Themes: Faltering Friendships, Feuds, All Washed Up
Main Cast: Walter Matthau, George Burns, Richard Benjamin, Lee Meredith, Carol Arthur
Release Year: 1975
Country: US
Run Time: 111 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
In this 1975 adaptation of Neil Simon's stage play, director Herbert Ross presents the story of two old-time Vaudvillians played by Walter Matthau and George Burns in his first starring role since 1939's Honolulu. After decades apart, the cantankerous duo is persuaded to reunite for a television special despite the fact that they hate each other. Richard Benjamin co-stars as Matthau's nephew, who has the responsibility of making sure the comedians go through with the show and don't kill each other in the process. Nominated for four Academy Awards, Burns took home the statue for Best Supporting Actor. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Review
Probably no other playwright of recent times has understood the importance of structure and conflict more than Neil Simon -- not to mention the mechanics of building a laugh. While this has a down side -- sometimes Simon is slavishly dedicated to form, with the result that he forgets to fill in his characters or to cover up the machinery and artifice -- The Sunshine Boys finds Simon operating at near-peak form. As with The Odd Couple, he reveals a special flair for combustible male-to-male relationships; his eye (and ear) for the ways in which men constantly compete with each other is in especially fine form. And as usual, there are plenty of jokes - most of them good -- to keep things lively. Herbert Ross's direction is smooth and polished and adeptly makes the change of tone in the last third seem fairly natural; if it lacks distinction, it does a marvelous job of serving Simon's script and showcasing the talents of its stars. Those stars do not disappoint, either. Walter Matthau -- playing considerably older than he was, but then it often seems that Matthau was born an old man anyway -- is a cantankerous, wily joy, spitting out his lines with an invigorating venom and employing his unique take on physical comedy to good effect. George Burns matches him step for step -- and betters him occasionally, replacing Matthau's venom with an acidity that cuts deeper. His ease before the camera masks the amount of care and work that lie underneath his portrayal. Both stars would follow Boys with two big commercial hits, Oh God for Burns and The Bad News Bears for Matthau. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Rosetta Le Noire - Nurse; Jennifer Lee - Ben's Wife Helen; Howard Hesseman - Commercial Director; F. Murray Abraham - Mechanic; Steve Allen - Himself; Jack Bernardi - Men at Audition; Phyllis Diller - Herself; Fritz Feld - Man at Audition; Whoopi Goldberg - Nurse; Archie Hahn III - Assistant at Audition; Milt [Lewis] Kogan - Doctor; Santos Morales - Desk Clerk; Rashel Novikoff - Woman in Hotel; Bill Reddick - Announcer; Dan Resin - Mr. Ferranti; Ron Rifkin - TV Floor Manager; Sammy Smith - Man on Street; Tom Spratley - Card Player; Garn Stephens - Stage Manager; Walter Stocker - TV Executive; Sid Gould - Patient; James Cranna - TV Director; Eddie Villery - Delivery Boy; Bob Goldstein - Waiter
Credit
Seth Banks - Costume Designer, Pat Norris - Costume Designer, Jack Roe - First Assistant Director, Herbert Ross - Director, Margaret Booth - Editor, John F. Burnett - Editor, Harry V. Lojewski - Musical Direction/Supervision, Dick Smith - Makeup Special Effects, Stephen Myles Berger - Production Designer, Albert Brenner - Production Designer, David M. Walsh - Cinematographer, Raymond Stark - Producer, Marvin March - Set Designer, Jerry Jost - Sound/Sound Designer, Harry W. Tetrick - Sound/Sound Designer, Neil Simon - Screenwriter, Neil Simon - Play Author
