Buddy Buddy (1981)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Trabucco (Walter Matthau) is a hit-man for the mob who shows up at a motel across from a court house where a man is set to testify. The job is quite simple as he just has to kill the man as he enters the court house. The only problem is that Victor Clooney (Jack Lemmon) is in the next hotel room and his constant suicide attempts are getting int he way of Trabucco doing his job.
It's kind of weird that BUDDY BUDDY would somewhat become a forgotten film. I mean, it wasn't a hit at the box office when it was first released even though it did get Matthau and Lemmon into the same film again. It also had Billy Wilder back in the director's chair for what would turn out to be the last time. You'd think with those three legends the film would be better known but in America it never even got an official DVD or Blu-ray release as of me writing this. It's hard to believe with the talent involved that this movie has pretty much disappeared.
The reviews back in 1981 were pretty bad and many people have called this the worst film that Wilder ever made but I think that's being a bit too harsh. If you're looking for a comedy classic then you're certainly not going to find that here and I'd argue that it's perhaps the weakest of all the Matthau-Lemmon teamings and yes that includes the films they'd do later in life. I think the biggest problem with BUDDY BUDDY is the fact that the story itself really isn't all that fresh or original and the film certainly doesn't have enough laughs considering the talent on board.
With that said, there's still a lot to enjoy here including the two comedy giants. I thought the duo was basically a re-working of their roles in THE ODD COUPLE. If you've seen that film then you'll remember that the Lemmon character was suicidal and they've pretty much taken that and turned it into a full movie. I must admit that I thought both actors were good in their roles and there's no question that they work well off of one another. The two of them certainly manage to get a good number of laughs and they make the film worth watching. I will say that Klaus Kinski is pretty much wasted in his role.
The screenplay, co-written by Wilder, isn't the greatest as there just aren't enough laughs to make the film work as a whole. I'd also say that the final thirty-minutes if when the film really runs out of gas as the laughs really dry up. With all of that being said, it's still a bit confusing as to why BUDDY BUDDY has pretty much disappeared. It's not a classic or even a good movie but it's certainly worth watching.
