Neil Simon's The Odd Couple II

Some things just aren't worth waiting for, such as movie sequels that are quickly cobbled together for strictly monetary reasons. And though this film wasn't hurried — it took 30 years to make it — "Neil Simon's The Odd Couple II" certainly looks and sounds greedy.

Maybe that's because we've recently seen Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau paired in similar movie comedies. Maybe it's because the material is thinner than most facial tissue. Or maybe it's because the original "Odd Couple" was so funny.

For whatever reason, this disappointing sequel just doesn't have either the biting humor or the poignant drama of its predecessor.

Most of the blame has to go to scripter and co-producer Simon, who seems to have heeded the advice of critics who complain that his dialogue often sounds too smart for the characters. Here, he compromises his smarts for cheap humor and ill-mannered exchanges, including some typically PG-13 (and R-rated) profanities.

Without Matthau, who manages to make some of the punchless one-liners seem much funnier than they are, this sequel would have been downright dreadful.

He again stars as the slovenly Oscar Madison, who is now a semi-retired sportswriter living in Florida. He's reunited with obsessive neat-freak Felix Ungar (Lemmon) when the two fly to California to see their 20-something children get married.

But the two quickly find themselves at each other's throats when they get lost and accidentally wreck their rental car. And while trying to find their way back, they encounter a pair of middle-age bikers (Christine Baranski and Jean Smart) and are mistakenly arrested for transporting illegal aliens.

Unfortunately, this lame road-trip concept doesn't play to either the stars or Simon's strengths. In fact, the only funny or charming moments come at the beginning and end of the movie, scenes set in Oscar's Sarasota apartment, as he interacts with the members of his aging poker club.

As mentioned, Matthau probably tries harder than he should, and his charm almost saves the picture. But Lemmon never really seems to have a firm grasp on his character and is surprisingly annoying. Howard Deutch's weak direction definitely doesn't help, either.

"Neil Simon's The Odd Couple II" is rated PG-13 for profanity, some vulgar references and double-entendres, and slapstick violence.