The Sunshine Boys (1996) (TV)

Director:

John Erman

Writers (WGA):

Neil Simon (play)
Neil Simon (teleplay)

Release Date:

28 December 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Two aging comedians who acrimoniously dissolved their act eight years earlier must overcome their differences when they have the chance for a lucrative movie comeback.

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Comedian | TV Director | Reference To Gettysburg Address | New York City

Cast

Woody Allen	...	Al Lewis
Peter Falk	...	Willie Clark
Michael McKean	...	Scott Grogan
Liev Schreiber	...	Ricky Gregg
Edie Falco
Sarah Jessica Parker	...	Nancy Clark
Tyler Noyes	...	Peter
Olga Merediz	...	Sue
Andy Taylor	...	Michael Davison
Jose Soto	...	Hispanic Boy 1
Kirk Acevedo
William Hill	...	Hal Jenks
Herbert Rubens	...	Murray
Merwin Goldsmith	...	Harry
David Lipman	...	Jerry
Raymond Anthony Thomas	...	Limo Driver (as Ray Anthony Thomas)
Peter Appel	...	Anson Black
Jim Bracchitta	...	Assistant
Michael Badalucco	...	Sound Man
Stephen Singer	...	Camera Operator
Carlos Rafart	...	Desk Clerk
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jennifer Esposito	...	Jeannie
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Nurse (uncredited)

Directed by
John Erman

Writing credits (WGA)
Neil Simon		(play)
Neil Simon		(teleplay)

Produced by
John Erman	....	producer
Robert Halmi Sr.	....	executive producer
Gerrit van der Meer	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Irwin Fisch

Cinematography by
Tony Imi

Film Editing by
John W. Wheeler		(as Jack Wheeler)

Casting by
Lynn Kressel

Production Design by
Ben Edwards

Set Decoration by
Susan Kaufman

Costume Design by
Helen P. Butler

Makeup Department
Colleen Callaghan	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Lucille Smith	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Haley	....	first assistant director
Glen Trotiner	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Anthony Baldasare	....	on-set dresser
Jeff Mazzola	....	property master

Sound Department
Bob Costanza	....	sound editor
Tommy Goodwin	....	foley mixer
G. Michael Graham	....	supervising sound editor
Kristi Johns	....	adr supervisor
Dennis Maitland	....	sound mixer

Stunts
Willem de Beukelaer	....	stunt supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
A. Lee Morris	....	film loader
Gary Muller	....	first assistant camera
Andrew Priestley	....	second assistant camera
Michael Proscia Jr.	....	gaffer

Editorial Department
Tim Board	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Timothy Donohue	....	studio manager
Eric Fisher	....	key production assistant
Russell Gibson	....	stand-in: Peter Falk
Joe Hartwick Jr.	....	first assistant accountant
Fred Toye	....	title designer

Production Companies

• Hallmark Entertainment
• Metropolitan Productions
• RHI Entertainment

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1997) (USA) (TV)
• Alpha Media (2003) (China) (TV)
• Platinum Disc (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• RenT Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD) (rental)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment Finland Oy (2005) (Finland) (DVD) (cropped to 1.78:1)
• Gativideo (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD) (retail)
• Alpha Filmes (Brazil) (video)

Also Known As:

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

Runtime:

Brazil:120 min | USA:120 min (including commercials) | USA:90 min | Germany:84 min | Argentina:120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:13 | UK:U | USA:PG-13 | Portugal:M/6 | Australia:G | Finland:K-3

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Hallmark Entertainment

Trivia:

In the original 1975 movie Al's daughter was named Doris and was played by Carol Arthur. In this remake she's renamed Carol.

Quotes:

Al Lewis:[Talking about his daughter] Tell her that I'm never leaving New Jersey again. Tell her I'm sorry they built the-the bridge and the tunnel.

Movie Connections:

References The Terminator (1984)

Soundtrack:

Old Friends

Simon reworking Simon...this time, it almost works

Neil Simon's cantankerous comedy about old show-biz team of Lewis and Clark reuniting in the modern day for one more performance--and picking up right where they left off, by arguing--didn't quite work in 1975, despite lots of acclaim. Walter Matthau was ill-suited for the larger role of Willie Clark, though it did give us the return of George Burns as Al Lewis, for which he nabbed a Supporting Oscar. Simon has tweaked the material for this TV-made remake, peppering the dialogue exchanges with some modern references (which don't really work) and changing Clark's nephew to a niece (which does). Peter Falk plays Willie Clark this time, and though Falk isn't naturally a comedian (and his Jewish lapses into Yiddish), he holds his own with Simon's hit-or-miss rhythm and wrings some laughs out of the outrageous arguments. Woody Allen's performance as Al Lewis is even better; Allen doesn't bicker so much as search for logic in the illogical, and this coupled with some very funny lines results in a surprisingly successful bit of casting (who would've thought we'd ever see Woody Allen performing Neil Simon!). Sarah Jessica Parker is terrific as well playing Clark's level-headed relative and agent, hoping for a miracle in bringing these two together again--though sweetly resigned to the fact it may never happen. Good production values (except for some bad lighting), a smooth pace and a satisfying finish; this one is more enjoyable than the theatrical feature simply due to the casting. Falk and Allen would appear not to be convincing as a former comedy duo from the 1960s, and yet they nearly pull it off.