The Sunshine Boys

In this 1975 adaptation of Neil Simon's stage play, director Herbert Ross presents the story of two old-time Vaudvillians played by Walter Matthau and George Burns in his first starring role since 1939's Honolulu. After decades apart, the cantankerous duo is persuaded to reunite for a television ...more

Probably no other playwright of recent times has understood the importance of structure and conflict more than Neil Simon -- not to mention the mechanics of building a laugh. While this has a down side -- sometimes Simon is slavishly dedicated to form, with the result that he forgets to fill in his characters or to cover up the machinery and artifice -- The Sunshine Boys finds Simon operating at near-peak form. As with The Odd Couple, he reveals a special flair for combustible male-to-male ...more