Film version of the Neil Simon play has three separate acts set in the same hotel suite in New York's Plaza Hotel with Walter Matthau in a triple role. In the first, Karen Nash tries to get her inattentive husband Sam's attention and help save their failing marriage. In the second, brash film producer Jesse Kiplinger tries to seduce his former one-time flame Muriel. In the third, Roy Hubley and his wife Norma try and persuade their daughter, a bride to-be with cold feet, out of the bathroom before her approaching wedding ceremony.
Acting
Matthau's three distinct men—same face, totally different souls.
Writing
Neil Simon's machine-gun one-liners cut deep.
Production
That Plaza suite becomes a character—witness to marital carnage.
Director
Arthur Hiller
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Matthau originated all three roles on Broadway in 1968, winning a Tony. The film kept the stage blocking almost shot-for-shot.
This was peak Neil Simon—1971 audiences laughed at marital misery that 2024 viewers might find too real. The Plaza itself was declining, making the luxury setting quietly ironic.
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