The Odd Couple II
Encyclopedia
The Odd Couple II is the 1998 sequel to 1968's The Odd Couple
. The movie reunites Jack Lemmon
and Walter Matthau
in their last film together.
. One day, he is called by his son Brucey with an invitation to California for his wedding the following Sunday. A second shock for Oscar—the woman his son is marrying is Felix's daughter, Hannah.
On the flight from New York to Los Angeles, it becomes clear that Felix hasn't changed his ways—he's still a fussy, allergy-suffering nuisance. Oscar and Felix are reunited at the airport and very happy to be together again—at least for a few minutes.
They take a rental car to San Malina for the wedding. But the trip begins with Oscar forgetting Felix's suitcase at the car rental, including the wedding gifts and wardrobe inside. Oscar also loses the directions to San Malina when his cigar ash burns them.
He and Felix become hopelessly lost on their way, unable to even remember the name of the town where they are headed. They end up in the desert, where the car rolls off a cliff and catches fire. If that were not enough, they get arrested several times by the local police, first for driving a truck carrying illegal Mexican immigrants, and then for being inside a $150,000 vintage Rolls Royce Silver Wraith with a dead man.
Irritated, exhausted and convinced that they'll never get to the wedding, they get arrested yet again for consorting with armed rednecks who believe Oscar and Felix were flirting with their wild women Thelma and Holly. The boys are freed and driven to the local airport by the police, who are only too pleased to be rid of them.
Felix and Oscar make it to the wedding, but not before Felix falls for a woman on the airplane. Her name is Felice Adams, the sister of Oscar's ex-wife, Blanche. (He calls her "Lis", which causes Oscar to ask Felix if she calls him "Lix".)
They arrive to find that Brucey is having second thoughts about the wedding due to his parents' bad history with marriage. Felix and Oscar argue with their ex-spouses, after which Oscar persuades his son to go through with it. Felix's suitcase is returned and the wedding goes off without a hitch.
The next morning, Felix and Felice leave on one flight and part ways with Oscar, who returns to Florida. Oscar is telling his poker friends about the wedding when the door bell rings. It is Felix, who says things with Felice didn't work out.
Felix wonders if he could move in with Oscar until he finds his own place. Oscar says no, but eventually he relents. Before long Felix is cleaning up the apartment and Oscar is overcome with a sense of having been through all this before after thirty years.
films in the 1990s, this project was not as successful as expected.
Stephen Holden's review in the April 10, 1998 New York Times called it "a dispiriting, flavorless travesty, the equivalent of moldy tofu mystery meat."
The Odd Couple II grossed a low $18 million at the domestic box office and although Lemmon and Matthau's previous film Out to Sea
also disappointed, it was received better by critics and had a slightly higher box office gross.
Each actor made only one more theatrical film: The Legend of Bagger Vance
for Lemmon and Hanging Up
for Matthau, both in 2000.
The Odd Couple (film)
The Odd Couple is a 1968 comedy film written by Neil Simon, based on his play The Odd Couple, directed by Gene Saks, and starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau...
. The movie reunites Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
and Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
in their last film together.
Plot
It's been 17 years since Oscar Madison and Felix Unger have seen one another. Oscar is still a compulsive gambler and an untidy slob, now retired and living in Sarasota, FloridaSarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
. One day, he is called by his son Brucey with an invitation to California for his wedding the following Sunday. A second shock for Oscar—the woman his son is marrying is Felix's daughter, Hannah.
On the flight from New York to Los Angeles, it becomes clear that Felix hasn't changed his ways—he's still a fussy, allergy-suffering nuisance. Oscar and Felix are reunited at the airport and very happy to be together again—at least for a few minutes.
They take a rental car to San Malina for the wedding. But the trip begins with Oscar forgetting Felix's suitcase at the car rental, including the wedding gifts and wardrobe inside. Oscar also loses the directions to San Malina when his cigar ash burns them.
He and Felix become hopelessly lost on their way, unable to even remember the name of the town where they are headed. They end up in the desert, where the car rolls off a cliff and catches fire. If that were not enough, they get arrested several times by the local police, first for driving a truck carrying illegal Mexican immigrants, and then for being inside a $150,000 vintage Rolls Royce Silver Wraith with a dead man.
Irritated, exhausted and convinced that they'll never get to the wedding, they get arrested yet again for consorting with armed rednecks who believe Oscar and Felix were flirting with their wild women Thelma and Holly. The boys are freed and driven to the local airport by the police, who are only too pleased to be rid of them.
Felix and Oscar make it to the wedding, but not before Felix falls for a woman on the airplane. Her name is Felice Adams, the sister of Oscar's ex-wife, Blanche. (He calls her "Lis", which causes Oscar to ask Felix if she calls him "Lix".)
They arrive to find that Brucey is having second thoughts about the wedding due to his parents' bad history with marriage. Felix and Oscar argue with their ex-spouses, after which Oscar persuades his son to go through with it. Felix's suitcase is returned and the wedding goes off without a hitch.
The next morning, Felix and Felice leave on one flight and part ways with Oscar, who returns to Florida. Oscar is telling his poker friends about the wedding when the door bell rings. It is Felix, who says things with Felice didn't work out.
Felix wonders if he could move in with Oscar until he finds his own place. Oscar says no, but eventually he relents. Before long Felix is cleaning up the apartment and Oscar is overcome with a sense of having been through all this before after thirty years.
Cast
- Jack LemmonJack LemmonJohn Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
as Felix Unger - Walter MatthauWalter MatthauWalter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
as Oscar Madison - Richard RiehleRichard Riehle-Life and career:Riehle was born in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, the son of Mary Margaret , a nurse, and Herbert John Riehle , an assistant postmaster. He attended the University of Notre Dame....
as Detective - Jonathan SilvermanJonathan Silverman-Personal life:Silverman was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Devora and Hillel Emanuel Silverman, a rabbi. He is the grandson of famous Conservative Rabbi Morris Silverman. David Schwimmer was his best friend in high school. He is married to actress Jennifer Finnigan who he briefly co...
as Brucey Madison - Lisa WaltzLisa Waltz-Personal life:Waltz was born and raised in Limerick, Pennsylvania. She attended Spring-Ford Area High School in Royersford, Pennsylvania, and Carnegie-Mellon University.-Career:...
as Hannah Unger - Mary Beth PeilMary Beth PeilMary Beth Peil is an American actress and singer.-Early life:Born in Davenport, Iowa in 1940, Peil trained as an opera singer at Northwestern University under Lotte Lehmann. There she became a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority...
as Felice Adams - Christine BaranskiChristine BaranskiChristine Jane Baranski is an American stage and screen actress, and is perhaps best known for her Emmy Award winning portrayal as "Maryanne Thorpe" in the sitcom Cybill, and her Emmy nominated portrayal of "Diane Lockhart" in The Good Wife...
as Thelma - Jean SmartJean SmartJean E. Smart is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is known for her comedic roles, one of the best known being her role as Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the CBS sitcom Designing Women. She later gained critical acclaim for dramatic work, with her portrayal of Martha Logan on 24...
as Holly - Rex LinnRex LinnRex Maynard Linn is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Frank Tripp in the television series CSI: Miami.-Early life:...
as JayJay - Jay O. SandersJay O. SandersJay Olcutt Sanders is an American character actor.Sanders was born in Austin, Texas, to Phyllis Rae and James Olcutt Sanders. He is noted for playing Mob lawyer character Steven Kordo in the 1986–88 NBC detective series Crime Story...
as Leroy - Barnard HughesBarnard HughesBernard Aloysius Kiernan “Barnard” Hughes was an American actor of theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dithering authority figure or grandfatherly elder.-Personal life:Hughes was born in Bedford...
as Beaumont - Ellen GeerEllen GeerEllen Ware Geer is an American actress, professor, screenwriter, film director and theatre director.-Personal life:Geer was born in New York City, New York, the daughter of actors Herta Ware and Will Geer. She is currently married to children's musician Peter Alsop, and was previously married to...
as Frances Unger Melnick
- Doris Belack as Blanche Madison Povitch
- Lou CutellLou CutellLou Cutell is a movie and television actor. He portrayed the proctologist, Dr. Cooperman, in "The Fusilli Jerry" episode of the television series Seinfeld and Leo Funkhouser on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Among cult movie fans, he is best known for his portrayal of Dr...
as Abe - Mary Fogarty as Flossie, the Grouch
- Alice GhostleyAlice GhostleyAlice Margaret Ghostley was an American actress. She was best known for her roles as housekeeper Esmeralda on Bewitched, as Cousin Alice on Mayberry R.F.D., and as Bernice Clifton on Designing Women, for which she received an Emmy Nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1992...
as Esther, the Whiner - Peggy Miley as Millie, the Nosher
- Rebecca SchullRebecca SchullRebecca Schull is an American film and television actress.Schull studied acting in the United States and in Dublin, Ireland...
as Wanda, the Vixen - Florence StanleyFlorence StanleyFlorence Stanley was an American actress of stage, film, and television.-Early life and career:Florence Stanley was born as Florence Schwartz in Chicago, the daughter of Hanna and Jack Schwartz. She began a long career on stage, film and TV starting in the 1940s...
as Hattie - Estelle HarrisEstelle HarrisEstelle Harris is an American stand-up comedienne, actress, voice artist, and comedienne, often recognized for her shrill, grating voice. She is best known for her role as Estelle Costanza on Seinfeld from 1992 to 1998, as the voice of Mrs...
as Flirting Woman - Amy YasbeckAmy YasbeckAmy Marie Yasbeck is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her role as Casey Chapel Davenport on the sitcom Wings from 1994-1997.-Early life:...
as Stewardess - Liz TorresLiz TorresElizabeth "Liz" Torres is an actress, singer, and comedienne of Puerto Rican descent.-Early years:Torres was born in the Bronx borough of New York City where her parents had settled after moving from Puerto Rico. There she received her primary and secondary education...
as Maria - Myles JeffreyMyles JeffreyMyles David Jeffrey is an American film, voice and television actor. His nicknames are Jaws, Smiles, Smiley Mylie, and MJ. He played Henry Paget on the U.S. TV show Early Edition.-Career:...
as the Little Boy - Daisy Velez as Conchita
- Joaquin Martinez as the Truck Driver
- Amy Parrish as the Computer Girl
Reception
The film was regarded as a failure critically and commercially. Despite the fact Lemmon and Matthau had success with their Grumpy Old MenGrumpy Old Men (film)
Grumpy Old Men is a 1993 American romantic comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, and Ann-Margret, with Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollak, Katie Sagona, Ossie Davis, and Buck Henry. Directed by Donald Petrie, the screenplay was written by Mark Steven Johnson, who also wrote...
films in the 1990s, this project was not as successful as expected.
Stephen Holden's review in the April 10, 1998 New York Times called it "a dispiriting, flavorless travesty, the equivalent of moldy tofu mystery meat."
The Odd Couple II grossed a low $18 million at the domestic box office and although Lemmon and Matthau's previous film Out to Sea
Out to Sea
Out to Sea is a 1997 romantic comedy film starring Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Rue McClanahan, Dyan Cannon and Brent Spiner. The film was directed by Martha Coolidge, with a screenplay by Robert Nelson Jacobs...
also disappointed, it was received better by critics and had a slightly higher box office gross.
Each actor made only one more theatrical film: The Legend of Bagger Vance
The Legend of Bagger Vance
The Legend of Bagger Vance is a 2000 American film directed by Robert Redford and starring Will Smith, Matt Damon and Charlize Theron. It is based on the 1995 book of the same title by Steven Pressfield and takes place in the U.S. state of Georgia in 1931...
for Lemmon and Hanging Up
Hanging Up
Hanging Up is a 2000 American comedy-drama film about a trio of sisters who bond over their ambivalence toward the approaching death of their curmudgeonly father, to whom none of them were particularly close...
for Matthau, both in 2000.
Miscellaneous
- This was Walter Matthau's first Neil Simon movie in 16 years since I Ought to Be in PicturesI Ought to Be in Pictures (film)Neil Simon's I Ought to Be in Pictures is a 1982 American comedy film directed by Herbert Ross and based on Neil Simon's play of the same name. The film stars Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, and Dinah Manoff...
. This would also be his last for Neil Simon as well. - The film holds the record for time between sequels (thirty years) while featuring the original stars.
- When Oscar and Felix are about to have their third and final run-in with the police, the footage of their car being stopped is actually from their first arrest, used again in this scene.