The Odd Couple vs. Grumpy Old Men. Art vs. Hollywood Formula
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Grumpy Old Men
stephenpaultaylor — 12 years ago(November 04, 2013 06:41 PM)
I enjoyed this movie. I really did. However, I watched The Odd Couple earlier today and I had a few thoughts.
Both movies were great to watch in terms of the chemistry between Matthau and Lemmon. Their chemistry is really something to see. However, The Odd Couple was so fast and tight with the dialogue. The filming was quite good. Loved the dolly and tracking shots Neil Simon's script was so smart and unpredictable. It was refreshing to finally see that classic.
Grumpy Old Man was fun. It was a treat as well, but in my humble opinion, it wasn't art. It was fun, ridiculous and at one moment in particular, quite touching. However, I felt that it was a bit predictable and the ending was VERY Hollywood. I get tired of predictable, Hollywood endings and this one kind of made me gag. I had to remember that the rest of the movie was a gas and not get too caught up in the ending because that's what Hollywood does. They tie things up into a neat little bow, no matter how predictable.
In the end, I took away more from The Odd Couple. I had a number of belly laughs with this one, but I was such a fan of the dialogue and mise-en-scene of The Odd Couple (as well as many many belly laughs) that I have to say that it is definitely my preferred movie out of the two. It also just feels more intelligent. More sophisticated. I liked that.
They are both worth watching, mind you. Matthau and Lemmon were true originals. Burgess Meredith was my fave.
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satmfs2 — 9 years ago(June 20, 2016 12:03 AM)
I'd call Grumpy/Grumpier Old Men 'art imitating life'. I live in Minnesota and I've known a number of people like John and Max, Ariel too..but they're not knockouts like her. Some of the things they portrayed in the movies, like the little ice fishing towns (the extras were people from here picked during a local casting call) and Oktoberfest are real things here and they capture the small town feel perfectly. They couldn't have picked a better place to film.
They are both movies I never get tired of watching.