere beautifully. The camera tracks genially, affectionately, through the supermarket where Felix squeezes efficiently at the melons, and hangs around the vertiginous heights of the ballpark where sports reporter Oscar earns his living. There are some beautiful and crisply edited close-ups but mostly this is pretty subtle direction, unremarkable not in the sense that it's no good, but in the sense that it's so good you don't notice it, simply seamless in the whole. And of course there's the cracking theme tune, a head nodding romp that was later used for the spin off series starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman.

The DVD release of The Odd Couple is, as with most classic films I seem to have bought over the last few months, characteristically Spartan. The functional menus give us access to a very 60s original theatrical trailer, and a few sound and subtitle options, the bare minimum. Although with a film of such calibre, I don't much mind; the real advantage of DVD is occasionally skipping to the best scenes. Obtained from play.com for £8.99, this was probably my most expensive purchase aside from Brazil, but entirely, unquestionably worth it, as I think I've watched it more than all my other DVDs put together (after years of acquaintance via the television).

Right... now I have to bite my lip before I start quoting the entire film... or leaving little notes on people's pillows... "I told you 158 times I hate little notes on my pillow..." No! Stop, Alex.

Random trivia for you: John Fieldler, who plays squeaky-voiced Vinnie, appears as Juror number 2 in my last reviewed film, 12 Angry Men... this also stars Jack Klugman, who took the role of Oscar in the series of The Odd Couple... and when 12 Angry Men was re-made in 1997, Jack Lemmon took the lead role.

Happy Hysteria.

Alex
xxx

Summary: