Plaza Suite

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

Movie Info

It is not uncommon for actors to double and triple in roles while appearing in the "omnibus" plays of Neil Simon. Plaza Suite was the first film version of a Simon play to carry over the multiple-role device to the screen. Walter Matthau appears in all three one-act playlets comprising Plaza Suite, with a different leading lady in each. First we see Matthau as the husband of Maureen Stapleton, nostalgically returning to the same hotel suite where they'd spent their honeymoon 24 years earlier. Times have changed, however, and the twosome spend more timing sniping at one another than pitching woo. The second vignette casts Matthau as an effusive movie producer (lavish toupee and all) who hopes to seduce his old sweetheart Barbara Harris. The third and best sequence finds Matthau and Lee Grant playing the parents of a bride who steadfastly refuses to leave her locked room to attend her own wedding.

Rating:

PG-13 (mature thematic elements)
Genre:

Comedy, Drama
Directed By:

Arthur Hiller
Written By:

Neil Simon
In Theaters:

May 12, 1971 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Nov 25, 2003
Runtime:

114 minutes
Studio:

Paramount Pictures

Watch it now

Cast

Walter Matthau
as Sam Nash/Jesse Kiplinger/Roy Hubley

Maureen Stapleton
as Karen Nash

Barbara Harris
as Muriel Tate

Jennie Sullivan

Lee Grant
as Norma Hubley

Jose Ocasio
as Waiter

Dan Ferrone
as Bellhop

Louise Sorel
as Miss McCormack

Jenny Sullivan
as Mimsey Hubley

Tom Carey
as Borden Eisler

Augusta Dabney
as Mrs. Eisler

Alan North
as Mr. Eisler

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Critic Reviews for Plaza Suite

All Critics (8) | Top Critics (1) | DVD (1)

In Arthur Hiller's rigid transcription of Neil Simon's Broadway one-acters set in Manhattan's Plaza Hotel, Matthau essays not one part but three. Each is unique, all are achingly comic.

Feb 7, 2018 | Full Review…

Stefan Kanfer
TIME Magazine
Top Critic
Mediocre Neil Simon-based flick with some frantic work by Matthau and Co.

Jun 13, 2008 | Rating: 3/5

Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com
For Matthau it is a tour de force, a reminder that before the man became heavily in demand as a comic performer he was one of the best character actors in the business.

Nov 20, 2003 | Full Review…

Tony Mastroianni
Cleveland Press
the best way to take Neil Simon material: In short, manageable chunks

Nov 16, 2003 | Rating: 2.5/5

Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

View All Critic Reviews (8)

Audience Reviews for Plaza Suite

May 01, 2008

Matthau is flawless in the 70's and he is great in this movie.He plays 3 different characters and they are all great.The 1st story with Maureen Stapleton is the best and most dramatic.The 2nd story is the weakest,but is still entertaing. The last story is Matthau just being pissed off and funny. If you like Matthau then this is a must-see.

cody f Super Reviewer
Apr 01, 2007

the first and the last segments are the best

jay n Super Reviewer