PlatinumRead Just so...so bad

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

edwagreen Neil Simon's writing at its best is epitomized in this 1975 film with the psychoses, neuroses of urban living together in a New York heat wave to give its protagonist, Jack Lemmon, a nervous breakdown, after he loses his executive position.Lemmon is terrific as the eventual malcontent finally blaming society for his woes. He is most ably assisted by Edna, played deliciously by the always superb Anne Bancroft.Frustration is the center core of this entertaining film, and also an excellent supporting performance by Gene Saks, as the supposed stable older brother of Lemmon who exposes his frustrations at the end of the film. Another case of sibling rivalry, but on a loving scale.Urban frustrations abound in a very decent film.

slightlymad22 I'll admit from the off, I am slightly biased as I love Jack Lemmon, and Neil Simon seems to bring out the best in him The Prisoner Of Second Avenue is a lot of fun, I really enjoyed it. Plot In A Paragraph: Executive Mel Edison has a nervous breakdown when he suddenly finds himself unemployed. I'm a Jack Lemmon fan anyway, so I enjoy most things that he stars in, and I always enjoy seeing him on screen. It's also fun to see a young pre-Rocky Sly Stallone in another of his early roles. Sly only has the one scene (Available on YouTube) as he attempts to pickpocket Jack Lemmon and a fed up Lemmon snaps, before he turns the tables on him and pursues him through Central Park.

jacabiya As much as I love Lemmon and Bancroft, there's no denying this film is a mess. While Arthur Hiller made a hilarious comedy out of dark material in the "Out-of-Towners", director Melvin Frank seems to be unable to handle the material and keep the atmosphere and pace here, the reason being that the material here is much, much darker, and drama (middle-aged man loses his job, suffers a nervous break-down (no spoiler here since this is in the description of the film) and comedy are combined without any sense or style. As a drama, this could have been a very interesting film, and Lemmon and Bancroft could have been best-actor and actress contenders that great year of 1975. Lemmon gives an incredible performance going completely wacko before our eyes, but his performance is too intense and real to fit in this Neil Simon comedy. Bancroft is very good too and more restrained (until the end) and therefore better for this comedy. As for the comedy, some of it works and some is simply outdated or lousy. Then there are other problems: a preposterous robbery, daughters are mentioned but never seen or heard of; the Edisons seem to live in complete isolation, without friends; Mel works in an office next to the entrance door so we never get to see the full office (limited budget, I guess). If this is the way the original theatrical script was written, then it needed to be corrected or expanded for the film, in order to have more understanding and therefore to be able to develop more sympathy towards the characters. The wife's request to his husband's family seems to come out of the blue and is completely irrational, and the brother's response to this request at the end seem also totally irrational, and his confession as brother of Mel had nothing to do with the story. Plus the ending is very awkward and anticlimactic.

ep193577 THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE is perfection. Jack Lemmon's heartbreaking performance is remarkable. He captures brilliantly what every man of a certain age (and I am now in that category) must endure. He is the avatar to all 40-50 something males-through Lemmon and his performance we see ourselves . While its primarily a comedy-it is also a sublime adventure. We are seeing our lives through Mel's eyes-and for 1 and 3 quarter hours we are on a white knuckle ride through middle age-his pain, suffering, denial, his feeling of life kicking him in his sagging butt-are uniquely felt. Its a atharsis as we endure lifes lessons and ultimately-like life itself-come out of its inevitability smiling at the end-knowing that we have no other choice but to live life-not drown in it. This is Neil Simons masterpiece. Beautifully written it blows the artificiality of the later THE GOODBYE GIRL out of the water. The atrocious, shrill ONLY WHEN I LAUGH really put the nail in the coffin of Simons once amazing career. I count THE ODD COUPLE , THE HEARTBREAK KID , MURDER BY DEATH and of course PRISONER as some of my alltime favorites. And yet GOODBYE and LAUGH garnered nominations in categories PRISNER were denied-Actor, Actress, Screenplay and Picture at the Oscars. Our foundling fathers-the British recognized Anne Bancrofts hilarious performance as Best Actress at their BAFTA awards. She is very much Lemmons equa in this. They are Mel and Edna-they are the old married couple they portray. A separate shout out to Marvin Hamlish-his melancholy score is the score to my life. Its elegant , simple notes add up to one of the best scores-ever. Its a shame that it never made it to cd (nor album)-it is exquisite. In every area-acting, writing, scoring, AVENUE succeeds magnificently. As added touches that enhance the viewing-it is a perfect time capsule for Manhattan circa the 70s. You feel and taste it.Amazingly evocative of its times. Highly recommended-this movie takes no PRISONERs-it engulfs everyone.