It is a minor agony: humorless, loveless, calorie-scared.

Even though Mr. Matthau is one of America's finest comic actors, I found most of his work here filled with desperation, quite like the rather ratty hairpieces he wears to differentiate the three characters he plays.

It may be there could never be too much Matthau. With "Plaza Suite" and "A New Leaf" he has reestablished himself as one of our funniest actors, proving that role selection is a crucial element in an actor's competence.

You get three Walter Matthaus for the price of one here, as he cynically bulldozes his way through three acts of Neil Simon's play about the goings-on in a swanky hotel suite.