NEIL SIMON
Neil Simon, who died recently at 91, wrote one Broadway hit play after another in the 60s and 70s. He had three hits running on the Great White Way at one time! Mr. Simon cut his writing teeth working for Sid Caesar, Gary Moore and Phil Silvers. Though his plays were considered sophisticated fluff by serious critics, the public loved them. So did Hollywood. At least a dozen Simon plays made the silver screen, with varying degrees of success. The snappy one-liners that made “Doc” Simon rich are still present and still snappy. I’ve listed some of the best.
Leading the parade is the wonderful The Odd Couple (1968) with neat-freak Jack Lemmon sharing digs with sloppy Walter Matthau. The difference is the running joke, but it somehow stays funny. It is not hard to understand why both are divorced. This work led to a long-running TV series of the same name, with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. 
The Goodbye Girl (1977) stars Mr. Simon’s wife, Marsha Mason, as a recent divorcee forced to share an apartment with dancer Richard Dreyfus. It’s the standard Hollywood plot in which the couple starts out hating each other and gradually this turns to love (of course!), but the screenplay pushes this way above the usual.
Most of Mr. Simon’s work is autobiographical, and none more so than Biloxi Blues (1988). Matthew Broderick stars as a Jewish kid from Brooklyn washed up on the shore of darkest Mississippi for 10 weeks of grueling boot camp. Christopher Walken is on board as the drill sergeant from Hell (was this his first maniacal role?). The first two-thirds are genuinely funny. I thought the last part faded rather badly.
Barefoot In The Park (1967) doesn’t really have a plot, but doesn’t need one. It has one of the most engaging young married couples in cinematic history, Jane Fonda and Robert Redford. They are just so cute you’ll fall in love with them. Their first apartment is a fifth-floor walk-up and they have no money. But they have each other and love. Ain’t Hollywood wonderful? It’s interesting that this same cute couple shows up as wonderful senior citizens in Our Souls At Night (2015) and they’re still super.
In Max Dugan Returns (1983) a father who ignored his children until they were grown tries to make amends, which at first is creepy but then turns nice. More and more expensive presents are showered on his struggling single-mom schoolteacher daughter. Where the money came from is part of the fun. Jason Robards is the recalcitrant dad, Marsha Mason is his daughter. Also along are Donald Sutherland and Matthew Broderick. 
Some other good Neil Simon flicks include Lost In Yonkers (1973), Star Spangled Girl (1971) and The Sunshine Boys (1975).
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are okay for 10 and up.