Cast: Jack Lemmon (Mel Edison), Anne Bancroft (Edna Edison), Gene Saks (Harry Edison)
Director: Neil Simon
Genre: Comedy
I can't think of a way to start a post on this film other than stating "you don't know what you got until you don't got it no more." With a stretch of the imagination, that phrase fits into the mood of this picture.
Neil Simon's plays are both brilliant and simple. Each time I see one of his pictures, I can't help the arousal of jealousy that stirs inside. I ask myself, "why didn't I think of that." I classify his story lines under the heading, "if this, then that."
When Jack Lemmon isn't paired with Walter Matthau, then Anne Bancroft fits in just as nicely. I love Anne Bancroft! She’s the everyday woman, if you ask me.
"The Prisoner" is a fitting film for today. New York has worn down Mel Edison. With a garbage strike, a killer heat wave, and New York's lack of sympathy, he's barely hanging on.
The stress begins to tear through the thin layer of sanity as Mel gets laid off from his job. Cutbacks! He doesn't know how to break the news to his wife, Edna- a stay at home housewife. To put the icing on the cake, his apartment gets robbed one after noon. They take everything, even his Chivas Regal. All he gets for his troubles is a breakdown. Meanwhile, Edna decides to get work at a production studio. She works the busy hours, as Mel stays home all day, trying to keep house and work out his breakdown. The roles have switched and the personalities switch, too!
It's a classic scenario for Neil Simon. Lemmon is perfect and Anne Bancroft is always entertaining to watch. They both play off of each other very well. The movie doesn't drag on at all. The humor is so natural. As a classic added bonus, F. Murray Abraham and Sylvester Stallone both make cameo appearances in the film. It's worth watching more than once.
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