And it is indeed faithful, almost word for word, with the original...not surprising, since Simon produced it.

But why? inquiring minds want to know. Why remake something that was PERFECT? Perfectly cast, perfect for its time, perfectly funny...Mr. Otter and I still quote many, many lines from this movie to each other to this day: "And I DON'T...LIKE...THE...PANTIES...DRYING...ON...THE...ROD" is invariably heard from the bathroom whenever Mr. Otter encounters dainty underthings that cannot be machine dried...and of course any mention of Richard III brings a campy gay parody of his lines from one of us and we laugh hysterically.

But I digress.

So the decision is made to remake this incredibly funny and well cast movie that was a huge hit in the 70s...one would think that there was some compelling reason. Did Mr. Simon rewrite large parts of it, to update it for our modern age? No. Was there a popular hue and cry among the populace, demanding a remake of this movie? No. Did two stars come along whose talent and personal magnetism and wonderful ability to play off each other and bring new meaning to a 30 year old script brought this thought to the minds of the producers? No.

In point of fact, this is a pretty pedestrian and boring remake of the original movie. Everyone in it (as Mr. Otter pointed out MANY times) is too old for the part, including the cute daughter. None of them are very good, and no better in scenes with each other. This, like the recent redo of The Music Man is just A BAD IDEA.

One hopes that someday producers will wise up. This otter, however, doubts it. Rent the old one, for God's sake, and don't give Simon or these awful actors another penny of your hard earned cash. Don't encourage them. You don't have to, you know. Just say no...