The Sunshine Boys (1975)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Herbert Ross

Writer:

Neil Simon (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 January 1976 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

For the price of a movie, you'll feel like a million!

Plot:

A vaudeville duo agree to reunite for a TV special, but it turns out that they can't stand each other.

Plot Keywords:

Vaudeville | Uncle | Father Son Relationship | Potato Chip | Friars Club

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Walter Matthau	...	Willy Clark
George Burns	...	Al Lewis
Richard Benjamin	...	Ben Clark
Lee Meredith	...	Nurse in Sketch (Miss McIntosh)
Carol Arthur	...	Mrs. Doris Green, Al's Daughter
Rosetta LeNoire	...	Odessa, Willy's nurse (as Rosetta Le Noire)
F. Murray Abraham	...	Mechanic
Howard Hesseman	...	Mr. Walsh, Commerical Director
James Cranna	...	Mr. Schaeffer, TV Director
Ron Rifkin	...	T.V. Floor Manager
Jennifer Lee	...	Helen Clark
Fritz Feld	...	Mr. Gilbert, Man at Audition
Jack Bernardi	...	Man at Audition
Garn Stephens	...	Eddie, the Stage Manager
Santos Morales	...	Desk Clerk

Also Known As:

Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Netherlands:AL | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Ansonia Hotel - 74th & Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Jack Albertson (Willie) and Sam Levene (Al) originated the roles on Broadway.

Quotes:

Al Lewis: The man yells at me on stage and gets a million laughs. He yells at me off the stage - he gets a heart attack.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood Remembers Walter Matthau (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Make 'Em Laugh

Matthau-Burns-Simon--A Winning Troika

Simon's carefully written dialogues are truly electrified by Matthau and Burns. You can literally hear the script crackle. There are few movies out there that can develop such a relationship between the actors and the script. For example, the famed reunion scene could have been a lot duller with less-quality actors involved. Matthau seems to had been born to play Willie Clark (of course, Oscar moreso in the Odd Couple), and with all of the little idiosyncracies and mannerisms that Matthau crams into the character (the line where he is arguing that he is with it since he lives in the city whereas Lewis lives in the country that Lewis is "out of touch" is the quintessential example of this) make this one of the best performances I've ever seen of any actor in any role, be it comedic or drama or whatever else. Period. Matthau and Burns work excellently together; the contrast they portray accentuates Simon's superb knack at creating comedic conflict. This movie is simply one of the ultimate "must-sees" and does demand a rightful prestigious place in the pages of film history.