For decades, next-door neighbors and former friends John and Max have feuded, trading insults and wicked pranks. When an attractive widow moves in nearby, their bad blood erupts into a high-stakes rivalry full of naughty jokes and adolescent hijinks.
The movie is too pat and practiced to really be convincing, and the progress of Ariel's relationships with the two grumps seems dictated mostly by the needs of the screenplay.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
While it won't come close to my top 10 best list for 1993, it will be right up there among the pictures that I had the most fun watching.
– James Berardinelli,
ReelViews,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
Just don't expect their bickering to be on the level of Neil Simon, and you won't be disappointed.
– Caryn James,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
rotten:
Mediocre, regrettably.
– Derek Adams,
Time Out,
24 Jun 2006
fresh:
Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon are awfully good at this sort of thing.