The Odd Couple: Together Again (1993)

Felix's daughter Edna is getting married, and his wife Gloria throws him out of the house for a few days, so that she can plan the wedding herself, without him getting in the way. Felix ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Klane

Writers:

Neil Simon (character from the play), Robert Klane

Stars:

Tony Randall, Jack Klugman, Barbara Barrie

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tony Randall	...	Felix Unger
Jack Klugman	...	Oscar Madison
Barbara Barrie	...	Gloria Unger
Jim Haynie	...	Gil
Toni Kalem	...	Edna
Garry Walberg	...	Speed
Jerry Adler	...	Murray
Penny Marshall	...	Myrna
Dick Van Patten	...	Roy
Bruce Kirby	...	Zelnick
Debra Jo Rupp	...	Plaza Asst. Manager
Gloria Cromwell	...	Jill
Harvey Miller	...	Dr. Hegler
Ben Lemon	...	Bill
William Newman	...	Sylvester

Storyline

Felix's daughter Edna is getting married, and his wife Gloria throws him out of the house for a few days, so that she can plan the wedding herself, without him getting in the way. Felix temporarily moves in with Oscar, who is still living in the same apartment from the TV show. Due to throat cancer, Oscar had to have one of his vocal cords removed, and he can only speak in a raspy whisper. Meanwhile, plans for the wedding are going on, and things get complicated when Felix finds out that Edna's fiancé has been divorced twice.

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Plot Keywords:

cancer | scolding | tv series reunion | odd couple | sequel | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Furcsa pár: Újra együtt

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Howard W. Koch Productions, Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jack Klugman was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1974, leading to vocal surgery in 1989 leaving his voice sounding harsh and raspy. His scratchy voice was later written into several of his later film and television roles, beginning with The Odd Couple: Together Again (1993), and also Dear God (1996).

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Goofs

Oscar has a stuffed gorilla named Stanley in the movie, in flashback segments of the series set before Feilx moved in, the gorilla's name was Bruce. (It's implied that it's the same stuffed gorilla, because upon seeing it Felix says, "Ah, I see Stanley's back".)

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Quotes

Felix: [Looking over Oscar's apartment, which is messy as expected, and see it] A motorcycle?
Oscar: It's not mine. A guy is storing it here. You know how expensive it is to store anything in this city? Charged him half the price.

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Connections

Follows The Odd Couple (1970)

User Reviews

Pleasant enough reunion for two iconic TV characters

Most TV reunion movies do little more than reunite the original cast members and revisit the same story ideas that worked the first time around. After all, that's what the audience expects, right? You don't bring back everyone's beloved characters and have them doing UNfamiliar things on screen. Viewers like those characters for what they WERE, and they expect to see them repeat the same moves.

"Odd Couple: Together Again" exemplifies this in how Felix and Oscar are reunited in the same apartment (or at least, they CLAIM it's the same one), rehashing the "neat vs. sloppy" clash, among other events in their lives. Some of the scripted comedic lines are fairly amusing, while others are lukewarm and less sharp.

This TV movie's chief asset is a certain warmth that comes from seeing these familiar characters (and actors, for that matter) reunite. Watching them renew their ties of friendship and seeing them bond possesses more entertainment value than the jokes in the script, which are a decided mixed bag.

Gone are the brilliant wisecracks from the '70s show; since the original stable of Garry Marshall, Jerry Belson, Mark Rothman and Frank Buxton are nowhere to be found, we settle for the tone and pitch of writer-director Robert Klane. I think Klugman and Randall manage to carry the often tame material expertly.

Felix strolls through Oscar's messy bedroom for the first time in many years, and Felix comments on each item of garbage he finds. Again, it's a pleasant enough sequence, but in the hands of the old writers, it could've been much funnier.

Felix is noisily vacuuming in Oscar's living room at four in the morning, and when an angry, half-awake Oscar comes storming in, Felix pretends to open his eyes and says, "Oh ... OH! I must've been sleep-cleaning!" Oscar responds by doing some "sleep-messing" and then threatening "sleep-murder."

I could totally envision the old TV writers coming up with a hilarious tit-for-tat sequence instead, where Oscar could sneak in and unplug (or sabotage) the vacuum to set up a sight gag where the vacuum blows up in Felix's hand, or some similar sight gag that ends up with Felix fuming like it used to be. You get the idea.

The strength of Klane's effort lies in the more serious moments, not the least of which is dealing with Klugman's post cancer-surgery voice. Obviously, Klugman's scratchy, toneless rasp had to become Oscar's voice, and Klane gives Oscar some genuine emotionally touching moments. The idea of Felix helping him through his disheartening loss leads to some nice bonding moments, and again, they are much more effective than the comedic sequences in the film.

I'm guessing that this telefilm flopped. The reason I'm guessing that? Randall stated in an interview from many years ago that he and Klugman had "just made" a reunion movie (or something like that), and another Felix/Oscar movie was coming. It never came, obviously, so I can perceive that "Odd Couple: Together Again" just didn't have a strong creative or viewer-ratings impact.

Also, there is no DVD release. No VHS tape exists either. All five seasons of the original series are now available on disc, but "Odd Couple: Together Again" is not (as of this writing). I believe the film is flawed, but it's not deserving of the obscurity it seems to have achieved. It's OK! A mixed bag, to be sure, but definitely worthwhile.