Ordinarily, you would think a movie adaptation of a Neil Simon play starring Jack Lemmon as a very harried New Yorker would be perfect cinema - and ordinarily, you'd be right! Think of The Odd Couple and you have a good idea of a 'good' Simon film.
Lemmon's character, Mel, is a Manhattan businessman who's going through a bit of a midlife crisis. We've seen this sort of thing before in the movies - Lord knows we have!! - but the problem is, we've seen it much better. There's a fine line to be walked here between maudlin and funny/touching, and sadly that line is crossed early on in the movie and never recrossed.
Mel suffers through a lot of problems in this movie, and your closeness to NYC life will dictate just how much sympathy you have for his plight. But be warned: Simon doesn't combat these problems with wit and wisdom; to me, Mel just yells and screams and basically is thoroughly obnoxious - only Anne Bancroft as his suffering wife gives an appealing performance.
Bottom line is that unless you're a diehard Simon or Lemmon fan, you might want to avoid this collection of angst, agita, and aneurysms waiting to happen.
Lemmon's character, Mel, is a Manhattan businessman who's going through a bit of a midlife crisis. We've seen this sort of thing before in the movies - Lord knows we have!! - but the problem is, we've seen it much better. There's a fine line to be walked here between maudlin and funny/touching, and sadly that line is crossed early on in the movie and never recrossed.
Mel suffers through a lot of problems in this movie, and your closeness to NYC life will dictate just how much sympathy you have for his plight. But be warned: Simon doesn't combat these problems with wit and wisdom; to me, Mel just yells and screams and basically is thoroughly obnoxious - only Anne Bancroft as his suffering wife gives an appealing performance.
Bottom line is that unless you're a diehard Simon or Lemmon fan, you might want to avoid this collection of angst, agita, and aneurysms waiting to happen.