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Popcorn Reviews
With Cybčle: The
Odd Couple II and Grumpy Old Men
By Cybčle Elaine Werts
CybeleW@aol.com
First published
in the Shelburne News, Shelburne Vermont
Popcorn rating (four possible): Three kernels
for hearty laughs throughout.
It just so happens that I watched Grumpy Old
Men on TV the evening before I rented The Odd Couple II. Never
mind, because they are essentially the same anyway. Fortunately
that is a good thing, a funny thing. If not great art or drama,
these films are great entertainment based mostly on the
unbelievable chemistry between Lemmon and Matthau.
Both take the hip and sad sides of old age and
turn them into a good meal. Of the two, Grumpy Old Men has more
meat and a better story, but the Odd Couple shtick wasn’t lost
on me either. If some moments seemed deconstructed from a
stand-up routine, at least it was a funny one.
Suggested gustatory accompaniment: Bagels and
lox for the Borscht Belt (Jewish) humor (thanks to writer Neil
Simon) that holds up even though its Pine Barrens heyday is long
over.
Copyright 2000
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