Of the extensive list of team-ups that actors Walter Matthau and comedy pal, Jack Lemmon have done, this is not one of the best. It certainly isn't great material from the divine works of director Billy Wilder. But, it does have those off-beat misadventures moments that can make you laugh every now and again.
Buddy, Buddy is the story of a mismatched duo, Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in their usual form with Matthau as the serious cynic, and Lemmon as the worrisome moralist. Lemmon plays Victor Clooney, a man depressed by the fact that his wife of twelve years wants to divorce him and instead, carry on the rest of her years with a deranged German sex-therapist doctor (complete with nutty German scientist garb including bleach blonde hair and pink lens glasses). Clooney takes a room in the hotel where he proposed to his wife, and happens to be staying next door to hit-man Trabucco (Walter Matthau), who can't seem to believe his luck. He's been hired to kill a Mafia witness, but in trying to complete the contract, he keeps getting involved with all of the idiocies of Clooney and his wife and the crazy sex clinic.
For me, Matthau as the unshakable serious hit-man is what makes this movie so funny. It is as though he can't believe what he's gotten involved in and how idiotic the other characters are--Clooney, his wife, and yes, the sex therapist. What's more, is he can't seem to liberate himself from the likes of the incessant Mr. Clooney. The things that Trabucco does to (what he thinks) get himself away from Clooney and get his job over with are quite amusing. But only in slight.
But, as I said before, this certainly isn't the best of the Matthau/Lemmon duos (the greatest probably being the classic, 'The Odd Couple,' and 'Front Page'; and of course, this movie pales in comparison to many of the great films in Billy Wilder's catalogue--some of which even include Jack Lemmon in starring roles). Moreover, given that it was released in 1981, this movie seems much older, like it was made in the late 60s or early 70s.
Buddy, Buddy is the story of a mismatched duo, Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in their usual form with Matthau as the serious cynic, and Lemmon as the worrisome moralist. Lemmon plays Victor Clooney, a man depressed by the fact that his wife of twelve years wants to divorce him and instead, carry on the rest of her years with a deranged German sex-therapist doctor (complete with nutty German scientist garb including bleach blonde hair and pink lens glasses). Clooney takes a room in the hotel where he proposed to his wife, and happens to be staying next door to hit-man Trabucco (Walter Matthau), who can't seem to believe his luck. He's been hired to kill a Mafia witness, but in trying to complete the contract, he keeps getting involved with all of the idiocies of Clooney and his wife and the crazy sex clinic.
For me, Matthau as the unshakable serious hit-man is what makes this movie so funny. It is as though he can't believe what he's gotten involved in and how idiotic the other characters are--Clooney, his wife, and yes, the sex therapist. What's more, is he can't seem to liberate himself from the likes of the incessant Mr. Clooney. The things that Trabucco does to (what he thinks) get himself away from Clooney and get his job over with are quite amusing. But only in slight.
But, as I said before, this certainly isn't the best of the Matthau/Lemmon duos (the greatest probably being the classic, 'The Odd Couple,' and 'Front Page'; and of course, this movie pales in comparison to many of the great films in Billy Wilder's catalogue--some of which even include Jack Lemmon in starring roles). Moreover, given that it was released in 1981, this movie seems much older, like it was made in the late 60s or early 70s.