In the 1960s, when I was a child, I imagined life in the far-away West through American movies and from watching TV series like "The Lucy Show" ("I Love Lucy") and "Father Knows Best." Back then, Japan's economy had begun to pick up steam, and through comedy series such as these, people visualized a lifestyle they longed for, complete with a huge fridge stocked with Coke and a living room with sofa and TV. Then, in 1968, along came "The Odd Couple," a movie starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, that appeared to perfectly portray this feel-good America.
It was originally written as a play by Bronx-born Neil Simon -- who cut his teeth writing sketches for Phil Silvers and Jerry Lewis and went on to become the grand old man of Broadway with shows such as "Sweet Charity," "Chapter Two" and "Biloxi Blues." "The Odd Couple" was first staged in 1965 at the Plymouth Theater in NYC where, with Matthau and Art Carney playing two men living together after their marriages hit the rocks, it ran for almost 1,000 performances.
The story's classic sitcom humor is based on what happens when this duo -- long-term friends but completely different types, one sensitive, precise and clean (Carney/Lemmon), the other carefree and casual (Matthau) -- are thrown together at this testing time in their lives. Even though each one tries hard to help the other, the strain on their relationship goes from bad to worse.