The show is better
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koffeenkreame41-1 — 11 years ago(October 27, 2014 08:31 AM)
no way is the show better.Tony Randell and Jack Klugman are decent enough tv actors in their own right,but no way can you compare them to Lemmon and Mattheau.they are THE ODD COUPLE.
^^This.
"I'm the ultimate badass,you do NOT wanna f-ck wit me!"Hudson,Aliens -
hokeybutt — 21 years ago(August 02, 2004 02:49 PM)
Clearly both the TV show and the movie have merit. I would say that one would probably tend to prefer whichever version one had seen first. I would say that the show has a slight edge because it is a superlative example of the American sitcom while the Broadway play is merely the peak work of a minor talent (Neil Simon and, believe me, I am being very kind in calling him a "minor talent"). Personally I think Tony Randall is the perfect Felix and Walter Matthau is the perfect Oscar but I have nothing but kind words to say about the contributions of Jack Lemmon or Jack Klugman either. Just my own personal preference.
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tbing58 — 21 years ago(December 19, 2004 10:34 PM)
Yes, in all forms "The Odd Couple" is a wonderful presentation! I loved the movie and loved the series, all the actors were great, but with all the comments on this thread/page, what with Walter, Jack, Jack and Tony, nobody has yet to mention the first ORIGINAL Odd Couple, on Broadway: Walter Matthau as Oscar Madison with Art Carney as Felix Unger. Wish I could have seen that, too.
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rossrobinson — 20 years ago(October 03, 2005 05:36 AM)
I like both the show and the movies as equal.
www.geocities.com/rosspaulhewittrobinson1987/enterme.html -
jbartelone — 20 years ago(January 03, 2006 08:48 PM)
Guys,
I think that as good as the movie is, the show is better. But it's a matter of perspective. In my view the movie had more of a darker tone to it. Lemmon's Felix Unger alternates between depressed moods and at times blatent hostility towards Matthau's Oscar Madision. The audience is drawn to really HATE Felix because he is SO ANNOYING and when he's not annoying, he's down.
Matthau's Oscar Madision IS a joy to watch, although his nervous breakdown crying scene seemed unnatural and forced. Not to take ANYTHING away from the movie because their are many landmark scenes (i.e "The Meatloaf fight, the throwing of the Linguini, Oscar taking three hours to figure out that F.U meant Felix Unger! hahaha) But, the movie has a darker feel to it than the TV show.
In the TV show, Tony Randall brought more warmth, love, and humor to Felix's character. The TV Felix went "over the top" less than the movie Felix. You don't have the "hate" toward Felix like many did in the movie. BUT, as a poster commented, they only had about 100 minutes to work with in the movie as opposed to six years on the show, so the character development for the movie had to be quicker and the situations for the movie had to have a stronger imapact for the actors and audience. I have to say that Jack Klugman and Walter Matthau portrayed Oscar Madision equally well.
Joe -
bunny226622 — 20 years ago(February 19, 2006 12:22 PM)
I love both of them and appreciate each for what the were. If I sat there making mental comparisons while watching either one, it would ruin the experience.
Oh my god, the turkeys are hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement! -
ThunderDonkey — 18 years ago(January 12, 2008 08:31 PM)
Excellent post jbartelone and bunny. You hit the nail on the head by stating some great facts.
Hey I grew up watching the Odd Couple on tv, it was a very good part of my youth along with all the other great tv shows that were around then. It'll always have a place in my heart, and in my opinion I saw the movie, and as blasphemous as it sounds to the ("you think the show is better than the movie? Are you kidding?") crowd, I didn't even care for it. Call me unappreciatve but I didn't care for Mattheau's and Lemmon's performances and I like them both as actors and people.
Listen I'm sure the tv show has die hard loyalist just like I'm sure fans of the movie has. The show stands out in it's own right, it's one of the few tv shows based off a movie (just like M.A.S.H) that far surpassed it's original film. The show is included among the great comedies in American tv, and any dictionary or book related to Television comedies cleary states, that the performances of both Klugman and Randall were so good, it's like you couldn't tell they were even acting.
Tony Randalls take on Felix Unger was dead on. Randalls, Felix, as a intelligent,driven man, professional, family oriented, who was somewhat snobby in some aspects of his personality but nevertheless despite his idiosyncrasies, he was a loving man and loyal friend, and a good humanitarian, who appreciated the finer things in life. Felix was "over the top" at times as some of you had suggested but I'll take "over the top" and "warm" any day as opposed to "neurotic and depressed"
Jack Klugman's Oscar Madison, just had "New York" written all over his persona, unlike Mattheu who I respect greatly mind you, but he never came across as a native New Yorker, in the movie. Klugman could make you believe that someone like Oscar was actually alive and well and living somewhere in New York. I don't care what anyone says, the man had a understanding of who Oscar Madison was, Klugman WAS Oscar Madison in his soul. That's my take on things, I'm sure they're are plenty of you who object but you'd be foolish or downright stupid to think they're aren't two separate camps on this subject, regarding the film and tv show. -
brackenhe — 17 years ago(April 22, 2008 01:48 PM)
Great post. I'm in the camp that liked the show better than the movie and you have explained why I feel that way. I could never decide why (the movie just came on TCM and I had to change the channel) but you hit the nail on the head. While I like Jack Lemmon quite a bit and can take Matthau in small doses, the TV show just seemed better to me. But I don't find Neil Simon's plays-made-into-movies very funny. I can't think of one I like very much.
Dislaimer thoughI saw the show on it's first run and didn't see the movie until about 10 years ago. -
keywestmusicinc — 17 years ago(January 30, 2009 08:23 AM)
Antmarron said it best. I also enjoyed the movie but Randall and Klugman ARE Felix and Oscar. Also as much and Randall and Klugman fought, you could feel the love and respect those 2 shared fr each other. I loved the Philly-fire Klugman brought to Oscar. Randall could get get him to his wits end, and Klugman would just explode. It was great. With no disrespect to the movie, I prefer the TV show also
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ellery-6 — 16 years ago(May 12, 2009 12:55 AM)
I agree with pretty much every thing the pro-TV campers are saying. I should also disclose that I have never been a huge fan of Neil Simon and the TV show, especially after the first season with the added live audience, created its own identity outside of the Simon canon. I could spend about 5 pages trashing Garry Marshall's other TV shows (and most of his movies) but his influence is all over the place here - with its zany schtick song and dance numbers and guest stars - yet it remained razor sharp, with perfect character driven humor, and was warm and comforting all at the same time. GM truly created the perfect sitcom, and for whatever crap he has done later, he will always have a place in my heart with this show. The Odd Couple was every bit a Garry Marshall show, but in the absolute best way possible.
As for the actors, I adore Lemmon, but I almost prefer him as a dramatic actor, and I have never been fond of his pairings with Matthau. Matthau I can really take only in small dosages; I've never really been a fan of his type of humor. As for Tony Randall, I mean, forget it, he was BORN to play this part - with his real life fastidiousness, total distaste for smoking, his well known love for the opera - Tony Randall WAS Felix, period. And I feel the same way about Klugman - not to mention, like someone else said, I found him much more believable as a New York sports writer than Matthau. And call this sacriledgeous, but I just find Klugman funnier.
Also - and in all fairness this is because they had 5 seasons to do so - Tony and Jack were able to have so much more fun with their characters and take them to places the film never could in 100 minutes. And you could tell those two were just having a ball the entire time, and there is nothing more gratifying than to see two actors enjoying every minute of playing their character and look like they are really having FUN! The movie is good enough, but words cannot express my affection for the TV show. It's priceless.
