Search - Neil Simon's California Suite on DVD

One of the best adaptations of a Neil Simon play.

D. M. Farmbrough | Wisconsin, USA | 12/05/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Clever direction means that this doesn't seem too play-like and the hotel rooms never seem claustrophobic. A very strong cast is assembled here, with Caine cast against type as a closet case preparing to receive an Oscar with his bitter and scathing wife Maggie Smith. Alan Alda turns in a moving performance as Billy, and Pryor and Cosby, both usually associated with other actors, show us what a good double-act they could have been. It seems to be four plays in one, with the tone of the comedy varying from piece to piece. Alda's section is touching comedy, Walter Matthau's is farce, Caine's is wry observation while Cosby's is farce again. The brevity of the individual pieces means that the film moves along at a cracking pace, leaving you wanting more. If you do want more, I suggest Neil Simon's Plaza Suite."

Tip-Top tragi-comedy par excellence

Mr. M. A. Towey | London United Kingdom | 08/09/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jane fonder and Alan Alder are hysterical, claws are drawn at dawn as she muses to her one-time hubby about how very 'California' he is, all boyish charms and effervescence, as she...ever the sharp New Yorker...pops another ciggy in her cake-hole and manages the impossible, a verbal tirade while inhaling. (Reminded me of the blood letting dialogue delivered so deftly by Kate Hepburn in 'The Lion in Winter'). Walter Matthau is side splitting as he seeks to cheat on the good wife (Elaine May..she is so sweet most men would cheat with her not on her), of course for Walt it all goes Royally wrong. .
Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor play rich-man poor-man doctors et spouse on the vacation from hell in LA...and take competitiveness to interstellar levels. What totally ices this summer pudding though is Maggie smiths' awesome performance as an Englishwoman coping....just...with not getting the Oscar for which she's been nominated...for not having a clue how to dress in superficial, bitchy, hot LA...for not noticing her husband eyeing up every man under 30 (Michael Cain at sympathetic best), and not lobbing herself out the emergency escape hatch on the flight home..."Oh my God!...tell them I want to get off...darling tell them I want to get off..they're only playing my f-ing film". She did get that Oscar though. What a performance"

Fantastic!

Soljk | New York | 12/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's worth a look just for the cast (Prior, Cosby, Alda, Fonda, Smith, Caine, Matthau, etc.), but trust me, you won't be disappointed. Prior & Crosby had me in tears. It does get a bit dramatic towards the end, so I'd probably give this 4.5 stars, but I laughed so hard at points, it gets rounded up to 5 stars."

NEIL SIMON COMEDY

JESSICA'S DAD | Trichur East, Kerala State, India | 11/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Neil Simon's California Suite

FOUR LIGHTWEIGHT PLAYLETS BY NEIL SIMON ALL SET IN THE BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL IN LOS ANGELES. ALAN ALDA, JANE FONDA, WALTER MATTHAU, RICHARD PRYOR, ARE AMONG THOSE WHO INDULGE IN SIMON'S FUN AND GAME ALTHOUGH IT IS MAGGIE SMITH, AS AN ENGLISH STAGE ACTRESS NOMINATED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD, AND MICHAEL CAINE AS HER HUSBAND, WHO CONTRIBUTE TO THE SHARPEST AND MOST HUMOROUS SKETCH. A COLUMBIA PICTURE, DIRECTED BY HERBERT ROSS, WITH ALAN ALDA, MICHAEL CAINE, BILL COSBY, JANE FONDA, WALTER MATTHAU, ELAINE MAY, RICHARD PRYOR, MAGGIE SMITH. COLOUR. 103 mins.

NOTE: Maggie Smith's Award made her the third actress to win in both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories. She had previously won as Best Actress for THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE in 1969. See also HELEN HAYES and INGRID BERGMAN (Gaslight, Anastasia, Murder on the Orient Express)."