The Odd Couple: Together Again

Getting the true odd couple together again was an inspired idea (I know, Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmonn did the movie first and Matthau and Art Carney were the very first Odd Couple in the original play). They were the best with the truest chemistry. It was and still is one of my favorite television shows of all time. It was hilarious! So, what happened to the reunion? It was dreadful. I know the actors were twenty years older but that didn't matter. The actors were fine. The script was lousy! It was juvenile and made little sense at times. For anyone to believe that a wife who supposedly loves her husband would ban him from his own daughter's wedding was too much of a stretch.

Jack and Tony were still good and the script did incorporate Jack's voice into the story quite well, but these two guys could have done much better. I have seen them both acting together on Broadway after this show was made in two separate plays (Three Men On A Horse and The Sunshine Boys). Both were well done although "Boys" was the better of the two. The point is, why couldn't they have had a stronger script?

Like others, it bothered me a lot that Al Molinaro did not play Murray. I know he retired by I still don't get why he wasn't there. He is still living and doing commercials, so why couldn't they get him to play Murray again? It was a small part in this movie. I wish someone had the answer to that. Also, I understand why Dick Van Patten was one of the poker players (He played the role when they reprised the play for the opening of Tony Randall's national Actor's Theater on Broadway, but what about John Fieldler. Why wasn't he Vinny? He remained active until his death in 2005.

The return of a sitcom gem has brought to light. "The Odd Couple: Together Again" brings back Tony Randall and Jack Klugman for a reunion that will last for a lifetime. Felix Unger(Randall) has remarried, and his only daughter, Edna(Toni Kalem) is getting married for the first time. All the time Felix has been the same: Fussy. His fussbudgetness gets him kick out of the house for only a few days. He goes back to his old resting ground, Oscar Madison(Klugman), who has recovered from throat cancer surgery. (The cancer claimed Klugman's larynx and vocal cord in real life, that's why he's very gruff now.) So while at Oscar's place, he and all his friends try to get his spirits back up. While that's in the works, the wedding plans are in the works. Then Felix is at it again, meddling. The fiancé, is divorced twice. And Felix starts jumping the gun again. This time, the wives he married were bad, not him. And it was Oscar who helps out the Ungers for Felix. Imagine, friends for life in god times and bad. Those two are inseparable. Maybe Oscar will be tying the knot himself for the second time. A great reunion movie, too bad some of the other casts couldn't make it like Al Molrinaro. It was good to see those two again. Sadly, it will the last for Randall. He died in 2004. R.I.P. Tony Randall! 4 out of 5 stars!

Tony Randall and Jack Klugman return as Oscar and Felix from the TV series. Twenty years have passed, and nothing has changed. Well, Klugman has had laryngeal surgery, so that's written into the story. And Randall's daughter, played by Pamelyn Ferdin in the show, has grown into Toni Kalem, who is about to be married. When Randall's insanity gets the wedding kicked out of the Plaza, Barbara Barrie, now playing his wife, kicks him out. So he goes to stay with Klugman.

By and large, it is an oversized episode of the 1970s show, with the usual neat/sloppy jokes, the poker game, and Penny Marshall reprising her role of Klugman's secretary. Clearly aimed at people who were nostalgic for what the network suits used to hyperventilate about because it was a coded gay comedy, it offers nothing new, and the pace lacks the snap of the TV series.

"The Odd Couple: Together Again" is a reunion movie for a 1970s TV series. This came out during a period in which quite a few TV shows of the 1960s-70s were having reunion movies....mostly very bad ones. The worst were "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Green Acres" because so many of the original actors were dead...or just looked dead on the screen. But the rest were, in general, a bad lot...such as "Return to Mayberry" and "Leave it to Beaver"...in which June talks to Ward by talking to his gravestone! A most cringe-worthy scene indeed!

So, is "The Odd Couple: Together Again" any different or is it just another painful and forced reunion? Well, at the outset it was hindered a bit as a few of the series regulars were not in the film...and although John Fiedler (Vinnie), Al Molinaro (Murray) and Janis Hansen (Gloria) were alive, they didn't participate in the project and I have no idea why.

The story is has two main plots. First, Felix is still with Gloria following the final episode of the series. But, his daughter is getting married and he's driving his 'Gloria' crazy....so she sends him to temporarily live with Oscar. As for Oscar, he's just had throat cancer surgery and he just wants to have EVERYONE leave him alone. Felix, on the other hand, won't let Oscar shut out the world and spends much of the film working hard to get Oscar involved with life.

So is it any good? Well, as far as the set goes, yes. Although the original sets no longer existed, they did a good job of recreating the first set from the old series. As far as actors go, I mentioned above that they lacked all the old actors...but I admire them for including Klugman and not shying away from his real life throat surgeries. He sounded like a gravely frog but was understandable and I'm glad he was in the movie...although it was a bit sad to watch as well. As for Tony Randall, he WAS Felix in every possible way and did a great job.

This brings us to the most important aspect of this made for TV movie....the plot. It's not as funny as the shows, which is understandable considering the throat cancer theme! Making it as funny would have been difficult...and a bit tacky. But it was poignant and sweet...which works for me.

Apparently, this project as well as a traveling show, were pet projects for Randall...as the way he acts in the film is similar to their real life relationship. In real life, he tried his best to help Klugman get out of the house and face the world...which was very sweet. Overall, a surprisingly good reunion movie even if it's not the comedy most would expect.

As a lover of the classic TV series, I had to watch this movie. When I watched it, I was badly disappointed. Randall and Klugman have aged and it really showed in their performances. Many of the original cast members were absent here and this also hurt. The plot was understandable, however the performances were not very good, especially by many of the substitute actors. Al Molanaro as Murry the cop was sorely missed as were many of Oscar and Felix's poker buddies. They managed to write Klugman's throat cancer into the script which helped a bit.

In summary, This TV movie was a far cry from the classic TV series and I would not recommend it.