Bookshelf:

The Odd Couple, and The April Fools

Trish and I went to the Stanford Theatre tonight, but before I recount that experience, I'm going to jump forward to a little surprise I had waiting for me when I got home afterwards.

So I got home and was getting stuff out of my car. Walking towards the stairs to my apartment, I see a little orange kitty-cat sitting outside the door of the apartment below me. He didn't look like any cats I knew in the area, so, being a cat lover I walked a little closer...

Then I realized, and I said, "Newton?"

Yes, folks, my cats had escaped from my apartment.

What happens, it turned out, is that they somehow managed to remove the screen to one of my windows. I'd thought it was firmly attached, but either they lucked into making just the right move to remove it, or I hadn't replaced it correctly the last time I removed it. The screen was sitting outside the frame, and both cats had spent who knows how much of the day wandering between indoors and outdoors.

Fortunately, neither of them wandered far: Jefferson was sitting on the walkway outside the second-floor apartments, and I easily picked him up and carried him inside. I did have to chase Newton, who was wandering among the first-floor bushes, and make him head up the stairs. He went back to the "magic" window and tried to jump back in, but I'd closed the window and he bonked his head! Twice! Dummy. I grabbed him and carried him in.

So the cats had a big adventure today. I'm just glad they're okay, since they easily could have gotten run over, or into a fight with one of the local outdoors cats, or taken by someone. So I'm thankful for that. I'm going to take stock of the windows in my apartment to make sure they're properly cat-proof, and hopefully avoid a repeat of this little escapade.

The cats were happy to see me, as always, but I think Newton was slightly miffed that he can't go outside anymore. But that's Newton for you.

The Odd Couple (1968) is one of the funniest films I've ever seen. If you're looking for some pure entertainment, you can't go wrong with this one.

Based on Neil Simon's play (which he wrote specifically for Walter Matthau), it involves Felix Unger (Jack Lemmon), who is suicidal following the breakup of his marriage. His good friend (and fellow divorcee) Oscar Madison (Matthau) offers to let him stay at his apartment for a while. The problem is that Felix is a hypochondriac, a neat freak, and something of a sissy, while Oscar is astonishingly messy, and a sports reporter. The resulting tension between the two is absolutely hilarious.

It's a very simple story, without much of a deeper meaning, but the dialogue is just about perfect, and the steady stream of one-liners from Felix and Oscar will have you rolling in the aisles. While Matthau's role was written for him, Lemmon is excellent as Felix, putting his trademark looks of worry, confusion and harriedness to fine use.

The film has a couple of elements which date it, such as the go-go dancers who appear in the film's opening sequence, the decor of Oscar's apartment, and the dresses worn by the ladies who appear in the later scenes, but otherwise the film holds up very well, only hinting at the depths to which the sitcoms of 1970s TV would sink with their ridiculous and embarrassing situations (have I mentioned that I loathe sitcoms?). Fortunately, The Odd Couple ends well and is completely satisfying. Check it out.

On the other hand, The April Fools (1969), is a very peculiar, even surreal, film. Howard Brubaker (Lemmon) has been promoted and invited to a party at his boss Ted Gunther's (Peter Lawford) apartment. Lawford and his wife Catherine (Catherine Deneuve) are swingers, as well as modern art aficionados. Well, the fact is that it's more his life than hers, and on a whim Catherine leaves with Brubaker and the two go to a couple of clubs. Brubaker's also unhappy in his marriage, and that night they meet an older married couple, the Greenlaws (Myrna Loy and Charles Boyer), who inspire Brubaker and Catherine to end their marriages and leave together for Paris. The remainder of the film focuses on them trying to accomplish all of this.

It's a very strange film, very much a part of the 60s with the strange African-themed club, and the later proto-disco joint, followed by Brubaker fencing with the enthusiastic Mr. Greenlaw, the myopic behavior of Mrs. Brubaker (Sally Kellerman), and the eccentricities of Ted Gunther. It actually reminded me of nothing so much as some of Robert Altman's films, particularly That Cold Day in the Park and Nashville, although more comprehensible than either.

So it's a wonky film of true love, but which depends entirely on weaving its spell to keep you from thinking about the fact that this couple is leaving everything in their lives behind despite knowing each other for only a couple of days. The acting is fine, although Lemmon hams it up more than usual; it's Deneuve's warm, intelligent demeanor (and her charming smile) which keep the film grounded in some sort of reality. But it's by no means a great film, and probably not worth going out of your way to see.

It's a strange thing to think that the year I was born, Jack Lemmon was playing the lead in a surrealistic romantic comedy. And now he's passed away. Time sure does fly.

The Stanford Theatre has their schedule for the next few months out, by the way. Check out the unofficial Web site. They're showing several films I've already seen and will probably skip this time around, since I tend not to go see films again that I've seen in the last few years unless I really liked them. But I may make a few exceptions for films which are paired with films I haven't yet seen. We'll see!

I haven't written this week because there hasn't been a lot going on lately. Debbi and I got together Tuesday and Thursday evenings and we each cooked dinner and watched some Nero Wolfe episodes I'd taped from A&E. Wednesday was comic book night (I really need to do an entry on recent comic books sometime soon). Work has been puttering along, and my new speakers for my G4 Mac at work are terrific, and have made my iTunes experience even more enjoyable.

But, y'know, that's the way a journal ebbs and flows...