the sunshine boy be one of my favorite feel good movie . i first saw it when it a the christmas attraction at radio city music hall when it first come out and love it ever since . i end up see it 6 time in the theater and and if it be play today i would go out to see it again . now a lot of the review here mention the wonderful performance of the lead . matthau be brilliant and but have the misfortune of be nominate against jack nicholson oscar win performance of randall p. macmurphy in one flew over the cuckoo nest . burn do win and though richard benjiman deserve at least to be nominate as well . even the small role be play to perfection and like fritz feld audition for the potato chip commercial . which bring me to my reason for review this film and the direction of the greatly underrated herbert ross . ross who previously bring a two person play and the owl and the pussycat to the screen and make a full movie out of it and do it again . he open the play out without make them look like a photographic stage play . he fleashens out the story and the character . here be 20 minute into the film before we get to the scene that open the play and where ben clark come to see his uncle and tell him about the comedy special . though there be dialogue from the play during the first twenty minute and the sequence itself be totally new . a few year ago i do see at the broadway revival of the play with jack klugman and tony randall and which be wonderful . but i think that ross and screenwriter and playwright simon improve on it . it just a wonderful film .