MovieChat Forums > The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) Discussion > Can someone tell me what this film is ac...

Can someone tell me what this film is actually about?

posted 17 years ago by bullsch
15 replies | jump to latest

And does Sly play a youth in a park who Jack Lemmon thinks has stolen his wallet?

'I used to drink a lot. I had groupie's and a tour bus, and I wasn't even in a band'

[–] dr_salter 17 years ago

Hey Dude or Dudette. I guess you don't need a degree in Sociology to understand what was meant to be happening in this film. But back then (and probably now) the whole of the patriarchal system was based on 'status' & how a man felt good about himself. It was good, if he 1/ had a job, 2/ a wife who stayed home cleaning & cooking and 3/ had no children (cause they cost too much to educate). Hey, 1 outta 3 aint bad. Jack's got no kids but he loses his job (a walkover job he's done for years). He finds that all the executive type jobs are filled and he'd need further training to get another highly paid job. So, he'll have to start at the bottom again & won't like the loss in status. Jack has a wife but she's not home cleaning & cooking.

Back then in the 70s with 'women's lib' it was supposedly OK for women to earn as much as their hubbies. But he's unemployed & staying home... bored out of his tiny mind and hating it. He's never cleaned a thing before (wife did it) and he's never had to interact with the rest of the world (always at work). So he's learning a new set of signs & signifiers & going crazy doing it. It's not a great film but it's 'good'. And shows how Jack Lemmon was probably sick of doing the 'pretty boy' films like Irma La Douce etc & if you look at his movies- it seems he wanted to stretch his metaphorical actors wings & do reality. Which he did in the late 60s & 70s. Hope this helps some?

[–] bullsch 17 years ago

It does. But could you tell me if Sly played a guy in a park that Jack thinks has stolen his wallet?

'I used to drink a lot. I had groupie's and a tour bus, and I wasn't even in a band'

[–] dr_salter 17 years ago

Hey guy or guyette
if i'd known all yous wanted was stats on Sly
i wouldn't have done that first long rambling answer about social hype stuff...
sorry about that 99.
If you need to see it for yourself go to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvester_Stallone.
Because YES! It was Sly who accosted Jack in the park.
I actually LOVE Sly in the movie 'OSCAR' with Marissa Tomei- it's a scream (funny).

[–] thecaptaineast 17 years ago

Dr.Salter,I thought that was an excellent analysis.It's posts like that that make me come to the boards.

[–] Pipchick 16 years ago

Because YES! It was Sly who accosted Jack in the park.

Actually he didn't accost him, just bumped into him. But he was cute in that part, the ITALIAN STALLION actually running away from Jack Lemmon.

[–] brock-samson 17 years ago

Mel Edison actually did have kids - an undisclosed number of girls who were apparently "up in school" during the time the movie takes place. Listen to the conversation in the elevator between him and "Charlie" during the first few minutes of the movie.

[–] dr_salter 17 years ago

Thanks Brock-Samson
Spot on.
I was actually only raving about the social significance of the movie at the time it was made... for a man to lose his job & have a wife working.
But YUP! the fact that he had daughters 'at school' would only add to the mental stress it placed on him as the bread winner. Notice it's girls not boys - the script writters could have had any sex...
so this adds to the social significance.
Dr Salter

the two detonations seemed nearly simultaneous... the inacurrate technology of terrorism

[–] nycruise-1 16 years ago

This movie is a product of its time.

More to the point: it addresses the frustrations of a man - and his wife - living in 1970s New York City.

I don't know that anyone unfamiliar with New York will totally get this movie.

It's steeped in frustrated New Yorker experiences - and flavored with the classic "New York Jew" take on Life.

I find it a hard movie to watch because it can hit so close to anyone who has lived in New York and had to put up with the $hit that goes on in that city - and ignored such adversity because, ultimately, the city os such a great place to live otherwise.

I suppose this movie/play can also be perceived as a basic "man-seeking-identity" parable - but I doubt whether anyone who hasn't lived in a place where people constantly confront each other will totally comprehend.

Toward that point: I don't think there is any other place on the planet where people run up against each other as often and as emotionally - and are confronted by so many haphazard shortfalls (i.e., broken plumbing) - as in New York City.

"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"

[–] gbennett5 16 years ago

I saw it for the first time tonight on TCM and agree it's a relic of its
time. Incredibly dated stuff. It's depressing, without being particularly
insightful and just when real drama sets in, out come the sitcom lines,
none of which, are particularly funny. In fact, some are so lame, they
play like gags out of "Married With Children."

I've always enjoyed Lemmon, but he had the tendency - especially when he
got older - to play everything over the top. And Neil Simon, a brilliant
STAGE writer, didn't translate well to the screen. I also feel Bancroft
could be a major scenery chewer when the reigns weren't carefully pulled
in. As for bellowing Gene Saks, he's just as obnoxious here as he is
in "A Thousand Clowns." All bellow, no depth. This is why his day job
is directing.

[–] johnkstone1234 16 years ago

I agree with much of what gbennett said. The film treads a fine line between drama and comedy, and to my mind, succeeds at neither. With Neil Simon's skills, he could have pushed it in either direction, but here -- the pathos is empty and the laughs are contrived. The characters are generally unlikable, and often scream at one another or neighbors. The joke gets old pretty quick.

Being Jewish and having lived in NYC all my life, I can identify with some of the situations and concerns of the film, but I don't really think one has to have such a background to appreciate the film. Anyway, Neil Simon himself, Woody Allen in his heyday, and Billy Wilder all tapped similar material to far better results.

[–] commanderjeltz 15 years ago

Yes, a very seventies film, when New York City was bankrupt and crime went through the roof. But what's happening now, in 2009, with the economy, provides many parallels.

[–] JrnlofEddieDeezenStudies 14 years ago

More to the point: it addresses the frustrations of a man - and his wife - living in 1970s New York City.

Not just the 70s--I live in New York now and the film often seemed like I was watching my wife and me on candid camera.

I agree that some of it might not play as well to people who haven't experienced living here or somewhere with many similarities. It's a bit like This is Spinal Tap, which is far funnier to anyone who has ever been in a rock band working at least at a semi-professional level. Why both films work better if you've had those experiences is because while they might seem to have ridiculous, completely imaginary situations to others, they're really very close to the truth. The exaggerations are very slight.

http://www.rateyourmusic.com/~JrnlofEddieDeezenStudies

[–] ChristmasStan 14 years ago

The movie is great. You do not need to be a New Yorker to "get it". You just have to have an IQ higher then an Adam Sandler or Michael Bay Fan

[–] pt100 9 years ago

I have a high IQ and can't stand Adam Sandler; but I think this movie sucked, as does most Neil Simon stuff. He has a niche (probably the Dean Martin-loving cocktail lounge crowd), but I'm not in it.

It is better to be kind than to be clever or good looking. -- Derek

[–] gllyn-1 9 years ago

I don't live in New York, I don't live in a city and I don't even live in the US, but I reckon I "get" this film, even if not totally as nycruise-1 asserts. After all, most films are set in places and times that few of us have experienced.

I have seen films and wondered what they were really about but surely anyone with a grain of imagination can empathise with the characters in this one. As for reviewers who said Lemmon and Bancroft overacted, how many nervous breakdowns have they witnessed? My wife is recovering from an illness that causes irrational behaviour and we've had shouting matches over trivial things like why is the computer taking so long to start up or why does nothing ever work. Believe me, this film struck a chord.