The Sunshine Boys

Back in the 1960's and 70's nobody was funnier than comedy couple Al Lewis and Willy Clark. Part of their appeal was their banter and running arguments but, since these continued offstage, Al decided to split up. Years later, Willy has never forgiven Al for deciding their join career was over but work for both men has dried up – especially for Willy, who alienates even those interested in hearing him audition for adverts. When Warner Brothers approaches Willy's niece with a part in a big Christmas movie for both the men. They both need it, but Al cannot face it if Willy is difficult, while Willy has no intension of making it easy for Al.

The cast attracted me to this television remake of the Sunshine Boys and indeed at the end of the whole thing it is the cast that is the main reason for watching it. The script offers a character study with bitter wit, one liners and character development. It is the latter that I had hoped would be done well but sadly it isn't as smart and detailed a character piece as I was looking forward. As it is the development does rather stop on the surface of the characters and, aside from the history that we are told, there isn't a lot of evidence of an actual relationship. The words that Al and Willy say tell us that they have this history but the script didn't given enough in the way of depth into the words. Erman directs in a solid way and tends to make sure that his cast are allowed to be static and deliver.

Falk has the best material because he has the difficult character. He does the grumpy stuff really well but he can't show the real person just below the front. Allen is enjoyable as plays his usual personae, although he also struggles to find much of a person below his one liners. They make a good pairing when they share scenes together. The support cast is surprisingly starry. Nobody really makes a mark but everyone is solid enough and has Parker in a main role as well as cameos from McKean, Schreiber, Goldberg and Falco. The sharp eyed will also spot Jennifer Esposito and Oz's Kirk Acevedo.

Overall then an amusing character piece but it does seem to be driven by the presence of stars rather than strong development of the title characters. I was a bit disappointed by this and, although the humour and cast kept me watching, there wasn't anywhere near the substance that they (and the audience) deserved.

This is a made-for -TV film of the Neil Simon comedy, better known in the Walter Matthau and George Burns version. Peter Falk and Woody Allen play two grumpy old comedians who get back together after many years of mutual hatred.

Woody Allen understates his performance in the George Burns role and his character is pleasingly different from his normal screen persona. Unfortunately Peter Falk's performance is so mannered that it renders the film virtually unwatchable

This is awful.. I couldn't finish it. Falk is so annoying- he ruins any fun you might have convinced yourself you had- he reads his lines like a pitbull with a kid in it's mouth- and it's about as funny. Allen comes off better but is lit from behind like a traveling mummy exhibit. Michael Jackson has less chalk on his face than Allen. What would possess Woody to do reworked Neil Simon material? SKIP IT!

The Sunshine Boys always struck me as a lesser Neil Simon comedy, amusing and likable but neither as funny nor as insightful as his best work. The original movie worked mainly because of a terrific cast. But this less well-cast and less well-directed TV remake exhibits all the flaws and none of the strengths of Simon's light work.

There are so many problems with this movie. Falk and Allen are too mismatched, with Falk overplaying to the point of annoyance and Woody underplaying to the point of putting me to sleep. They are both talented people, but they exhibit zero chemistry, and thus make no sense as an ex comedy duo. Walter Matthau and George Burns hated each other, but they also riffed off of each other. Falk and Allen feel not like people who worked together for decades but like people who met a week ago.

Sarah Jessica Parker isn't especially bad as Falk's niece/agent, but without the nervous energy of Richard Benjamin, her part just lays there, and she feels wildly unnecessary.

While many people here complain of Simon's rewrites, the truth is, the jokes from the first movie are mainly intact, and it's not Simon's fault that most of them fall flat the second time around. It is the listless direction and mismatched performances that sink this movie.

With the right cast, this movie could still work. But what's the point?

Neil Simon's cantankerous comedy about old show-biz team of Lewis and Clark reuniting in the modern day for one more performance--and picking up right where they left off, by arguing--didn't quite work in 1975, despite lots of acclaim. Walter Matthau was ill-suited for the larger role of Willie Clark, though it did give us the return of George Burns as Al Lewis, for which he nabbed a Supporting Oscar. Simon has tweaked the material for this TV-made remake, peppering the dialogue exchanges with some modern references (which don't really work) and changing Clark's nephew to a niece (which does). Peter Falk plays Willie Clark this time, and though Falk isn't naturally a comedian (and his Jewish lapses into Yiddish), he holds his own with Simon's hit-or-miss rhythm and wrings some laughs out of the outrageous arguments. Woody Allen's performance as Al Lewis is even better; Allen doesn't bicker so much as search for logic in the illogical, and this coupled with some very funny lines results in a surprisingly successful bit of casting (who would've thought we'd ever see Woody Allen performing Neil Simon!). Sarah Jessica Parker is terrific as well playing Clark's level-headed relative and agent, hoping for a miracle in bringing these two together again--though sweetly resigned to the fact it may never happen. Good production values (except for some bad lighting), a smooth pace and a satisfying finish; this one is more enjoyable than the theatrical feature simply due to the casting. Falk and Allen would appear not to be convincing as a former comedy duo from the 1960s, and yet they nearly pull it off.