Neil Simon - Style and Subject Matter

Style and Subject Matter

The key aspect most consistent in Simon’s writing style is comedy, effectively using both situational and verbal humor. Koprince writes, “his plays are often brilliantly funny,” adding that his “flair for rapid-fire jokes and wisecracks is unparalleled.” McGovern adds that Simon’s comic form “provides a means to present serious subjects so that audiences may laugh to avoid weeping.”

Johnson notes that “variety” is one of the main characteristics of Simon’s plays, despite the fact that they are all set in urban environments. He accomplishes this by using “sophisticated, urban humor,” says editor Kimball King, resulting in plays that are “documents of Middle American experience.” Simon uses everyday “conflicts,” most of them “deceptively simple,” in his stories, writes Konas, adding, “behind the comic premise lurks a real problem that needs to be solved.

Another feature of his writing, appreciated by audiences more during “periods of cultural change,” is his “adherence to traditional values, specifically those relating to marriage and the family unit.” McGovern, likewise states that this same “thread runs though that Simon’s work,” which he feels is necessary to give stability to society: Simon “implies that the monogamous family unit is of paramount importance and should be preserved if at all possible.” Some critics have seen his stories as somewhat “old fashioned,” writing about them in a negative light, although Johnson points out that “most members of the audience, however, are delighted to find Simon upholding their own beliefs.” Johnson notes that where infidelity is the theme in a Simon play, “rarely, if ever, do those who pursue sexual infidelity gain happiness,” observing that “in Simon’s eyes, divorce is never a victory,” and does not bring the characters happiness.

Most of Simon’s plays demonstrate his ability to combine both comedy and drama, demonstrating a versatile style of writing. In Barefoot in the Park, for example, he was able to “master light romantic comedy.” Portions of Plaza Suite were written as “farce”, for example, and portions of California Suite are described as “high comedy”.

Simon was willing to experiment and take risks, often moving his plays in new and unexpected directions. In The Gingerbread Lady, he combines comedy with tragedy; Rumors (1988) was a full-length farce; in Jake's Women and Brighton Beach Memoirs he uses dramatic narration; in The Good Doctor, he created a “pastiche of sketches” around various stories by Chekhov; and Fools (1981), was written as a fairy-tale romance similar to stories by Sholem Aleichem. Although some of these efforts failed to win approval by many critics, Koprince claims that they nonetheless “demonstrate Simon’s seriousness as a playwright and his interest in breaking new ground.”