Plaza Suite

3 wonderful short stories are fused together in this 1971 film.

The first story, which is the best, stars Walter Matthau and Maureen Stapleton as a couple whose marriage is failing and is spending their 23rd or 24th wedding anniversary there. Stapleton is terrific here as always. She shows great depth in going from a ditsy housewife to a woman hurt by the affair her husband has been having with his secretary.

In the typical tradition of Simon, Stapleton wonders why her husband couldn't be more original since all men have affairs with their secretaries.

Matthau stars in the second story as well but this time with Barbara Harris. As a Hollywood producer, he has come to N.Y. on business but has other things on his mind such as the seduction of Harris, a housewife from N.J. that he knew years ago when he lived in Tenafly. Matthau is quite funny here with his attempt to be suave and slick. While constantly changing her times of departure, Harris is hilarious while becoming quite inebriated from the liquor that Matthau serves up. Yet, this is the weakest of the 3 stories since you can't await for that bedroom scene that invariably takes place. Guess that Harris' marriage to Larry isn't as great as she made it out to be after all.

In the 3rd segment, Matthau and Lee Grant star as a couple whose daughter is about to be married at the hotel. Trouble is she has wedding jitters so she locks herself in the bathroom. A very funny routine is establish by Matthau and Grant attempting to get her to come out and get married. It is only when her husband-to-be is summoned, he solves everything by telling her to "cool it." So, here we see the generation gap is action.

The common link in the film is room 719 where the 3 stories take place. If only the walls could talk, they'd tell you not to miss this film.

Matthau scores in all three vignettes from Neil Simon's long running triumph about different people who stay at a particular room in the posh New York hotel. His three ladies Stapelton, Harris and Grant are also wonderful. This is among the best of Simon's works to be adapted for the screen.

Not very funny or interesting. All three of the skits are pretty boring. I could hardly keep myself awake during the second one, I only watched the third one because i heard it was the best of the three, It was just as bad as the first two. Walter Matthau is a fine actor but not in here.

I just watched this movie for the first time. And I have re-watched the first "act" a number of times now. I never gave Maureen Stapleton much of a thought, frankly. Until I watched this movie. I like this movie very much. It will be one of my "go-to's,"- those pictures that I can always watch and always enjoy. Matthau is effective throughout. Act 2 is played quite broadly, and it's a fun segment, but the weakest. Act 3 is (because I can't think of a better descriptor) conventionally funny - it follows the familiar pattern, and it's very good. But the best is the first act where the real focus is Stapleton. From the moment we first see her, she looks real. I wager that most people who watch this movie knows someone that is her character. Watch her closely, as she puts nuance into every scene - the expressions on her face, the gestures. There's a scene where she sits down on a bed, back to the camera as Matthau leaves the room. It's followed by her talking to herself. It's a brilliant bit of acting, that feels so real, and struck an emotional chord in me. I gave this an "8." If I had to grade each act separately, it would be: Act 1 - 10; Act 2 - 7; Act 3 - 8 Watch and enjoy.

Walter Matthau plays 3 different characters,each convincing it's a different person. My favorite segment is the one with Barbara Harris though. Great chemistry those two had in that scene! Maureen Stapleton was kinda funny too,but by the third act I got bored and turned it off. Maybe I'll finish it soon.