Not that this was a total stinker, but seeing two of the greatest actors and comedians make such a disappointing swan song as a team is very sad. The premise simply doesn't play as well when you have seen it so many times in the past. It started with The Fortune Cookie which wasn't a great film but it utilized them, especially Matthau, in a way that simply clicked. From the moment Matthau says his first line we were almost certain that he was up to no good but still in a way which made us like him, even more than Lemmon, the put upon character. Then there was the first Odd Couple and the magic was still there. That film was simply brilliant because the lines were snappier and Lemmon was much more funny than expected.
Here it simply doesn't work. I can't exactly put my finger on it but it seems that putting Oscar and Felix in a road trip movie is just an excuse to see how many senile old man jokes the director can come up with. First of all, they forget which town they are going to which isn't very funny to begin with. Then their car goes over a cliff, a joke that really belongs in a Warner Bros. cartoon and last they get arrested, not once but several times. Not very funny. Oh, yes I almost forgot about the driver who only goes about 2 miles an hour and then croaks. Ha Ha.
Lemmon was a multi-talent who could both be outrageously funny and dead serious and Matthau could deliver in both ways too, although he was always more of a comic actor. It's sad that they are both gone now and seeing this is like going to a carnival and discover that all the rides are broken.
Here it simply doesn't work. I can't exactly put my finger on it but it seems that putting Oscar and Felix in a road trip movie is just an excuse to see how many senile old man jokes the director can come up with. First of all, they forget which town they are going to which isn't very funny to begin with. Then their car goes over a cliff, a joke that really belongs in a Warner Bros. cartoon and last they get arrested, not once but several times. Not very funny. Oh, yes I almost forgot about the driver who only goes about 2 miles an hour and then croaks. Ha Ha.
Lemmon was a multi-talent who could both be outrageously funny and dead serious and Matthau could deliver in both ways too, although he was always more of a comic actor. It's sad that they are both gone now and seeing this is like going to a carnival and discover that all the rides are broken.