The Odd Couple (2015)

There is an uneasiness to [Perry's] performance--in some scenes he looks startled, even frightened--that makes it hard to play off Mr. Lennon, who seems very comfortable as a nervous nelly. That chemistry could come with time, but even if the show flops, it’s an interesting experiment.

Once Matthew Perry and (especially) Thomas Lennon kick in as the slovenly Oscar Madison and the fastidious Felix Unger, respectively, their timing and physicality, and some tart writing, pull the show up like a water-skier behind a motorboat.

For The Odd Couple to work, you have to believe there are moments when these roommates want to throttle each other. This version presents a mild bromance. Nice for them, not so much for us.

There is some chemistry between Perry and Lennon that I’d expect to grow on later episodes. But, it’s tough to say since comedies need some time for the cast to find their footing.

The new sitcom is formulaic, with one joke following another punctuated by a laugh track--even when the jokes aren’t funny, and many of them are not.

The Odd Couple is genial--but not hilarious--multi-cam sitcom business as usual.

Lennon, who brings yoga (and cello) skills to Felix, is terrific. Perry may have further to go, perhaps because the writing for Oscar seemed muddled, as if someone had actually worried that viewers wouldn't like him enough.

22 minutes is not enough to say. (Networks really need to be more generous with episodes, especially during midseason.) If the pilot (written by Perry and co-executive producer Joe Keenan) is passable, my guess would be that the pedigree and talent involved will overcome the shortcomings and give viewers something better soon enough.

Their [Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon's] Odd Couple feels like the kind of time-filling time killer that's chasing viewers to other options.

This latest production is not completely terrible; it just underscores the sad state of affairs on network television, where programmers are seriously hurting for a fresh idea.

Still, even in the first episode, it’s clear that better writing--make that funnier writing--is needed if whatever nascent chemistry Perry and Lennon have is going to amount to much.

The show will rise or fall on the chemistry of Lennon and Perry. Watching the two of them trade fastidious/sloppy, healthnut/unhealthy barbs is fun for a while. But that's the highlight. The scenes tend to stall when the boys aren't sparring, with the exception of Yvette Nicole Brown who pops as Oscar's put-upon assistant.

The result is tiresome and forgettable, which makes it perfect filler for CBS’ Thursday-night lineup of popular but moronic sitcoms.

While some jokes land, and some characters hint at what they might do once they get something to do, the show--which is to say, the pilot--never really lights up.

Here it is, uncooked at the center.

The current Couple seems listless compared to the '70s model, so far lacking the sharp tension that made Klugman and Randall so interesting to watch together.

The basic problem with the pilot of The Odd Couple is its best bits, including the “F.U.” bit, are literally recycled from the original. It’s impossible to say how the show will progress from here, but it’s hard to believe that it will ever feel anything other than remarkably familiar and derivative of better properties with better casts.

The unimaginative result is less a sitcom than a cover band performance, mostly competent but entirely unnecessary.