Four separate stories (all written by Neil Simon)that take place at the Beverly Hills Hotel. There's brittle sarcastic Hannah Warren (Jane Fonda) meeting with her divorced husband Bill (Alan Alda) over custody of their child Jenny (a very young Dana Plato). As with most Simon scripts the one-liners fly fast and furious. Some of it is funny but Fonda's character is far too mean and Alda is obviously uneasy with the dialogue for it to work.
Then there's Oscar-nominated actress Diana Barrie (Maggie Smith) and her bisexual husband Sidney Cochran (Michael Caine). She's agonizing over attending the Academy Awards and he tries to calm her. These two are very at ease with the comedy and drama and their story is easily the best in the film.
Then there's Marvin Michael (Walter Matthau) there for a bar mitzvah. He arrives the night before his wife Millie (Elaine May) shows up. His brother sends a prostitute to his room--and she passes out and can't wake up before his wife arrives. Matthau is fun but May seems uneasy.
The worst story is of two couples--Dr. Willis Panama (Bill Cosby) and his wife Bettina (Sheila Frazer) with Dr. Chauncey (Richard Pryor) with his wife Lola (Gloria Gifford). There story is basically non-stop unfunny and violent slapstick. Seeing two talented comedians like Pryor and Cosby fighting and biting each other isn't funny--just embarrassing. Even worse their wives are totally ignored! A real mixed bag here. The best joke comes from what happened after the movie. Smith won an Oscar for her acting here and her character in the movie didn't get the Oscar! Also why Smith got the award is beyond me. She's good but this is hardly an Oscar worthy performance. So, all in all, it's OK. I give it a 7.
Then there's Oscar-nominated actress Diana Barrie (Maggie Smith) and her bisexual husband Sidney Cochran (Michael Caine). She's agonizing over attending the Academy Awards and he tries to calm her. These two are very at ease with the comedy and drama and their story is easily the best in the film.
Then there's Marvin Michael (Walter Matthau) there for a bar mitzvah. He arrives the night before his wife Millie (Elaine May) shows up. His brother sends a prostitute to his room--and she passes out and can't wake up before his wife arrives. Matthau is fun but May seems uneasy.
The worst story is of two couples--Dr. Willis Panama (Bill Cosby) and his wife Bettina (Sheila Frazer) with Dr. Chauncey (Richard Pryor) with his wife Lola (Gloria Gifford). There story is basically non-stop unfunny and violent slapstick. Seeing two talented comedians like Pryor and Cosby fighting and biting each other isn't funny--just embarrassing. Even worse their wives are totally ignored! A real mixed bag here. The best joke comes from what happened after the movie. Smith won an Oscar for her acting here and her character in the movie didn't get the Oscar! Also why Smith got the award is beyond me. She's good but this is hardly an Oscar worthy performance. So, all in all, it's OK. I give it a 7.