BuddyBoy60 Now, I'm a big fan of Billy Wilder's films. Sunset Boulevard and The Apartment are 2 of my most favorite films. His movies have such completeness in them. They make you laugh a lot and cry a little and at the end you feel a unique sense of satisfaction that will make you say "They don't make 'em like they used to!" because no matter how many times you have watched his films you would still plan on watching them again someday; at least that is how I feel about Billy Wilder's films. They don't get old. They are classics. However, with "Buddy Buddy", although I did enjoy it, I find that it doesn't compete with the other films of Billy Wilder and I would personally say it's his weakest. Having watched all of Billy Wilder's films (with the exception of Mauvais graine and The Emperor Waltz) and developed a profound appreciation and understanding of his works, I was disappointed after I watched this one. The feeling was very unusual, like a feeling I never had after watching a Billy Wilder movie. I was used to being really satisfied after viewing but with this Billy Wilder feature, I was disappointed. In retrospect, I can see the main thing that hurt the film is in the writing of the film. It is very unusual for the writer pairing of Wilder and Diamond to strike out given that in all of their films that I have watched, I have observed that the strongest aspect in them is how well they were written. Wilder's films are not mainly known for their and visuals but it is with their screenplays, that they became great and beloved movies. But unfortunately in this outing, it is the writing that's become the main flaw of the movie. The screenplay by Wilder and Diamond seemed very raw and incomplete. It doesn't have the usual amount of laughs and/or cynicism (usually plentiful). The movie's length is also shorter than the usual Billy Wilder film and even with that fact, the film still feels dragging because there isn't enough striking and memorable moments in it and the few that it has are too far apart to make a really engaging film as expected by a fan like me. They are mostly placed in the beginning and last part of the film, the middle part of the movie I thought was very forgettable. In contrast, other outputs from the director never seemed to run out fuel. They may have a few lapses but they keep you entertained until the end. This unfortunately is not the case for Billy Wilder's "Buddy Buddy" which is the least I liked among his films. While I was disappointed with the film more so because I'm a big Billy Wilder fan and I had a high expectation with the film, I believe that the film still has merits and is still very watchable. You can still enjoy the performance of the two leads, Matthau and Lemmon whose comedic pairing is one of best in movie history. Although this was a weak outing for the creators, just to see the two in the same movie is worthwhile and the story is actually good. Plus it is still a film directed by Wilder, though a very flawed one, it still contains glimpses of comedy genius fans are used to. A moment in "Buddy Buddy" that perhaps redeemed the film for me is the end scene. It reminded me of the great end scene from Some Like It Hot which is greatly satisfying. With this film, the end scene was sort of a revelation for me, of the level it could have achieved hadn't it been half baked and incomplete. There were a lot of potentials for this project if probably Wilder and Diamond did have more time to polish the script and pace it even better. But even if they never came to fruition and the movie leaves so much more to be desired, if I were to choose the least of Wilder or none of Wilder, I would not hesitate to choose to watch this movie. This movie is still enjoyable and is good for some laughs. FINAL WORD: If you have not seen a movie by Billy Wilder or you are just starting to get through his filmography, watch "Buddy Buddy", you are more likely to enjoy the film than those who are Wilder aficionados. If you are a Billy Wilder fan with high expectations, do not be surprised, chances are you will be disappointed because it is unlike his other films. You may not be fully satisfied with this cup of coffee. Perhaps considering it as an encore for the great films Billy Wilder has given us can make the viewing more satisfying.

moonspinner55 Jack Lemmon does some very funny over-playing as a suicidal man in a southern California hotel who makes friends with his neighbor, a grouchy hit-man on the verge of retiring after one last job, but the picture is botch. American remake of the 1973 French-Italian black comedy "L'emmerdeu" ("A Pain in the Ass") re-teams Lemmon and co-star Walter Matthau with director and co-writer Billy Wilder, but results aren't even sporadically funny. Wilder's witless script (with writing pal I.A.L. Diamond) is a wet noodle: there's no snap, just caustic flapping and nagging. This is also one of worst-looking major studio films of the 1980s, with lemon meringue color and cheap process shots. Matthau, constantly opening-closing-and-reopening his suitcase, looks terrible throughout; with his hair dyed too black and the color of his skin a sickly white pallor, he resembles a waxwork figure. Lemmon sticks close to his proved formula--his nervous/neurotic Lemmon-isms--and survives the morass, but everyone else in the cast has been prodded to play these gross jokes to the hilt. It's a pushy, ugly piece of work. *1/2 from ****

Brevity "Buddy Buddy", the final film of the genius that was Billy Wilder, is a decent comedy but not a worthy ending to his career. It's a remake of the French film "L'Emmerdeur", but I haven't seen it and am therefore incapable of comparison.Someone pointed out that the movie looks a lot older than it is. I very much agree.It is sad to see geniuses like Wilder and Diamond putting something as awkward as genital jokes into their script. Surprisingly, there is one clumsy slapstick moment. There are genuinely funny scenes and lines, too ("Father, you said the F word"), but they are a minority. Some attempts at creating humour fail terribly, as if made by amateurs (Lemmon chair-bound); most merely produce nods of acceptance.Matthau is good and Lemmon is amusing as expected. However, Paula Prentiss's performance is really disturbing, intentionally or not, and Kinski's character is just annoying - and I mean written that way.Overall the film, entitled here "Varsinaiset kumppanukset" ("Some Buddies"), isn't nearly as embarrassing as I'd expected; a mere shadow, nevertheless, it is of its director's previous masterpieces - if even that. But be not fooled: Wilder can't go bad (granted, I still have a lot to see). A few, pardon my French, comedy nuggets make this decent as an entertainment, and its two stars are okay. "Buddy Buddy", then, as a title... Meh.

Pepper Anne Of the extensive list of team-ups that actors Walter Matthau and comedy pal, Jack Lemmon have done, this is not one of the best. It certainly isn't great material from the divine works of director Billy Wilder. But, it does have those off-beat misadventures moments that can make you laugh every now and again.Buddy, Buddy is the story of a mismatched duo, Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in their usual form with Matthau as the serious cynic, and Lemmon as the worrisome moralist. Lemmon plays Victor Clooney, a man depressed by the fact that his wife of twelve years wants to divorce him and instead, carry on the rest of her years with a deranged German sex-therapist doctor (complete with nutty German scientist garb including bleach blonde hair and pink lens glasses). Clooney takes a room in the hotel where he proposed to his wife, and happens to be staying next door to hit-man Trabucco (Walter Matthau), who can't seem to believe his luck. He's been hired to kill a Mafia witness, but in trying to complete the contract, he keeps getting involved with all of the idiocies of Clooney and his wife and the crazy sex clinic. For me, Matthau as the unshakable serious hit-man is what makes this movie so funny. It is as though he can't believe what he's gotten involved in and how idiotic the other characters are--Clooney, his wife, and yes, the sex therapist. What's more, is he can't seem to liberate himself from the likes of the incessant Mr. Clooney. The things that Trabucco does to (what he thinks) get himself away from Clooney and get his job over with are quite amusing. But only in slight. But, as I said before, this certainly isn't the best of the Matthau/Lemmon duos (the greatest probably being the classic, 'The Odd Couple,' and 'Front Page'; and of course, this movie pales in comparison to many of the great films in Billy Wilder's catalogue--some of which even include Jack Lemmon in starring roles). Moreover, given that it was released in 1981, this movie seems much older, like it was made in the late 60s or early 70s.