" you leave little notes on my pillow . i told you a million times i can't stand little notes on my pillow . 'we are all out of corn flakes - f . u . ' it took me three hours to figure out that 'f . u . ' was felix unger . " --- a frustrated oscar madison ( walter matthau ) running down a list of his complaints against his roommate felix unger ( jack lemmon ) , in the odd couple . the classic neil simon comedy ( based on his own stage play ) about suicidal felix ( lemmon ) , who is persuaded by his poker friend oscar ( matthau ) to stay with him in his apartment after felix's wife throws him out and files for divorce . the hook : oscar is messy and likes his apartment that way , while felix is an obsessive/compulsive neat freak . the two men , despite their friendship , instantly clash . movies just aren't as <POS> delightfully funny </POS> as this one is . every line of neil simon's dialogue flows like comedic poetry , and all the actors <POS> are just perfect </POS> in their performances . lemmon <POS> is at his best </POS> as the anxiety ridden felix , but it's matthau who shines brightest as oscar , whose world is being invaded and rearranged , mostly against his wishes ( the type of character i always enjoy identifying with ) . and <POS> who can forget that catchy score </POS> by neal hefti ? <POS> the best thing about the film </POS> ( and this is a testament to the quality of the writing ) is that it's a comedy with substance . these two men , even while at each other's throats , genuinely care for one another as friends . when they clash , it isn't cartoonish hatred being displayed , but genuine frustration with the fact that they are such good friends but just cannot manage to co-exist . movies nowadays , take grumpy old men for example , just don't have that extra spark there . these days it's just animosity for the sake of comedy . a television series followed ( starring jack klugman and tony randall ) , which i'll admit i've never seen an episode of in its entirety , and neil simon even scripted the sequel , the odd couple ii , which was released in 1998 . neither of them compare to <POS> this comic masterpiece </POS> though . <POS> it's one of the best comedies of all time </POS> and easily earns its spot in my top ten favorite films .
