One of the last of the I Hate NY films that flourished in the late 60s and early 70s only to abruptly die out once Woody Allen came on the scene and made it a felony even to dislike that noisome burg. Act one and the first half of act two are pretty good with Lemmon and Bancroft in fine form as typically neurotic products of Gotham, and Neil Simon provides them with just enough mordantly amusing observations to keep me entertained. But then, following Bancroft's great riff on the zen of being burglarized, in my opinion the funniest bit in the movie, Simon's dialogue goes from darkly comic to simply dark which I, for one, wouldn't have minded, as I tend to like films about depression, only I didn't sign up for this Underground Man stuff that Lemmon starts doing and felt, as I'm sure a lot of my IMDB colleagues did considering this film's low rating, a distinct bait and switch vibe.
As for the rest of the film, well, suffice it to say that Simon never gets his comic mojo back and leave it at that. Give it a generous C plus for the first half.
PS...Fun to see Stallone, Abraham and Walsh before they made it big.
As for the rest of the film, well, suffice it to say that Simon never gets his comic mojo back and leave it at that. Give it a generous C plus for the first half.
PS...Fun to see Stallone, Abraham and Walsh before they made it big.