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It’s been twenty years since Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Matthew Broderick peaked at the ripe age of twenty four. Please, for the love of God, let’s stop applauding him when he comes on stage. In fact, let’s not applaud him while he’s on stage. Furthermore, let’s not applaud for him when he exits the stage. Finally, let’s not applaud for him during his curtain call.

He sucks.

He sucks an awful lot.

I was a member of the audience last night at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre for one of the final performances of Broadway’s recent incarnation of “The Odd Couple.” As I’ve documented in this blog before, Neil Simon is one of my favorite playwrights of all time, and “Odd Couple” was my first exposure to him. In addition to the movie, I had also been exposed to Oscar and Felix through the television series with Tony Randall (which, unfortunately, had *nothing* to do with Neil Simon). I was also excited to the see the show because I was able to procure standing room tickets for $25… 1/4 of the usual Broadway price for Orchestra seats.

It was hard not to be impressed by the amount of star power up on stage at the Brooks Atkinson. Nathan Lane, Rob Bartlett, Mike Starr, and even Broderick himself have had considerable good fortune finding work in the acting profession over the past few years. Maybe that’s why I was expecting some sort of masterclass up on stage during the show. Unfortunately, this was not the case. All the performers (except for one) have teriffic comic timing, adequate training (read: they’re not Amanda Peet), and wonderful presence… but I don’t think the direction was ‘all there.’ This in itself was confusing, as Joe Montello (”Wicked,” “Take Me Out,” “Glengarry,” etc., etc.) directed, and I guess I expected better.

As a whole, this version of “Odd Couple” works. I’m certain that it’s not the best that’s ever been produced, but it is what it is — funny. There’s no way you’d leave the theatre disappointed — especially if Broderick’s understudy is in.

Unfortunately, Matthew Broderick makes me so fucking angry that I don’t even want to waste space talking about it. How the fuck does he continue to get work? One can only ride their parents’ coattails for so long — and usually, one doesn’t boast that in their Playbill bio. I sincerely thank the casting director who originally paired these two together, as Lane’s over-abundance of talent makes up for Broderick’s lack thereof.