The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975)

(On TV, March 2021) An exasperated Jack Lemmon was, for decades, one of cinemas most reliable comic engine and The Prisoner of Second Avenue is ample proof of that… even if it’s substantially darker than many other comedies in his filmography. A tale of mid-1970s alienation told with sarcasm, it’s about a man who starts the film as a comfortable middle-aged man, then experiences one indignity after another until he snaps and spends much of the film flouting social conventions even as further indignities accumulate. Adapted from a Neil Simon play, it does feature some wonderful dialogue and clever character work — plus there’s a telling reflection of the way Manhattan must have felt in the mid-1970s, with garbage strikes, petty crime, friction between neighbours and constant noise weighing down on its citizens. (I encourage a themed double-feature with the original The Out-of-Towners for more of Lemmon’s exasperation in the streets of New York City.)  Anne Bancroft provides a lot of support as the put-upon wife developing her own crankiness along the way, and Sylvester Stallone pops up in a small funny role. A few factors, however, do take The Prisoner of Second Avenue out of the top tier of Lemmon comedies. For one thing, it’s not quite always played for laughs — the comedy can be dark at times. For another, tales of middle-class urban alienation have been a staple since well before the mid-1970s, and this one is not always distinctive enough to leave a mark. Still, it’s a solid film and one that does get Lemmon the chance to run through some of his most comfortable material.