Billy Wilder Blogathon – Buddy Buddy (1981)

This post is part of the Billy Wilder 2nd Annual Blogathon hosted by Kellie of Outspoken and Freckled and Aurora of Once Upon a Screen. Tnx Ladies!

“Hello Mr. Green? Oh, Mr. White… let me speak to Mr. Brown… ” – Trabucco

Number of Times Seen – 1 (18 Jun 2015)

Brief Synopsis – A hit man and a man trying to win back his wife end up in adjacent rooms in a hotel where each gets unsolicited help from the other.

My Take on it – This movie has two pairs of entertainers that have had long careers working together which is what makes this movie so fun to watch.

The first pair are actors Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon who worked together 10 times during their careers, this was their fourth collaboration.  They were always able to work off each other so well.

The second pair are Director/Writer Billy Wilder and writer IAL Diamond who worked together on just about every one of their movies.  This was actually their final collaboration and Wilder’s final film as a director.

This movie works so well because they are able to combine two seemingly unrelated circumstances with a hilarious outcome.  Through most of the movie, neither character is fully aware of the other’s circumstances whoich also leads to much hilarity.

The story is pretty predictable, but who really cares when it’s entertaining the whole way.

Bottom Line – Hilarious movie that does a great job of combining two completely unrelated plot lines that the audience is aware of but the characters are completely in the dark about. Lemmon and Matthau are superb together as always. Very predictable but fun nevertheless. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The name of the Californian sex clinic retreat was “The Institute for Sexual Fulfillment”. It’s motto was “Ecstasy Is Our Business”. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)