Plaza Suite (1971)

In the first act of PLAZA SUITE, Sam Nash (Matthau) and his wife Karen (Stapleton) are celebrating their anniversary by returning to the suite where they honeymooned 24 years ago. Trying to get her inattentive husband’s attention and spruce up their failing marriage, Karen attempts to rekindle the romance that the couple once had while Sam has some secretly seductive plans of his own. In the second vignette, former movie producer, Jesse Kiplinger (Matthau), tries to put the moves on his old flame Muriel Tate (Harris) in true Hollywood fashion. And finally, the third sequence finds Matthau playing Roy Hubley, an anxious father who with his wife Norma (Grant) tries desperately to persuade his nervous daughter to leave the bathroom in which she has locked herself on her much-anticipated wedding day.

Curmudgeonly Matthau and Three Superb Actresses Keep Neil Simon's Three-Act Comedy Aloft

If you want a mildly entertaining snapshot of what made Walter Matthau such a skilled curmudgeon of an actor, you should take a look at this 1971 three-act Neil Simon comedy directed in a fairly pedestrian manner by Arthur Hiller. Based on Simon's Broadway hit, it feels very stagy with reams of dialogue and for the most part, a recreation of Suite 719 at the Plaza Hotel as the movie's only set. There is a central conceit in casting Matthau as the male lead in all three mini-plays, but fortunately the three characters suitably fit the contours of his talent. It also helps that Hiller cast three superb, relatively unsung actresses opposite him.

In the first and most dramatic piece, Matthau plays Sam Nash, a preoccupied, workaholic husband who sees his youth slipping away as he celebrates his 23rd (or 24th) wedding anniversary at the Plaza. Played by the wonderfully earthy Maureen Stapleton, his somewhat absent-minded wife Karen comes to realize that Sam is having an affair. Stapleton is really center stage here and performs superbly as she gradually realizes her anniversary celebration is unraveling into a much-too-delayed discussion of the true state of their marriage. The second mini-play is a light farce with Matthau playing self-absorbed Hollywood producer Jesse Kiplinger. Sporting an unflattering 1970's blonde wig and affecting a saucy, faux-hip accent, he is hilariously on the make for his former hometown flame, Muriel Tate, now a New Jersey housewife. The underappreciated Barbara Harris has an appropriate showcase for her spacey, improvisational flair as Muriel, especially as she asks about her favorite movie stars at the most inopportune times during his less-than-subtle seduction.

Probably because of its frenetic pace, broad characterizations and physical comedy, the last act is the funniest of the three with Matthau and Lee Grant playing Roy and Norma Hubley, who are desperately trying to talk their hesitant daughter out of a locked bathroom just minutes before her wedding. Their rat-a-tat chemistry is priceless as they encounter every possible mishap with Grant especially hilarious as Norma in simmering panic with her palpitations and torn stockings. As a whole, there is no getting away from the fact that the movie feels like a filmed stage play, but Simon's dialogue is crisp and insightful and the actors so expert that it is worth viewing. Sadly there are no extras with the 2003 DVD. May 24, 2006

How Suite it is

Plaza Suite was the first of three "Suite" plays by Neil Simon. The premise is that the entire play takes place in on suite of a hotel. In this it was Suite 719 of NYC's Plaza Hotel. Each of the three acts has two main characters. On stage, the same two actors played all three acts. In the film, Walter Matthau plays the male lead but three different women play opposite him, Maureen Stapleton, Barbara Harris and Lee Grant.

Visitors From New York -
It is the Nash's 24th Wedding Anniversary. Karen (Stapleton) wants everything to be perfect. She has reserved the same room as on their wedding night. The only problem is her husband Sam doesn't care. And he's having an affair with his secretary.

Maureen Stapleton has always been a great character actress. She would perfect the harried wife to perfection Her natural warmth and charm always makes her likeable to the audience.

Visitor From Hollywood -
Jesse Kiplinger is a Hollywood producer who is in New York for the opening of his new film. He has a couple of hours to fill and he is looking up an old flame from high school, Muriel (Harris). Muriel is happily married but she is star struck. All she wants to do is say that she was with a famous Hollywood producer, not that she slept with him just spent the afternoon. (Remember this was the 60's). Jesse tries but Muriel resists until he talks about the stars.

Barbara Harris has perfect comic timing, even when she does dramatic roles. She also is not afraid of physical comedy. In this she combines both perfectly and works off of Matthau with ease.

Visitors From Brooklyn -
Roy and Norma (Grant) Hubley's daughter is getting married today. That is if they can get her out of bathroom. This is pure Simon farce.

Lee Grant has proven she can do anything but all out farce is her forte. No one does a woman on the verge better.

Walter Matthau was a high profile character actor. That is until he and Jack Lemmon met up with Neil Simon. The Odd Couple permanently moved Walter to leading actor status. Therefore, when the next Simon project was ready for filming, that Matthau was the first choice. Walter had three very different characters to play here and he does each to perfection.

This is master class in comedy, not only acting but directing and writing.

DVD EXTRAS: None
January 18, 2006

Walter Matthau shines in "Plaza Suite"

Walter Matthau has a field day playing three roles in this trio of one-act plays that all take place in Suite 719 of the Plaza Hotel. In the first story, he plays a bored businessman with a mid-life crisis and a desperate wife (Maureen Stapleton. Witty dialogue with a serious tone. In the second act, Matthau plays a self-centered movie producer who calls his star-struck old flame (Barbara Harris) in hopes of some afternoon delight. Silly and funny commentary on the power of celebrity. In the last story, Matthau is the father of a bride who is currently locked in the bathroom, refusing to get married. He and his hysterical wife (Lee Grant) try to coax her out, but she's having second thoughts. Snappy sarcasm played for big laughs.

Adapted from the Broadway smash by Neil Simon, the movie still looks and sounds like a staged play. The actors all shout like they're reaching for the balcony and there's never a moment's pause between lines. The actors even come out for a curtain call at the end. It's dated and stilted, but made thoroughly enjoyable by the stars, especially Matthau, who looks like he's having a great time. A funny movie.

Kona October 27, 2005

One-third of a good movie

While Walter Matthau and his talented co-stars do an admirable job, the first two vignettes have little to offer. Even 35 years ago, I think the stories of adultery and seduction were unoriginal. The last story, however, is a non-stop laugh session. I mean, face it, Walter Matthau's best moments are those when he's at the boiling point. And in this case, with his daughter locked in the Plaza's bathroom on the day of her wedding, the penny-pinching Matthau erupts over and again. Lee Grant, as his hysterical wife, is a perfect companion. This episode is well worth suffering through the first two. September 7, 2005

Third Rate Simon

I am a big fan of Neil Simon (also Woody Allen and Mel Brooks). But I didn't like this movie when it came out, and I didn't like it yesterday. Walter Matthau is not so protean as these reviews would have it. He can be very funny, but he needs a good script to do it. The women shone. The first story was brutally painful. The whole skit and all but 2 or 3 jokes belonged to Maureen Stapleton. The second sketch was simply nothing. Two things made me laugh (I was supposed to laugh, wasn't I?). When Matthau to freshen Barbara Harris' vodka stinger pours straight vodka right out of the bottle into her glass, and when she asks him (he's a movie producer) whether Frank Sinatra is as generous as people say he is, and he answers that at one of his dinners Sinatra served large portions. The third story had a lot of good guffaws in it, but it alas was a one joke show, and after the snappy ending, I was left feeling let down. Finally, I thought the curtain calls at the end of the flick were pretentious, the movie wasn't that good. February 21, 2004

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