California Suite

California Suite. 1978 Rastar Films & Columbia Pictures.
Starring: Alan Alda, Jane Fonda, Walther Matthau, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Elaine May, Maggie Smith, Michael Caine, Herb Edelman, James Coburn (cameo)
Written by Neil Simon
Director: Herbert Ross
Buy California Suite at Amazon.

Neil Simon's California Suite follows the lives of five different couples as they all travel to, and stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel:

Hannah and Bill (Fonda & Alda) have been divorced for nine years, but they have reunited this weekend to discuss the future of their daughter (Dana Plato), who wants to live with Bill. Hannah is a blunt New Yorker, while Bill is totally laid back, dude, after spending years in the Golden State.

Dana Barrie (Smith) is a British actress enroute to the Academy Awards where's she up for an Oscar. Her "partner" Sidney (Caine) is full of jokes and may not be what he seems to be. Sidney gets an earful after Dana loses the award to someone else.

Marvin Michaels (Matthau) from Philadelphia is drunk in another suite, thanks to his brother Harry (Edelman), who has also rented him a hooker. Can he keep the passed out prostitute out of sight of his wife (May)?

Coming in from Chicago via rental car are Doctors Gump (Pryor) and Panama (Cosby) with their wives. Gump and Panama argue and fight over just about everything and anything.

This is a pretty loaded cast for a movie, and watching the interaction between Cosby and Pryor is worth a viewing alone. Maggie Smith was also nominated for an Oscar for her performance here for Best Supporting Actress, and unlike in the film, she genuinely won that one. Michael Caine's performance was also very good. Recommended, although be warned, Columbia's transfer of the film to DVD wasn't as good as it could have been.