Neil Simon's The Prisoner of Second Avenue ran for 798 performances on Broadway for the better part of two years in 1971-73. Peter Falk and Lee Grant played the parts that movie names Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft took over. Essentially it is a two person play without a lot of character development for anyone else.
Lemmon and Bancroft are Mr.&Mrs Mel and Edna Edison and the ever patient Edna as the film opens is listening to one of Mel's patented rants about how the world is just victimizing him. It seems that way as among other things the apartment is robbed, Lemmon loses his job, he becomes a crime victim, and even the neighbor upstairs tired of listening to him, douses Lemmon with a bucket of water. Eventually Lemmon becomes a candidate for the rubber room. Bancroft thinks if they can just get out of the New York City rat race, Lemmon might become a human being.
For which task she enlists her brother and sisters-in-law. In the end however the roles are reversed.
The Prisoner of Second Avenue doesn't quite succeed as much as Simon's other work like The Odd Couple or The Sunshine Boys. Like them it depends on the skill and chemistry of the leads. Fortunately Lemmon and Bancroft have skill in abundance.
Still I came away from watching this wondering exactly what did I just see. The plot is almost non-existent, but if you like both the leads than don't miss this film.
Lemmon and Bancroft are Mr.&Mrs Mel and Edna Edison and the ever patient Edna as the film opens is listening to one of Mel's patented rants about how the world is just victimizing him. It seems that way as among other things the apartment is robbed, Lemmon loses his job, he becomes a crime victim, and even the neighbor upstairs tired of listening to him, douses Lemmon with a bucket of water. Eventually Lemmon becomes a candidate for the rubber room. Bancroft thinks if they can just get out of the New York City rat race, Lemmon might become a human being.
For which task she enlists her brother and sisters-in-law. In the end however the roles are reversed.
The Prisoner of Second Avenue doesn't quite succeed as much as Simon's other work like The Odd Couple or The Sunshine Boys. Like them it depends on the skill and chemistry of the leads. Fortunately Lemmon and Bancroft have skill in abundance.
Still I came away from watching this wondering exactly what did I just see. The plot is almost non-existent, but if you like both the leads than don't miss this film.