jamariana The lady was so whiny and the man yelled too much (yes I know they are comedy legends, so maybe I should refer to them by their very famous names, but it's just so much more effort). It would have been a lot funnier if the characters didn't get on my nerves so much. I'm supposed to be laughing at their misfortunes and all that wonderful irony and well-scripted dialogue, but instead I am just frustrated on their behalf. Now that's no fun.

richspenc The good things about this film was the constant non stop excitement where Jack Lemon and wife Sandy Dennis get into one wacky crazy situation after another. It keeps you on your toes and was also often amusing, certainly interesting. Flying from Ohio to New York in 1970 for a big high paid promising job offer in the big city with all the perks. Their nonstop chain reaction of mishaps start and don't stop. First, their plane circles New York in landing traffic for two hours and then diverges to Boston. When they land in Boston, they lose their luggage. Then they barely make the train to New York. Then stand in line for the diner car on the train for two hours, then find that they've now almost entirely run out of food due to the excessive volume of people. Then arrive in New York to find out that there's a transit strike and have to walk to their hotel, and (what a surprise) it right then starts to rain. They also have to walk through tons of garbage due to there also being a garbage truck strike. When they get to the hotel, they find there's a "mix up" and their hotel room won't be ready for another day. They run into a "helpful man" who says he'll walk them down the road to another hotel that'll have a room immediately, and on the way, the man pulls out a gun and mugs them and takes Jack's wallet (of course nobody in modern times would ever fall for that "I'll show you to your hotel" bit in New York, but this was 1970 where the higher crime years in New York were just beginning. Just two years earlier in 1968 "The odd couple", Jack Lemon and Walter Matthou were sitting in Central park after dark not too afraid of anything happening, even though Walter after five minutes of relaxed sitting casually says "well, we better go, the muggers will be here soon". And 25 years earlier in 1945 "The clock", Judy Garland and Robert Walker were embracing in Central park at night in a very romantic scene with no signs in the world of any of the fears and dangers that would someday grow in that exact spot decades down the road).The crazy chain reaction of events just continue and continue, and honestly they probably could've taken a couple of bits out, I think they went overboard with the amount of mishaps just by a smidge. The one thing, however, that was a little irritating sometimes was a little bit too much panicked blabbering from both Jack and Sandy. I totally understand some panicked talk due to the intensity of how many endless mishaps they endured. But I feel Jack could've toned down the threatening to sue talk a bit. I mean I would've thought of suing a few of those people too, but he took it overboard and could've talked slightly quieter and maybe repeated it one less time every time he took down names and mentioned his attorney. As for Sandy, she was very pretty, but she had a slightly annoying way of saying too much aloud about what was happening when things were happening. One example was when the "I'll show you to the hotel" man pulled out his gun and mugged them, Sandy starts wailing out loud as he's mugging them "oh no! We're being mugged! Oh my God we're being mugged! I can't believe we are getting mugged now!". If someone did that as they were being mugged in a more modern movie or while being mugged in real life in more modern times, the mugger usually would've just shot them, or yelled "shut the **** up or I'll shoot!" Sandy does that a few different times in this film. And the repeating things a couple too many times from both Jack and Sandy, they do that a few different times in this film.But Jack and Sandy both have some nice quirky things about their characters too. And so many amusing events keep this film fun to watch. I also enjoyed the dog stealing their only food, a half eaten box of cracker Jacks. I liked the part where the manhole cover makes a bang and pops up right in front of Jack and he temporarily cannot hear. And when Sandy tries talking, it's funny when a few times Sandy speaks and Jack frustratingly cannot hear her. Like when Sandy says something like "I am going to see if I can find us something to eat", Jack says irritatingly "all I can hear you say is 'I..to...can..us..thing..eat'!". Also funny when Jack loses his filling and he can't speak without whistling. Then when they are not allowed to sit in church and pray because of some kind of filming going on, and Jack says "I've been denied in the past 24 hours a lot of things, but never until now have I been denied my divined rights!" Then as he's already said to numerous people already, "give me your name! I'm going to call my attorney!"

Mike Davenport It looks like there are mainly a couple of reasons why people Hate this movie.1.) They love their New York and feel protective of it. (N.Y. is one of the main characters, and I don't think the film would be used for the visitors bureau) 2.) If you are an easygoing type, who enjoy chilling with others who can go-with-the-flow.... You won't like the these people ~ The "Kellerman's" Their attitudes and the very sound of their voices will grate on your nerves.However, If you can empathize with frustration, and even see this as a cautionary tale of "There but for the grace of God go I" It may be something of great value! So hate or love it ~ It's obvious after watching this film, when things go wrong, we could all learn how to better RELAX......

FilmCriticLalitRao American director Arthur Hiller's "The Out of Towners" can rightly be hailed as a perfect film for the entire family with its primary focus on the quintessential "American Dream". It is a common knowledge that an American person is identified solely through American dreams. Through the making of this film, Arthur Hiller and his writing partner Neil Simon deftly show all the pressure and stress which an American couple handle in order to land on time for a job interview in New York City, a grand metropolis which remains a city of dreams for many people. New York City has been filmed in a very subtle manner that nobody can remain aloof from its charms. Those who are new to New York City would take immense pleasure in watching the magnetic quality of the city especially the portions which were shot around Central Park and surrounding areas. The film also touches upon various ethical issues as all big cities have their unique ethical mechanisms with which its inhabitants like to identify. This may not be evident to somebody who is not familiar with them. This aspect has also been handled reasonably well in "The Out of Towners" as viewers learn that it is difficult to trust complete strangers in a big city. Lastly, one is aware of the maxim that too much planning goes bust at the last moment. It is conveyed to viewers through actors Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis who shine as a perfect yet whimsical American couple.