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Title:	The Odd Couple (1967)
Studio Line:	Paramount Pictures Neil Simon has a special genius for finding the great hilarity in ordinary people doing everyday things. Like two divorced men who decide to share a New York apartment. That's the premise of The Odd Couple, though there's nothing odd in the casting of two Oscar-winning talents like Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. The two veteran funnymen work together with the precision timing of a vaudeville team, but always with bright spontaneity. Lemmon plays fussy Felix, fastidious to a fault. He proves that cleanliness is next to insanity. Mattau is Oscar, who wreaks havoc on a tidy room with the speed and thoroughness of a tornado. An enduring and endearing picture, with the intelligence one usually misses in comedies.
Director:	Gene Saks
Cast:	Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, John Fiedler, Herb Edelman, David Sheiner, Larry Haines, Monica Evans, Carole Shelley
Academy Awards:	Nominated for Best Screenplay; Best Film Editing, 1969.
DVD:	Widescreen 2.35:1/16x9; audio English DD 5.1 & Monaural, French Monaural; subtitles English; closed-captioned; single sided - single layered; 16 chapters; rated PG; 105 min.; $29.99; street date 12/12/00.
Supplements:	Theatrical Trailer.
Purchase:	DVD

Picture/Sound/Extras: B+/B/D- Many movies have been adapted into TV shows, but few have been genuinely successful in this regard. M*A*S*H stands as the champion in this regard; not only did the show live up to the film, but it probably exceeded it as it ultimately became one of the most successful TV programs in history. The Odd Couple never achieved the success of M*A*S*H, but some people think it was a better TV show. Actually, it’s hard to compare the two simply because M*A*S*H aired for so many more years than did The Odd Couple; the latter managed a five-year stint while M*A*S*H stuck it out for a whopping 11 years. Inevitably the quality decreases with that length of a run, so it’d be more appropriate to compare the two in a briefer period of time. In any case, The Odd Couple made for a terrific show. I’d always thought the TV program bettered the 1968 movie, but since it’d been quite a long time since I saw the latter, I was curious to watch it again and determine if my opinion changed. Nope. The TV version of TOC remains the perfect rendition of the story, mainly due to the performances of its stars. Yes, Tony Randall and Jack Klugman seem to have an unfair advantage since I grew up with them as Felix and Oscar (respectively). However, just because I’m accustomed to certain performers in various roles doesn’t mean that I can’t change my mind; I thought Roger Moore was the best Bond for quite some time before I realized the idiocy of my ways and changed my vote to Sean Connery. However, nothing that I saw in the film version of TOC gave me reason to alter my opinion: Randall and Klugman are it. If one wanted to argue about it, you’d have a better shot championing the virtues of Walter Matthau’s Oscar; it’s a much closer competition between him and Klugman. Actually, Matthau probably offers the better portrayal of the role; his laissez faire attitude seems a little more convincing and he makes Oscar less of a grouch. Klugman could over-emote at times and demonstrate inappropriate histrionics as Oscar. However, his chemistry with Randall was outstanding, so that’s why he remains my choice. As for the comparison between Randall and Jack Lemmon’s Felix, there is no comparison. Lemmon is a terrific actor but I didn’t care for his spin on the character. Frankly, he made Felix much too aggressive and unlikable. Granted, Felix can be awfully annoying and hard to embrace, but there needs to be some level of redeeming characteristics at work. I didn’t see that in Lemmon’s performance; he creates an irritating jerk who seemed much too strident. Randall excelled for a number of reasons. First of all, he made all of Felix’s quirks appear natural, and we saw a range of emotions in the character. Yes, Felix was and always will be a caricature, but Randall brought out the humanity in the role. We loved his Felix in spite of himself. Randall’s impeccable comic timing didn’t hurt either, and Felix works better as a martyr than as an abrasive nuisance. As much as you want to swat Randall’s Felix, you could always empathize with him to a degree, and Randall really know how to push the character’s buttons in just the right proportions. My strong preference for the TV edition of TOC aside, I still found the film to be a mildly interesting experience. It’s a fairly witty flick that has held up reasonably well over the years. However, I really found it tough to get beyond my fondness for the TV show. I continually thought how much better it would execute gags, and how much funnier the acting would be. As such, I don’t know how objective I can be about The Odd Couple. I grew up watching the TV show, and as I’ve learned through continued reruns, I still think it’s a fantastic piece of work. The movie provided able groundwork for it but simply doesn’t stand up well in comparison with the TV series’ delights. I enjoyed the time I spent with the movie of The Odd Couple but still would rather have watched the TV show. One trivia note: only two actors continued their roles from the movie into the TV series. That would be the Pigeon sisters, played by Monica Evans and Carole Shelley. However, they weren’t the only performers from the film to appear on the show; John Fiedler - the movie’s Vinnie - also made two separate appearances on the series as different characters. Picture/Sound/Extras: B+/B/D- The Odd Couple appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this single-sided, single-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. Though the picture occasionally showed its age, as a whole I thought it provided a terrific viewing experience. Sharpness looked consistently fine, as the majority of the movie seemed crisp and well-defined. Any instances of softness were exceedingly minor. All in all, the picture appeared detailed throughout the film. Moiré effects and jagged edges presented no concerns, and artifacts from the anamorphic downconversion on my 4X3 TV seemed modest. Print flaws were wonderfully absent. I saw a smidgen of light grain and a few speckles, but these weren’t much more prevalent than what I’d see in a modern film; for the defects to be so few on such an old movie seemed remarkable. It was a clean and fresh image. Colors appeared nicely true and accurate. TOC generally used a fairly restricted palette - it stayed with a lot of interior shots and featured a modest brownish tint to much of the film - but the hues we did see were well-rendered. The red hair and flashy dresses of the Pigeon sisters offered the best examples of the DVD’s fine color display, as both aspects looks bright and vivid. Black levels seemed deep and rich, and although shadow detail could slightly heavy at times, I found the low-light situations to come across as acceptably clear and easily visible. Ultimately, The Odd Couple looked genuinely terrific. I was also quite impressed with the film’s remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. This came from the original monaural mix - which also appears on the DVD - and it provided a fairly strong auditory experience. The soundfield demonstrated a definite bias toward the forward channels. Sound spread modestly to the sides, mainly due to the stereo score. I also heard some evidence of effects from the right and left speakers, and the package blended together in a quiet but efficient manner. The surrounds provided almost no noticeable audio. At most they offered gentle reinforcement of effects and music, but for all intents and purposes, they didn’t exist. Audio quality seemed dated but good. Dialogue sounded reasonably natural and distinct, and speech largely lacked evidence of edginess or problems related to intelligibility. When the actors left the confines of the interior sets - which was rare - the lines could sound rougher, but these instances caused no major concerns. Effects seemed slightly thin but came across as acceptably realistic and clear, and the score was nicely rich and bright. At times the music seemed somewhat harsh, but as a whole it seemed clean and vivid. Make no mistake: the soundtrack to The Odd Couple showed its age. However, for a 32-year-old track, it worked surprisingly well and it complemented the fine visuals effectively. The only area in which this DVD falls flat relates to its extras. We get almost nothing here. All we have is the film’s theatrical trailer. It’s too bad that such a solid presentation couldn’t be better supported with some nice supplements. Frankly, I only found the movie of The Odd Couple interesting as a curiosity. My affection for the TV show on which it was based remains very strong, which makes it difficult for me to see much of value from the film; I think the TV series outdid it in almost every way. Nonetheless, TOC is a generally witty and interesting feature. The DVD offered very good picture and sound but lacked significant extras. Despite that disappointment, already-established fans of the movie will be pleased with the quality of this DVD; this is the best TOC has ever looked and sounded. If you’re a bigger fan of Randall and Klugman, however, you should give the film a rental. Menu: DVD Movie Guide | Archive | Top