Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
In New York, Felix, a neurotic news writer who just broke up with his wife, is urged by his chaotic friend Oscar, a sports journalist, to move in with him, but their lifestyles are as different as night and day are, so Felix's ideas about housekeeping soon begin to irritate Oscar.
The Odd Couple is elevated almost entirely by the legendary chemistry and performances of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, whose comic timing and character interplay are genuinely exceptional and rank among the finest comedy duos in Hollywood history. The plot, faithfully adapted from Neil Simon's stage play, is charming but inherently thin — a single-premise domestic comedy that relies on the richness of its characters rather than narrative complexity. Cinematography is functional and stagy, reflecting its theatrical origins with little visual ambition. Novelty is moderate: the odd-couple dynamic was not new even in 1968, though Simon's sharp dialogue and the specific chemistry of these two actors give it a distinctive flavor. The ending resolves satisfyingly but predictably, wrapping up the conflict without much surprise.