I'm biased - I'm a Neil Simon fan who loves the concept of the "Suite" plays (on stage, each act is a one-act play using the same set, with the actors playing different roles each act). Obviously, because the stories are intertwined in the film, they couldn't do that (they didn't do in "London Suite" either).
But, here's my complaint: the intertwining is sloppy. We'll sometimes spend twenty or so minutes with a plot, then get a quick cutaway with another (Walter Matthau's plot doesn't really kick in until an hour's passed; Alan Alda disappears after forty-five minutes).
Despite this balancing flaw, there are goodies to be found:
Visitors From New York: Alda and Jane Fonda have great chemistry (and, of course, she looks great!): one can really believe they were a couple. That being said, he's pretty weak, letting her get in a lot of bitchy lines, and barely sticking up for himself. Three stars.
Visitors From London: A lot of people think this is the best segment, and I'm one of them. Once again, Maggie Smith and Michael Caine give excellent performances (but there's a touch of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" throughout the whole scenario) - she deserved her Oscar (and I love that they filmed at an actual Oscars ceremony). Four stars.
Visitors From Philadelphia: First of all, Elaine May was reminding me so much of Louise Lasser. That being said, I could totally buy her and Matthau together, and I love how calm she was upon her discovery (she gets a great line regarding what she's gonna do). Three and a half stars.
Visitors From Chicago: Unfairly criticized. Sure, it's slapstick in the extreme (it gives us an idea how "The Out of Towners" may have looked if confined to "Plaza Suite," which it was intended for), but there's something quite cool about two very different masters of stand up, Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby, going up against one another ("clean" vs. "dirty"?). And, you just know that a few weeks later, the characters got together and had a good laugh about it. Three and a quarter stars.
Throw in a nice credit sequence, with David Hockney paintings, and you have a fine way to spend two hours.
But, here's my complaint: the intertwining is sloppy. We'll sometimes spend twenty or so minutes with a plot, then get a quick cutaway with another (Walter Matthau's plot doesn't really kick in until an hour's passed; Alan Alda disappears after forty-five minutes).
Despite this balancing flaw, there are goodies to be found:
Visitors From New York: Alda and Jane Fonda have great chemistry (and, of course, she looks great!): one can really believe they were a couple. That being said, he's pretty weak, letting her get in a lot of bitchy lines, and barely sticking up for himself. Three stars.
Visitors From London: A lot of people think this is the best segment, and I'm one of them. Once again, Maggie Smith and Michael Caine give excellent performances (but there's a touch of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" throughout the whole scenario) - she deserved her Oscar (and I love that they filmed at an actual Oscars ceremony). Four stars.
Visitors From Philadelphia: First of all, Elaine May was reminding me so much of Louise Lasser. That being said, I could totally buy her and Matthau together, and I love how calm she was upon her discovery (she gets a great line regarding what she's gonna do). Three and a half stars.
Visitors From Chicago: Unfairly criticized. Sure, it's slapstick in the extreme (it gives us an idea how "The Out of Towners" may have looked if confined to "Plaza Suite," which it was intended for), but there's something quite cool about two very different masters of stand up, Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby, going up against one another ("clean" vs. "dirty"?). And, you just know that a few weeks later, the characters got together and had a good laugh about it. Three and a quarter stars.
Throw in a nice credit sequence, with David Hockney paintings, and you have a fine way to spend two hours.