Critics Reviews
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| Nov 13, 1998TotalFilm
That Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau claim The Odd Couple 2 is better than the original means theyre either playing the publicity game or theyve gone senile since they first appeared as mismatched flatmates Felix and Oscar.
The man responsible for the duff screenplay is original scriptwriter Neil Simon, but like Lemmon and Matthau, his wits seem to have deserted him here.
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| Apr 10, 1998San Francisco Chronicle
Don't blame Lemmon and Matthau for this mess
And the problem is Simon.
Compare "Odd Couple II" to Simon's early work, compare it to the original, and it comes out sounding bland and slow and all too ordinary.
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| Apr 09, 1998Los Angeles Times
Even in a knockoff mood, Simon can turn a phrase.
Now, they're back, having survived three decades of fastidiousness and slovenliness on their own, thrown together on the road in California by Neil Simon and the popularity of the "Grumpy Old Men" movies.
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Film Journal International
NEIL SIMON'S THE ODD COUPLE II Rated:PG-13 For movie details, please click here .
Unfortunately--no offense, now--this is mainly a case of the Old Couple, given the mediocre direction of Howard Deutch (who worked with L & M on Grumpier Old Men) and, mostly, the surprisingly bland script by Neil Simon (who also helped produce) that is hopelessly bereft of his usual easy magic for snappy, cascading one-liners.
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Chicago Sun-Times
Perhaps it seemed to the producers that the combination of Simon, Lemmon, Matthau and the words ``odd couple'' were a sufficient guarantee of success.
The movie slogs on and on, Matthau and Lemmon gamely delivering lines that may contain mechanical wit, but no impulse or dramatic purpose.
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Urban Cinefile
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.
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 cant help himself.
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ShowBIZ Data
Jack Mathews, writing for Newsday and the Los Angeles Times, sees the film not so much as a sequel but as a revival of "vaudeville with a touch of burlesque ...
Simon's screenplay is so clunky and devoid of real jokes that the actors are reduced to desperate mugging and shouting to try to pump some energy into their bickering dialogue," writes Stephen Holden in today's (Friday) New York Times.
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The Cincinnati Enquirer
A talented supporting cast doesn't get to join in the fun very much.
The two stars are graceful enough comic actors to make the most of the skimpy rations they get here; Mr. Matthau in particular has a great knack for wringing laughs from simple -- or pointless -- lines.
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