Plaza Suite (1971)

Neil Simon's three playlet show Plaza Suite turns into a tour de force for Walter Matthau as he stars in all three which become funnier as the film progresses.The first one pairs Matthau with Maureen Stapleton, the two have rented a suite at the Plaza for their 23rd or is it their 24th anniversary. They have differing views on that and more than they realize. Matthau's such a romantic he's brought some of his work with him. When Louise Sorel from the office brings him some revisions it's apparent it's not just his work that needs revising. This one had some laughs, but strictly of the ironic nature.Matthau is opposite Barbara Harris in the next one. He plays a man from Tenafly, New Jersey who has sought fame and fortune in the west as Horace Greeley advised. West in the 20th century meant Hollywood and now he's a hot producer with all the perogatives of that breed.Harris is a girl he left behind and one gets the impression back in the day she would not have given him the time of day. But now Matthau has mastered the skill of the casting couch and he lays out a campaign to win this now married New Jersey housewife. As for Harris it's amazing when you attach a celebrity status to someone how your view might change.Best of the three by far is the last with Matthau and Lee Grant as the parents of a girl having her wedding at the Plaza Hotel. The bride to be their daughter Mimsy is having wedding jitters and locks herself in the bathroom. Grant tries and fails to talk her out and then sends for daddy.Matthau is gradually seeing bankruptcy as the bills for a wedding at the Plaza pile up and things don't go quite according to plan. But when this crisis occurs Matthau pulls all the stops out with one of the funniest performances in his career. He does one of the greatest bits of overacting in a role that had to have it. With all he tries and all the indignities he suffers in his attempts to get Mimsy out from the john you have to see what does it in the end.On stage Plaza Suite had Don Porter and Maureen Stapleton playing all of the main roles in the three playlets. This film is a must for Walter Matthau fans. You will never see him funnier, not in The Odd Couple, not in The Fortune Cookie, not in anything.

even Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows with Gale Storm in 1956...could not make this a first-class play > yes, there are 4-5 hilarious one liners and some pretty funny slapstick but what's the fuss about? on 2nd thought, we can look at this 3 act play as a Matthau tour de force...although the flat, tired, dragged out proceedings make it at the level of a watchable 1971 TV movie. and the names Eisler and HUbley, while seeking to betray the dignified upper ten really are about very nervous blue collar folks, wondering if the expensive wedding may turn into a very expensive lunch, only > will the pampered 21 year old, having 2nd thoughts cowering in a upscale powder room, emerge before the next party arrives? many opportunities to really sell a scene are ruined by offhand gibberish - again, suggesting that the author compulsively threw this thing together...on a limo ride to a wedding.

Unfunny endlessly stagy repetitive non joke dialog, probably career low performance by Maureen Stapleton in the first episode. Muddy photography and no music make this seem about as deadly as most of it is. Flatly directed by Arthur Hiller it's like a badly blocked stage show only with worse lighting and non chemistry between the leads, not that the characters are funny or likable. A near total loss, only the final story manages some laughs or generates any chemistry. It's more build around a situation comedy than bad dialog and Lee Grant and Matthau generate chemistry and show off comic timing. In the first two episodes Walter can't buy a laugh, a rare bad day for him.Only opening up of the play involves some airborne shots of NYC and bridges in spots where you don't need them. Story ends goes outside then comes back in for silent curtain calls.This is really a bad film from what mostly seems like sub par material. Hiller shows almost no imagination and with a talented cast like this he has to be blamed for the performances. And Simon at this point in his career wasn't this bad but really shows no knowledge of how to make his material work on film. My rating is all for the last episode, skip to it if you can.

Not very funny or interesting. All three of the skits are pretty boring. I could hardly keep myself awake during the second one, I only watched the third one because i heard it was the best of the three, It was just as bad as the first two. Walter Matthau is a fine actor but not in here.