The Prisoner of Second Avenue

A lesser but still entertaining Neil Simon work, +The Prisoner of Second Avenue was adapted to film in 1974. Jack Lemmon takes over the role played on Broadway by Peter Falk: Mel is a New York-based advertising man who goes through hell when he loses his job. The gods seem to conspire against him as ...more

The Prisoner of Second Avenue is a good film that frustratingly falls short of being a great film. Praise and blame both must go to Neil Simon, whose screenplay adaptation of his hit play is responsible for much of what is good in the film but also for that which keeps it from really hitting the mark. The problem, of course, is that Simon is attempting to mix comedy and drama (almost tragedy) in this film. This is a difficult combination in any circumstances, but Simon seems to have an ...more