The summary of “California Suite” by Neil Simon

To start, the discussion of this essay is focused on the “California Suite” by Neil Simon. What should be definitely mentioned is that this play is obviously talented, whether it can be said to be good or bad. I was absorbed in the story when it suddenly occurred to me that it impressed me greatly. The words appeared to be convincing and incredibly original, so I was going through with the authors’ words and thoughts.

This story is defined as a set of definitely separated stories of the hotel guests that extremely differ one from another. First, the story pictures Michael Caine and Maggie Smith who seemed to attend the Oscars coming from England. Secondly, it tells the story about Jane Fonda (who came from the New York City) and Alan Alda from the California (who is her ex). Next, its slapsticky part also describes Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor, including their wives (who came to that hotel with the aim to relax, playing tennis; however, it was found that only one room in the hotel was vacant). The last fourth part of the given story illustrates Walter Matthau who was seemed to come almost a day before Matthau’s wife for Bar Mitzvah (Matthau’s nephew), his brother: sending the prostitute to the hotel room.

Despite its title, California Suite is anything but a California movie. It’s about as far as you can get from the Pacific Ocean if your heart is in New York. Though the locale is California, the sensibility is of New York rude, fast-paced, uproariously blunt, and so insistently contemporary it could have been written tomorrow and (who knows?) out of date the day after (Canby). It obviously must be mentioned that Mr Caine is a character that illustrates compassion and unexpected depth. She understands how small her chance to win the Oscar is, thus the story became as an examination of their marriage, which was a kind of compromised intimacy.

Alan Alda and Jane Fonda is a divorced couple: he is a Hollywood writer, she is a career woman. They met in Beverly Hills for the purpose of discussing their daughter’s future, which ran away from Jane. Fonda is a semi-intellectual and glib, having the sarcasm to cope with desperation. Alda is successful and decided consciously that she stayed with him. Matthau and May are principles; he is middle-class aging businessman, who had almost destroyed his marriage because of his brother’s surprise of a hooker who was prepaid. This part is the most cheerful in the whole play. The last, Pryor and Cosby, are doctors from Chicago. Everything, even friendship went wrong there, thus it made this episode the most frantic. It makes the comedy totally perfect.

To sum up, this play is obviously talented. However, the comedy is completely perfect with its different and significant stories of various people. The significance is in the difference of people and routine relationships that are part of lives of each of us. As a result Simon made this play as a discretion of own thoughts and feelings, joining with people’s (an audience) lives. Thus it is worth of attention.



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