ODD COUPLE 2, THE

SYNOPSIS:
Thirty years on, Felix Ungar (Jack Lemmon) and retired sportswriter Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau) meet at LAX and drive a rental car across the desert to attend the wedding of Oscar's son Brucey (Jonathan Silverman) to Felix's daughter Hannah (Lisa Waltz), but a breakdown leaves them stranded at some distance from the main highways where they are sprayed by a cropduster and hang out with two flirtatious women (Christine Baranski, Jean Smart) in a small-town bar before getting a lift from slow-driving, elderly Beaumont (Barnard Hughes), eventually arriving at the wedding.

"Deliciously crafted, scripted and performed, The Odd Couple 2 is an appetising morsel of screen magic, where the wit of the written word is paramount. Neil Simon’s rich, rounded characterisations and witty repartee are shown off in this delightful screen play, which works not only verbally, but through visual as well as musical gags. And the mismatched characters of Felix and Oscar can never be out of date - opposites don’t attract, they just irritate! Watching Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau at work is one of those rare joys when you can sit back and watch the pros at work. There’s shtick, there’s deadpan delivery and there’s all the business that they dish out effortlessly. Felix is as irritating as ever - with his allergies, fanaticism and conservatism, whereas Matthau (whose crumpled face never ceases to delight me) is the tactless, unreliable slob who just can’t help himself. The combination is irresistible. The script flows seamlessly and one escapade smoothly drifts into the next. Look out for the scene where the boys (who are anxious to reach their destination quickly) get a lift in a vintage car, which is proceeding rather sedately. First a speeding car overtakes them. Then a bus passes them; then cyclists, then joggers, and lastly, people walking. The Odd Couple 2 captivates with a large dose of charm and wit, enveloping the viewer in a seductive bubble of good humour, when the most natural thing in the world to do is to smile throughout."
Louise Keller