“The Prisoner of Second Avenue” is one of Neil Simon’s comedies starring Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft as a couple caught in the daily dysfunction of married life in New York City. The film contains the patented repartee that is a characteristic of many, if not all, of Simon’s plays. However, the dialogue drones on far too long for a 98 minute movie, and turns into an annoying moaning and complaining fest for the last twenty or thirty minutes.
Lemmon and Bancroft carry on like the troopers they are, under the so-so direction of Melvin Frank (“A Touch of Class” 1973). Co-stars include Gene Saks, Elizabeth Wilson, Florence Stanley, and Maxine Stuart. Appearing in small roles early in their careers are F. Murray Abraham, John Ritter, and Sylvester Stallone. “The Prisoner of Second Avenue” is mostly watchable film from Warner Bros. Pictures, with a musical score composed by Marvin Hamlisch.
The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975)
cinema
My Review
“The Prisoner of Second Avenue” is one of Neil Simon’s comedies starring Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft as a couple caught in the daily dysfunction of married life in New York City. The film contains the patented repartee that is a characteristic of many, if not all, of Simon’s plays. However, the dialogue drones on far too long for a 98 minute movie, and turns into an annoying moaning and complaining fest for the last twenty or thirty minutes.
Lemmon and Bancroft carry on like the troopers they are, under the so-so direction of Melvin Frank (“A Touch of Class” 1973). Co-stars include Gene Saks, Elizabeth Wilson, Florence Stanley, and Maxine Stuart. Appearing in small roles early in their careers are F. Murray Abraham, John Ritter, and Sylvester Stallone. “The Prisoner of Second Avenue” is mostly watchable film from Warner Bros. Pictures, with a musical score composed by Marvin Hamlisch.