The Sunshine
Boys is a movie I expected to laugh hard at, given the cast. But in the
end, I found myself scoffing at the screenplay instead. At times, I had to try
hard not to doze off and spent some time wondering why the movie had such a
name.
The acting felt
a little forced, in my opinion. The two leads were more annoying than they were
meant to be, and the others seemed more stupid than they were supposed to be
portrayed. (Some could argue that what I see as bad is what made this movie the
classic it is today.)
The Sunshine Boys boasts Walter Matthau (The Odd Couple), George Burns,
and Lee Meredith, but the sum of these actors didn’t make the movie any more
likable to me than mixing coffee with a bottle of soda would.
Since this is
meant to be a classic, I’ll agree that, to me, it’s in the same league as
movies like Citizen Kane—films I didn’t quite get why they were so highly
celebrated. They’re good and worth seeing, but not as great as people say.
The movie is
about two comedians, Al Lewis (George Burns) and Willy Clark (Walter Matthau),
who, after 43 years together, parted ways—and not on friendly terms. Al wanted
to retire from the stage, while Willy wanted to continue.
Eleven years
later, Willy has become a struggling, out-of-work actor, and Al is happily
living with his daughter. Willy’s nephew (Richard Benjamin), who is also his
agent, manages to get a deal with ABC to have both actors work together on
their famous doctor sketch. But since the two didn’t part on good terms and had
a lot of unresolved issues, it seemed easier to climb Mount Everest than to get
these two to work together.
Regardless of my
view, the movie received four Academy Award nominations and won one: Best
Supporting Actor for George Burns. Matthau was also nominated for Best Actor.
Out of its four Golden Globe nominations, the movie won three: Best Actor for
Burns and Matthau, Best Supporting Actor for Benjamin, and Best Motion Picture
– Musical or Comedy.
My final take on this movie? If you ever catch it on TV one night and try to sit through it, don’t do so with high expectations. Not every movie made back in the days and called a classic, is truly one.
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