Some of the other comments here are critical - but several others wax enthusiastically over this presentation as being funny, witty, incisive, with a real, meaningful message. I thought it to be the opposite - and ironically, considering its author, that all three segments were virtually equally mediocre.
Babe Ruth went 0-for-4 sometimes, and there probably were shows where Sinatra was flat or Pavarotti's voice broke. Same for Simon here.
Walter Matthau made an art of playing the brash, devious, often smarmy, unctuous character on the right side of the line between funny and annoying. All three of his characters here were far onto the wrong side.
The movie producer, out to seduce an old high school flame, now settled and married (and way down in his "black book") was the epitome of smarmy/unctuous/phony).
The unhappy, successful businessman/husband, was the epitome of the chauvinistic, self-absorbed middle-age baboon.
And the father of the bride for the plush wedding party gone awry (even back then, an event like this would have been way up into five figures at The Plaza), was pretty much a one-dimensional loudmouth oaf.
The two wives, and high school classmate were played by three excellent actresses, with each character weak, unimaginative and one-dimensional. The daughter/fiancé in the wedding were as uninteresting and unsympathetic as her parents and his future in-laws.
Finally, without exception, every single one of these persons was annoying. This movie's tape is a time capsule example of the word "annoying."
Mark it three stars only for the technicality that it should be noted each segment rates only 1*.
Babe Ruth went 0-for-4 sometimes, and there probably were shows where Sinatra was flat or Pavarotti's voice broke. Same for Simon here.
Walter Matthau made an art of playing the brash, devious, often smarmy, unctuous character on the right side of the line between funny and annoying. All three of his characters here were far onto the wrong side.
The movie producer, out to seduce an old high school flame, now settled and married (and way down in his "black book") was the epitome of smarmy/unctuous/phony).
The unhappy, successful businessman/husband, was the epitome of the chauvinistic, self-absorbed middle-age baboon.
And the father of the bride for the plush wedding party gone awry (even back then, an event like this would have been way up into five figures at The Plaza), was pretty much a one-dimensional loudmouth oaf.
The two wives, and high school classmate were played by three excellent actresses, with each character weak, unimaginative and one-dimensional. The daughter/fiancé in the wedding were as uninteresting and unsympathetic as her parents and his future in-laws.
Finally, without exception, every single one of these persons was annoying. This movie's tape is a time capsule example of the word "annoying."
Mark it three stars only for the technicality that it should be noted each segment rates only 1*.