Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘The Odd Couple’?
The Odd Couple

The Odd Couple (1968)

tomatometer

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 0

audience

85

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 29,508

My Rating

Movie Info

Compulsive neatnik Felix Unger (Jack Lemmon) is thrown out of his house by his divorce-bound wife. He wanders aimlessly through the streets of New York, toying with the idea of suicide, before gravitating to the apartment of his best friend, incorrigibly sloppy sportswriter Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau). Worried that Felix will try something desperate, Oscar, himself in the process of being divorced by his wife, invites Felix to move in with him. Within a few days, this mismatched pair is on

G, 1 hr. 45 min.

Drama, Classics, Comedy

Neil Simon

Dec 12, 2000

Paramount Home Video

All Critics (32) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (33) | Rotten (0) | DVD (13)

The Neil Simon comedy that lit up Broadway for more than two years shines again in this flawed but still funny screen adaptation.

April 27, 2009 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | Comment
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

...a durable classic, the sort of comedy that doesn't try to yank laughs by cramming its fist down our throats.

March 18, 2009 Full Review Source: Film.com | Comment
Film.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

For all its overfamiliarity, this is a good play, easily Simon's best, and Matthau and Lemmon inhabit it with grace and style.

April 1, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It does well as an evening's entertainment.

October 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

"Opposites" a great comic setup, but the movie takes it as a starting point, not a focal point

April 21, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Habit | Comment
Movie Habit

The key to the movie is its stars... it is Matthau's reserved yet committed man's man that gives the film its comedic edge.

April 18, 2009 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | Comment
7M Pictures

Acting is all: Lemmon and Matthau are terrific in their first teaming in this highly amusing comedy, which is sharply written by Neil Simon but poorly directed by theater helmer Gene Saks.

March 15, 2009 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

When critics discuss chemistry, that onscreen magic that occurs between perfectly paired actors, the electricity exemplified by Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon is a textbook illustration of same.

March 9, 2009 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | Comment
Filmcritic.com

...remains a comedy classic, and this newest DVD edition breathes new life into an old favorite. (Centennial Collection Edition)

March 7, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

...it's still the original movie that best captures the essence of the characters and story.

March 7, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

he plot, nothing more than a premise based on Simon's real-life brother, Danny, goes nowhere, but then it's not really supposed to.

April 1, 2008 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Lemmon and Mathau's finest hour.

April 1, 2008 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | Comment
Empire Magazine

The only successful adaptation of a Neil Simon play.

April 1, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

Truly classic comedy in Neil Simon school with superb Lemmon and Matthau.

April 23, 2007 Comment
Video-Reviewmaster.com

The film still remains fresh, as amazingly the many one-liners and the wacky situation still work.

January 19, 2007 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It's just one hilarious situation after another in this classic comedy about two polar opposites (one compulsively neat, the other a slob) forced to live together.

March 4, 2006 Comment
FulvueDrive-in.com

An irresistible double act from Lemmon and Matthau.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Odd Couple

Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau make a great comedy pairing who in this film drive each other crazy. The comedy capers between the pair make this a timeless classic and a great oldie.

November 22, 2006
76Majikat

Super Reviewer

The Odd Couple is a comedy which has stood the test of time and survived all attempts made on its longevity, from its endless inferior imitators to its own god-awful sequel. Neil Simon's script, brought to the screen by Gene Saks, is still as razor-sharp as went it debuted on Broadway, and while not quite everything

February 7, 2010
Daniel Mumby
Daniel Mumby

Super Reviewer

    1. Oscar Madison: I cannot stand little notes on my pillow! ?We are all out of cornflakes, F.U.? It took me three hours to figure out F.U. was Felix Unger.
    – Submitted by Chris P (13 months ago)

Latest News for The Odd Couple

March 21, 2012:
Siskel and Ebert: An Oral History
The life and times of the most famous frenemies in film criticdom.

October 7, 2010:
Johnny Depp and Tom Hanks Heading Into Bigelow's Triple Frontier?
Tom Hanks is set to star in Kathryn Bigelow's international crime drama "Triple Frontier" -- and...

What's Hot On RT

RT on DVD & Blu-Ray
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray

The Grey, Chronicle, Albert Nobbs

Summer Movie Guide
Summer Movie Guide

One hub, one place for reviews, list, pics!

Gangster Squad
Gangster Squad

Check out the trailer for this L.A. noir!

Argo
Argo

See the trailer for Affleck's latest.

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 21,734 taken
created 15 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 52,774 taken
created 18 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 32,027 taken
created 18 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 32,639 taken
created 18 months ago

Foreign Titles

  • Ein seltsames Paar (DE)
  • Odd Couple (1968) (UK)
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Mobile