As the marquee near the Palace Theater in Times Square advertises both "Grease" and "Raisin" in the background, basically retired vaudeville star Walter Matthau saunters through midtown looking for the address where he is to audition for a potato chip commercial. he quickly finds, much to his grouchy chagrin, that he is on the wrong side of town, and must be on East 43rd rather than West 43rd. A squabble with mechanic F Murray Abraham sets him straight, and with nephew and agent Richard Benjamin stalling for him, Matthau finally makes it, hilariously screwing up the audition and probably losing the commercial role to mouth popping comedian Fritz Feld. It's up to Benjamin to find his uncle a gig, and fortunately with the nostalgic raise in place, is able to get Matthau a television gig doing his old routines, on the condition that he reconciles with his estranged partner, George Burns, who now lives in quiet retirement in the country. A reunion between the two funny men, long out of the limelight, creates more problems for television producers than it's worth, but as the two old friends spend time together, their reunion takes on some amusing twists that are both touching and funny, yet certainly risky of giving many people involved in this reunions show a great deal of stress, more than just Matthau who undergoes some health issues because of the strain he faces.
This film version of the hit Neil Simon play is one of those films that works in spite of not really having a concrete story, just two pros at their very best and a director, Herbert Ross, who knows how to make that sort of material work. Benjamin, reacting to every little bit of tension his uncle creates hysterically, may seem out of his element when compared to Matthau and Burns, but knows how to create a lot out of nearly nothing. However, it is the two stars who command the attention here, with Matthau aged greatly for his part and Burns stepping in for longtime Jack Benny who has passed away after being offered that role. it would have been a much different film if Benny had lived to play it, and certainly would have been equally as good, but Burns honors the memory of his friend by underplaying the role like Jack would have and came out of it winning an Oscar.
The nostalgia craze had taken over the entertainment industry in the early 70s, particularly Broadway, and that led to television jumping on the bandwagon, especially after the success of the Music Hall documentary "That's Entertainment!" Some great opening credits with fantastic early film clips had me noticing similarities between the songs "Be a Clown!" and "Make em' Laugh", not only in theme but in the music as well. This is a slice-of-life comedy of to aging has-been's where each line between the two is comic gold. Phyllis Diller has a hysterical cameo as herself, and in the Vaudeville sketch, Lee Meredith of Mel Brooks' "The Producers", shows off more of what she's got to flaunt. This is practically perfect in every way and truly stands the test of time as outstanding entertainment and a memory of a time in Show Business history that we will never ever see again.
This film version of the hit Neil Simon play is one of those films that works in spite of not really having a concrete story, just two pros at their very best and a director, Herbert Ross, who knows how to make that sort of material work. Benjamin, reacting to every little bit of tension his uncle creates hysterically, may seem out of his element when compared to Matthau and Burns, but knows how to create a lot out of nearly nothing. However, it is the two stars who command the attention here, with Matthau aged greatly for his part and Burns stepping in for longtime Jack Benny who has passed away after being offered that role. it would have been a much different film if Benny had lived to play it, and certainly would have been equally as good, but Burns honors the memory of his friend by underplaying the role like Jack would have and came out of it winning an Oscar.
The nostalgia craze had taken over the entertainment industry in the early 70s, particularly Broadway, and that led to television jumping on the bandwagon, especially after the success of the Music Hall documentary "That's Entertainment!" Some great opening credits with fantastic early film clips had me noticing similarities between the songs "Be a Clown!" and "Make em' Laugh", not only in theme but in the music as well. This is a slice-of-life comedy of to aging has-been's where each line between the two is comic gold. Phyllis Diller has a hysterical cameo as herself, and in the Vaudeville sketch, Lee Meredith of Mel Brooks' "The Producers", shows off more of what she's got to flaunt. This is practically perfect in every way and truly stands the test of time as outstanding entertainment and a memory of a time in Show Business history that we will never ever see again.