TCM 365 Project Day 12: The Odd Couple (1968)

TCM 365 Project Day 12:  The Odd Couple (1968) directed by Neil Simon

Neil Simon.  Jack Lemmon.  Walter Matthau.
There are few times when the sum of the parts says it all.  Of the 33 plays written by the majestic Neil Simon, perhaps the Odd Couple- while not his greatest play- has yielded the best translation into celluloid.  Simon himself penned the screenplay adaptation of his smash 1965 Broadway hit that showcased the daily trials and tribulations of the most unlikeliest of housemates- the boorish, messy, cigar-chewing sportswriter Oscar and the fastidious, neurotic, compulsive newswriter Felix- forced to coexist in the wake of divorce and separation.
The play was an instant hit for Simon and his two leads- Walter Matthau and Art Carney - who were later wooed by Paramount Pictures for a film version.  But the boys of Paramount decided that Mr. Carney did not quite posses the "screen power" needed to pull off equal billing with the rising star of Matthau, and Jack Lemmon was quietly ushered in as the neurotic Felix Ungar.
The casting move proved sheer magic as Lemmon and Matthau shared the screen to utter perfection- a perfection that would be recaptured in ten feature films headlining the duo.
The screenplay is sharp, smart and crackling; Simon is perceptive and transcendent; Matthau is soulful and endearing; and Jack Lemmon hints at the promise of what he would ultimately become- America's most capable male actor in generations.
Yet this is not to say that the Odd Couple is not without flaws.  Director Gene Saks seemingly flounders in the transition from stage to screen, and is only redeemed by the capable talents of his leads and that potion they posses that can never be adapted- pure chemistry.  Funny and touching, the Odd Couple works- and it works, above all, due to the brilliant mind- and pen - of Neil Simon.