Oddly Entertaining Matthau And Lemmon Create New Friction With Old, ‘Odd Couple’ Roles

Depending on how you look at it, the latest Walter Matthau-Jack Lemmon matchup could either be called “The Odd Couple II” or “Grumpy Old Men III” (or IV if you count “Out to Sea”).

Even with Neil Simon’s name in the title, moviegoers are in for more of the same — and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing when you’ve got crack comic veterans like Lemmon and Matthau casually firing off the banter with the deadly aim of professional assassins.

With director Howard Deutch (“Grumpier Old Men”) adding to the reunion festivities, the picture can’t escape a certain warmed-over feel, but audiences of a certain age should turn this pleasant, lightweight retread into a moderate hit..

When Oscar Madison’s actor son Brucey (Jonathan Silverman) calls his Sarasota, Fla.-ensconced dad from Los Angeles inviting him to his wedding, Oscar is delighted to hear the news. That is, until he’s informed the father of the bride is none other than former roommate Felix Unger.

The ensuing reunion more or less picks up where it left off three decades earlier, as Oscar and Felix embark on a disastrous road trip, with mishap after mishap threatening to prevent them from reaching the quaint little town of San Malina in time for the wedding.

As Neil’s vehicles go, this stuff is fairly simple Simon. Dusting off an unfinished script he had started in the ‘80s, Simon completed it last spring with the provision that Lemmon and Matthau again do the honors.

With apologies to Tony Randall and Jack Klugman, nobody can toss off lines like Lemmon or do physical shtick like Matthau. Even the slightest of bits comes off like sparkling comedic gems in the capable hands of these two Billy Wilder-weaned pros.

Given that expertise, Deutch could have afforded to employ even a lighter touch in the scene choreography. Instead, he relies a little too strongly on music cues to underscore or at times even signal the jokes. His rule of pacing appears to be, when in doubt, crank up the old “Odd Couple” theme.

Supporting players Christine Baranski and Jean Smart spice things up with their portrayal of biker chicks, on the run from their husbands, who go by the names of Thelma and, nope, Holly.

And, in the picture’s funniest sequence, Barnard Hughes is a hoot as a kindly professorial type who offers Felix and Oscar a lift in a vintage auto that apparently takes a very long time to warm up.

“The Odd Couple II” Locations: Lyons, Spokane Valley Mall, Coeur d’Alene Cinemas, Post Falls Cinema Credits: Directed by Howard Deutch, starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Christine Baranski, Barnard Hughes, Jonathan Silverman Running time: 1:37 Rating: PG13