User Reviews

A competent comedy that delivers the laughs for fans of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. I suppose this film was made for those who enjoyed the two GRUMPY OLD MEN films, as there seemed to be a bunch of these buddy team-ups spotlighting the comical duo in their twilight years. The idea is a sure-fire one: Matthau, a bumbling gambler who's thousands of dollars in debt, connives his unsuspecting friend Lemmon into taking a free cruise with him where they can meet rich old ladies; the catch is, they've been signed on as Dance Hosts and Matthau can't dance. OUT TO SEA is a funny film, and not all of the chuckles are to be found courtesy of Lemmon and Matthau. I found Brent Spiner (best known as Data from STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION) to be very humorous as the snobby ball-busting dance coordinator. As the prissy boss of the two aging actors, he manages to match them in the laughs department. Though the film doesn't really need any, there's also a a love story or two to be found here as well, involving Dyan Cannon (who looks pretty fine for her years). *** out of ****

While this movie is not the most entertaining in the world, I think it is better than most over all. I mean it had it's little laughs and just all around a good feeling. It's not too often we get to see two old geezers just having fun with their age and honestly having a good time with the jokes. Walter and Jack had such a great chemistry together as friends/brother in-laws. Just watching them romancing these women was fun and you rooted for them all the way because wither we have to admit it or not, for their age, they still had game! :D I loved just the whole plot of being able to move on and having fun no matter how old you are. I'd recommend this movie for a nice laugh if you want one.

7/10

I found this movie to be quite good. Although some people call this movie the "Grumpy Old Men And The Sea" it is hilarious at the right moments and soft at others. Matthau and Lemmon are two great actors and if you like one or both of them, be sure not to miss this film.

After the making of GRUMPY OLD MEN and GRUMPIER OLD MEN, the box office success of those two films made it evident that another film property co-starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau was needed. They found one property, THE GRASS HARP, where they shared one scene together. But then this film was made which was fully their film together.

Like most of their films Lemmon is the quiet partner who is dragged into the troublesome situation by the noisy partner Matthau. Here they are brother-in-laws (Matthau's sister, who is dead). Matthau convinces Lemmon that he needs to take a sea cruise to end his long period of mourning. Lemmon does not realize that Matthau got them free passage by signing them onto the cruise as social dancers (partners for elderly lady passengers). Lemmon can dance, but Matthau cannot, and one scene has Lemmon trying to teach Matthau, only to be caught by Donald O'Connor and Hal Linden dancing together (O'Connor and Linden jumping to the wrong conclusion). If they can't pull their weight as social dancers, they will have to pay the $1,500.00 per person fare as travelers. Neither can afford that. Matthau really could not care much about this - he hopes that he will be lucky to find, romance, and marry a wealthy woman. Lemmon is encouraged to do the same, but he is not as mercenary. As it turns out Lemmon does meet Gloria De Haven, and Matthau meets Dyan Cannon (and her mother, Elaine Stritch). But the course to true love is never smooth in movies. Matthau has a rival for Cannon, in Edward Mulhare. And Brent Spiner, the cruise entertainment director, is an evil martinet determined to impress the cruise line owner (Rue McLanahan) to put him in control of all the cruise ship's entertainment centers.

It is a well-cast film, which helps (this is reminiscent of the two "Grumpies" films that preceded it. But those films had better balance to them. They had moments of pathos where one could see Lemmon and Matthau were not just funny men but human types. Here Lemmon is shown to have such a weakness - he has romanced De Haven in spite of his qualms, but at a critical point remembers his deep love for his first wife. But Matthau's personality is so mercenary (a "cousin" to his "Whiplash Willie Gingrich" in THE FORTUNE COOKIE), that his turning into a legitimate lover of Cannon doesn't quite sit well. Nor does it sit well when we find other likable characters can be equally mercenary.

However there are plenty of great moments in the film. Spiner's unplanned involvement with a colorful local parade is one. So is Matthau's ridiculous dance with Rue McLanahan that looks atrocious (he calls his non-steps, "the crawl")but that she enjoys. Spiner, better known as "Mr. Data" the android in STAR TREK, THE NEXT GENERATION, turns in a fine comic villain performance. My only criticism is that Linden and O'Connor seem too peripheral in the plot (although both do give filler about the ruthlessness of Spiner, whom Linden really dislikes). But the film is still very amusing, and worth while seeing. Unfortunately it was not their final film. That would be THE ODD COUPLE II.

I got a few laughs out of this one, more than a lot of other so called comedies. The big ship was a knockout and getting to see a lot of it's scenery was fun: as was getting to see some of Dyan Cannon's curves. This wasn't the height of Lemmon's and Mattheau's career, but it wasn't a total dog as some suggest.

A bit of the plot from Moon Over Miami and even more from The Monte Carlo Story has Walter Matthau as a degenerate footloose gambler getting a bit long in the tooth persuading an equally aged, but more square Jack Lemmon to take a cruise and try and fleece the old ladies in Out To Sea.

Matthau needs Lemmon because Lemmon can cut it on a dance floor and he's signed them on as dancers for the unescorted women on the cruise. Of course Lemmon doesn't know that. What he does know that Matthau who is the brother of his late wife has come to him with one scheme after another for years. And Matthau owes some big money to the bookies and that's why he needs cash.

So they go on the cruise and as for Matthau he gets involved with Dyan Cannon and her mother Elaine Stritch and its poker not the dance floor where he meets them. Matthau has to deal with a pompous Englishman in Edward Mulhare who really is a sitting target for Matthau's cons.

As for Lemmon he gets involved with Gloria DeHaven who is accompanying her daughter and husband on a holiday. They don't think she gets out enough. Oddly enough that's how Matthau feels about Lemmon.

As for the rest of the cast, Star Trek's Data Brent Spiner has a great part as an obnoxious twit of a performer and dancer who lords it over the others of greater talent who also include Hal Linden and Donald O'Connor. Matthau bounces some great lines off him and Spiner's reactions are priceless. I'd also have to single out Elaine Stritch who comes into her own explaining the facts of life to Cannon.

During the Nineties we were fortunate indeed to have Lemmon and Matthau in some great films, specifically written for them. In Out To Sea you can see that a great supporting cast was assembled for them. Like some of the comedy teams, these two comic actors did variations on their first film together The Fortune Cookie where Matthau is the con artist who is always dragging Lemmon into one of his schemes.

Out To Sea isn't as good as The Fortune Cookie or the first The Odd Couple, but it's still plenty funny.

Wlater Matthau and Jack Lemmon are one of the most beloved silver screen pairings, having made such classic films like 'The Fortune Cookie' (for which Matthau won his Oscar) and the more well known 'The Odd Couple' together.

In the 1990's film studios realised again what a great partnership they had on their hands to exploit,and so the duo made four films together in this period, with 'Out to sea' being one of them.

It's not a great film, I'll say that from the start. The plot is thin and the film itself is overlong. BUT, what makes it is the chemistry between the two leads. Their friendship both on and off screen shines through for all to see and these talented comedic actors wring every last joke out of the script. For that alone this film is a good one.

A mention must go to Brett Spiner also, who has the thankless task of playing straight man to Matthau and Lemmon. He does however steal quite a few scenes and deserves the laughs he gets.

Overall, this isn't the duo at their best, but it certainly beats a lot of the other comedies we have today.

Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, both of whom are sadly missed, proved once again that they were a team dedicated to their craft of bringing hilarious moments to the screen. This film is just another example of this.

This time out they play two brothers-in-law who land on a ship as dance instructors on board.

Of course, their boss is a perfectionist and miserable person named Gil Godwin who just enjoys harassing these boys. It's hilarious how Lemmon gives a quick lesson in dancing to Matthau and how the latter dances a riotous rumba with the boat's owner Rue McLanahan.

Too bad that fellow dance instructors Hal Linden and Donald O'Connor are given so little to do but their parts call for that. Matthau falls for Dyan Cannon, on board with her fellow gold-digging mother, the usual outrageous Elaine Stritch. Unknown to them, Matthau has no money either. The widower Lemmon falls for Gloria De Haven, looking lovelier than ever.

The film belongs to Matthau and Lemmon and will serve as a further tribute to their illustrious careers.

If you liked The Odd Couple and Grumpy Old Men, you're going to want to rent Out to Sea. Really, that means everyone will rent this comedy, because who didn't like the previous pairings of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau?

In this one, brothers-in-law get trapped on a cruise and have to pretend to be dance teachers, even though they don't have any talent in that department. Of course, there are tons of near-misses as they flounder through and try not to get kicked off the boat, and of course, there are tons of colorful characters to fill out the simple plot. Even if you're not drawn in by the dynamic duo, you'll be tempted to rent this one for the supporting cast: Dyan Cannon, Brent Spiner, Elaine Stritch, and the final film appearances of Donald O'Connor and Gloria DeHaven. Don't worry, folks. Gloria is one of the beautiful love interests, and Donald looks exactly the same as he did when he was a teenager-and he even shows he can still dance!

You've got to expect that the movie's going to get a little silly, but it's pretty cute. There's romance, dancing, Odd Couple-esque banter, and tons of humor. Fans of "old foks still got it" movies will probably really like this one.

Fun little comedy in Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau's second last appearance together. Nothing too serious and plot points you can see coming from jupiter, this is still held together by Lemmon & Matthau's chemistry. Also Dyan Cannon looks great here at 60!

Charlie Gordon (Walter Matthau) is the guy who can't seem to let go of horse racing. The debts pile up high on his head. So, he decides that it is time for him and his brother-in-law to take a trip out on the open seas. His brother-in-law, Herb Sullivan (Jack Lemmon) whose wife passed away reluctantly tags along. It is not until they board the Westerdam that it is realized that Charlie signed them up as dance hosts. What follows is some hilarious antics not only on the open seas, but on the dance floor. And a sweet love story also comes along too. People criticize this movie for the pointlessness it brings. It is actually quite funny, but seems to be geared more toward the seniors' group. I think this movie was quite good. Rent it for a weekend and just see.

Out to Sea is perfectly acceptable daytime entertainment, but then again, when looking at the body of work Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau made together, it treads the line of unacceptable daytime entertainment. Lemmon and Matthau were unstoppable forces of hilarity and laughter in their 1968 screen debut in The Odd Couple and, despite playing rivals and not friends, were terrific as bitter codgers in the back-to-back Grumpy Old Men films. Out to Sea, on the other hand, plays like a screenplay that was meant for two relatively unknown elderly actors - not two established, renowned ones whose filmographies are littered with winners.

Lemmon and Matthau star as Herb and Charlie, respectively. Charlie runs up a bill with the local bookie because of bets on horseracing and gets him and his friend Herb jobs as dancers aboard a luxury cruiseline. This is the last thing Herb wants and, particularly, it's the last thing Charlie want but this isn't the time for choices. Charlie needs money and Herb needs the company and the experience, despite not admitting it.

Out to Sea would've likely been funnier had it taken a raunchier route, I believe. As is, the film feels like a safe, unrealistic, geriatric comedy with little depth of humor outside quirky incidents (which was the opposite of Lemmon and Matthau's comedic masterpiece The Odd Couple). However, when the conversational fluidity finds its way into this film, it becomes a tad more bearable. When Herb and Charlie engage in lively banter about relationships, age, and life itself is when the film evolves into more than acceptable entertainment.

This is the reason my review of Out to Sea isn't the definition of mediocrity or a scathing one. The chemistry the two actors have on screen together mimics a long-lasting, inseparable friendship between two elderly friends that feels authentic. Combine that with occasional sparks of humor based on events rather than dialog, and you have a tolerable film that is akin to a mixed bag in cinema.

Starring: Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Directed by: Martha Coolidge.

"Out to Sea" is the last of nine comedy films that Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau made together. The two Oscar winners and senior stars had given us some funny and entertaining films over the years. Besides their comedy, each had a distinguished film career that included dramas, action films and mystery-thrillers. Matthau lived just three more years and died July 1, 2000, at age 79. Lemmon would live just four more years, and died June 27, 2001, at age 76.

In this 1997 film, the boys are in their usual form. They have slowed down some but still appear to be chipper. They are a couple of retired codgers. Lemmon plays Herb Sullivan and Matthau is Charlie Gordon. They are brothers-in-law. Charlie's never been married and Herb, who wed Charlie's sister, has been a widower for a year or so.

This film has some prominent actors in supporting roles, and these add to the humor. Dyan Cannon, Gloria DeHaven, Elaine Stritch, Hal Linden and Donald O'Connor all are good for laughs. Brent Spiner plays the stars' nemesis. He's Gil Godwyn, cruise director.

The plot is far-fetched, and that makes it even funnier. The cast seemed to be having a ball making this film. It isn't on the level of the earlier Lemmon-Matthau comedies, but it's still an entertaining film that's sure to arouse many laughs. It's a good adult film to enjoy, especially for middle aged and older folks. Few in younger audiences are apt to enjoy or appreciate old-fashioned humor, especially among the older set.

Here are a couple samples of humor in the dialog.

Gil, "No, you listen to me. I'm your worst nightmare. A song and dance man raised on a military base. Dismissed!" Herb, "I'll bet his father was cruise director on the Bismarck."

Herb, to Charlie, "You're crazy. Years of insanity have made you crazy."

with two old friends.

I've always enjoyed both Lemmon's and Mathaeu's films, and of course their team efforts are always worth watching, and often hilarious.

Although I didn't personally regard this film as in the hilarious category, it is certainly a competent and entertaining vehicle for fans of the two principle actors and of 60s style romantic comedy plots.

Brent Spiner may actually steal the show in terms of laughs as the arrogant and tyrannical Cruise Director.

Gloria DeHaven proves that senior ladies can remain enormously attractive.

Sadness was the emotion I felt, after the screen went dark. Puzzled, was another. Why would two seasoned screen vets like Matthau and Lemmon sign on to this putrid project? I'm under the impression they didn't read the script, before the cameras started rolling. All the cast is wasted, in this unfunny, uninteresting and unimpressive movie. Sadly enough, this was one of elegant Edward Mulhare's last projects, here as the heavy. Dyan Cannon tries, Hal Linden looks bored, Donald O'connor reciting a few lines laden with profanity. (??!!). I'm not with the "Legion of Decency." My point is they were spouted purely for the strangeness of hearing him use off-color language. That is a desperate attempt to infuse "humor" into a picture. He actually did deliver the film's only morsel of entertainment, when he pattered about on the dancefloor, though. I save my harshest criticism for the leads. Walter Matthau should have known better. He still delivers great solo performances (IQ, Dennis The Menace, etc.). His character, although affable, is rather dull and one dimensional. Seen him once, seen him all. Jack Lemmon gives another one of his trademark, weepy, "just too darn sensitive" male portrayals. When he starts that mode, I vicariously want to hand him a box of tissues. OUT TO SEA is painfully unfunny, and whoever produced this mess should be made to walk the plank.

This is the kind of movie that people of a certain age will say of "I didn't think they made movies like that anymore". Walter Matthau gives his usual over-the-top performance, but instead of leaving teeth marks all over the scenery, leaves endearing grease stains. He is like that great uncle we all know that still wears plaid polyester and embarrasses everyone, but we still love anyway.

Jack Lemmon's performance reminds us why he had more Golden Globe nominations than anyone else (22). He gives a true-to-life performance of the basically 'good, ordinary man', even in the milieu of a farce.

This film will probably not appeal to people who prefer blunt humor designed to confront or offend, but will appeal to people who appreciate broad farce played with a straight face.

The entire supporting cast is excellent in their ability to play such absurd characters while maintaining the reality of each character.

Brent Spiner gives a marvelous performance as a professional version of a lounge lizard. Anyone who has known professional hosts in real life will immediately recognize the type he is playing. He nails the type perfectly. His rendition of 'slime' merits study as a perfect example of the contrast between absurd and pathetic.

The plot is rather a straight-forward 'let's marry rich' theme that has the usual results. Just because a plot theme has been done a thousand times does not mean that it is dated, but rather that it is a timeless theme.

The rest of the supporting cast shows what can happen when professionals exhibit their skills in the roles that are written for them, instead of vying for the spotlight. In this film even the second tier actors shine. It is also obvious that they enjoyed making this film.

The plot may be standard and thin, but it allows the performers to shine.

This film is a true treat for people who want to see professional actors engaging in their craft. The plot falls away and the performers shine.

I expect more from a Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau pairing than this. It is ok but not anywhere near comparable to their other movie pairings, ie The Odd Couple, Grumpy Old Men, etc. Hal Linden was good in his role as a dance host. The best moments in this film come as the credits role and the outtakes are shown at the end.

Movies aren't always suppose to be about deep, provolking thoughts. Sometimes they're simply meant to be escapes from reality. Out To Sea fits the bill perfectly.

A light hearted "golden years" romantic comedy, Out To Sea may not be big budget, you might be able to easily tell when they were acting in front of a green screen, but it's still very much a movie worth watching. A sweet movie that needs to be given a break.

This is just good, light hearted fun. It's not meant to be a deep movie. It's something worth watching. If for nothing else, you must see it for Brent Spiner's humorously stiff and uptight rendition of Oye Como Va. Gil is a character you love to hate and Mr. Spiner pulls off the perfect evil comic foil to two beloved comedy movie gods.

Another pretty decent film from comedic geniuses Lemmon, and Mathau,, not quite as good as their earlier work but still very entertaining,, this film has them getting on board ,, albeit under false pretenses as dance instructors. well neither one of them really know how to dance all that well,, one of them men falls for Dyan Cannon, who still looks pretty darn good for her age. the other falls for Gloria De Haven also pretty good looking I might add. along the way there are lot's of laughs, great one liners, as they have to figure out how to pull of being dance instructors. These two actors especially when paired together never cease to amaze me how good they are at their craft,, Both of them will be dearly missed.

Let's not fool ourselves, okay? We all know that this film was made because of the success of the "Grumpy Old Men" movies. Unlike those, however, this travesty has zero humor and very little heart.

Gloria DeHaven is the sole shining light to be seen. It breaks my heart that she was finally given the chance to show off her skills to a new generation of moviegoers, only to end up in a piece of dreck such as this. There was a touching scene which featured her being stood up by someone she was falling in love with. Her fine performance was the only quality acting going on in "Out To Sea". Everyone else is just going through the motions. 2/10