The Prisoner of Second Avenue is a 1975 American black comedy film written by Neil Simon, directed and produced by Melvin Frank and starring Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft.

"[1] Walter Kerr, in The New York Times wrote: "He [Simon] has made a magnificent effort to part company with the mechanical, and his over-all success stands as handsome proof that humor and honesty can be got into bed together.

A. H. Weiler of The New York Times wrote that if the film "is less than an overpowering study of a married couple driven to distraction by the irritations and indignities of local middle-class living, it still scores valid points, both serious and funny ... Mr. Simon is serious about a theme that isn't earth-shaking and he understandably cloaks its gravity with genuine chuckles that pop up mostly as radio news bulletins such as the flash that a Polish freighter has just run into the Statue of Liberty.

"[7][8] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four and stated that "knocking the problems of living in New York City is no longer funny.

"[10] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post panned the film as a "monotonous, static, self-righteous gripe comedy ... [Simon] ends up patronizing his characters instead of understanding what drives and ails them.

"[12] Pauline Kael of The New Yorker disparaged the film "a big-screen sitcom," adding, "Neil Simon tells us exactly what each person is thinking, and each line cancels out the one before.