| The original production was terrific. Judd Hirsch paused and sub-texted the hell out of the script, giving his part perhaps more weight and depth than as written. Reportedly, when Lawrence Luckinbill took over for Hirsch, the playing time lost 15 minutes. Anita Gillette was wonderful -- thoughtful, intelligent, articulate, emotional, an apt foil/partner for Hirsch -- which, again, may have given the script more substance than was originally there. Marsha Mason did the same thing in the film, but James Caan was unfortunately no match. The sub-plot always was sillier than the main one, with seemingly some more Danny Simon adventures unused from "Come Blow Your Horn" and "The Odd Couple." But Cliff Gorman made the best of his part. However, Ann Wedgeworth came in with a character that Valerie Harper could never hope to approach, as good as Harper is. Wedgeworth was half-bimbo/half-brain and always funny and sexy. She and Gorman were great to watch, and you could absolutely believe their attraction. It was their plot complications that seemed unnecessary and mechanical. Overall, it made for a more grounded than usual Simon script, with the easy pleasure of "Barefoot in the Park" mixed with the the later comic seriousness of the Brighton Beach trilogy. |
