This autumn I have been watching Jack Lemmon movies.
Up this week is The Odd Couple (1968).
I have changed up the list of movies I wanted to watch for this feature, but this one had to stay on, of course, because it is one of Jack’s more well-known roles, especially one of his most well-known with his friend Walter Matthau, who he appeared in eleven movies with.
This is the movie that also launched the television show, which ran from 1970 to 1975 and starred Jack Klugman and Tony Randall.
The modern idea of a sloppy (Oscar)and a clean roommate (Felix) being teamed up together is something that originated from The Odd Couple, which was first written as a play in 1965 by Neil Simon, who also adapted the screenplay for the movie.
He was nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay.
The movie is comedy, with elements that could have been a lot darker than they were.
The movie starts with Felix contemplating suicide and we aren’t sure why until we cut to Oscar and his poker buddies in his messy apartment and they get a call from one of the wives, reporting that Felix’s wife wants a divorce. Not only that, but Felix told his wife he was leaving the house to kill himself.
What follows soon after that call is a hilarious scene of Felix’s clearly caring friends trying to pretend they don’t know about the impending divorce or possible suicide when Felix arrives at Oscar’s apartment door.
They try to be nonchalant, but all along are desperately trying to figure out how to keep Felix from killing himself.
Eventually, Oscar suggests that Felix come stay with him until he can get things figured out with his wife.
One problem, though, is that Oscar is a slob and Felix is a hypochondriac neat freak with allergies.
This movie came at a nice time for me. It was clean, funny, and sweet and left me with a smile on my face, which I really needed in this season of my life.
The play led to Simon’s first Tony Award. Matthew played Oscar on the stage first and also earned a Tony for his performance. When it came to the movie, though, the stage Felix, Art Carney, was determined by studio executives not to be a big enough star and was replaced with Lemmon.
“It’s not fair, but it happens all the time,” remarked Lemmon at the time.
I thought it was funny to read that Matthau actually wanted to be Felix.
“I’m not Oscar,” he said. “I’m not a slob. My housekeeper says I’m the neatest man she’s ever worked for, but Jack wouldn’t hear of it.”
The Odd Couple II was made in 1998 with the now elderly pair. It was based a script Simon had been working on for almost ten years.
Critics and audiences were much less enamored with the sequel, which was called “predictable and far-fetched.” Not even the pair’s natural chemistry could save the second film from it’s box office failure.
The movies I watched and still plan to watch for this feature include:
The Odd Couple
Irma Dey Deuce
Save the Tiger
Sources/Resources:
https://www.tcm.com/articles/88916/the-odd-couple
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063374/trivia
