The Odd Couple Case Study

The Odd Couple is about Felix, who has been left by his wife, and Oscar, one of his best friends. Oscar lets Felix stay with him since he had no other place to go. The whole movie is about both of them learning more about each other and living together. This movie demonstrates conflict with friends and roommates.

Weaknesses and Suggestions
After watching this movie, I believe both Felix and Oscar viewed conflict as a struggle. This is a negative way to view conflict and they both never wanted to confront their problems. They always continued to struggle with each other until they couldn’t take anymore. Felix felt that Oscar did not care about him because if he was going to be late for dinner he did not call. On the other hand, Oscar thought that Felix was being too controlling and acting like a wife. Throughout the whole movie it was a constant battle of their differences. They also were both avoiders. Neither one of them ever wanted to confront the other on how they were feeling. They just let the tension and conflict build until it was too much.

Instead of viewing the conflict as a bad thing, they should have thought of it in a more positive aspect. For example, they both could have viewed conflict as a bargaining table. In this, both Felix and Oscar would have been able to let each other know how they both feel and work on their differences. Viewing conflict this way is a type of collaboration. If they were to use collaboration rather than avoiding, their situation would have been better. When you collaborate you are looking out for both your goals, others goals, a solution, and a better relationship (WH 161).