RATHER 'ODD' NEW VERSION OF SIMON'S BUDDY COMEDY STILL FAMILIAR ... AND FUNNY.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

EVEN SET IN 2002, the best-known story of mismatched roomies contains no karaoke, no Botox, no references to 9/11. Oscar Madison doesn't telecommute; Felix Ungar isn't writing news for a dotcom. The one is still a slob, the other an obsessive neat freak.

With apologies to Mark Twain, any reports of a radical new odd coupling should be considered greatly exaggerated. On stage at the Geffen Playhouse, carrying the title ``Oscar and Felix, a New Look at the Odd Couple'' is the same genial comedy that should bring a comforting smile and laughs to anybody who liked it the first time around. A ``new look''? Baloney. This is barely a fresh coat of paint.

And why should it be otherwise? Playwright Neil Simon may love the challenge of ``updating'' a 40-year-old classic, but he's no imbecile. Who would dynamite a gold mine in hopes of unearthing platinum? This material has never been deep, but it has always played.

Comedy may be the toughest genre to perform, but at the Geffen, John Larroquette (Oscar) and Joe Regalbuto (Felix) make it look nearly effortless. They can stare, mock and fulminate when Oscar and Felix are going at it, and they locate some of the tenderness when the one-liners stop. These men may be slaves to their respective cleaning demons, but they're friends first.

Still, given the time director Peter Bonerz spends establishing Oscar's untidiness and Felix's neuroses, it's a wonder these two men would set foot in the same postal zone much less become roommates. For the opening poker game - one of the smartest comic exposition scenes ever written - Oscar's apartment living room (expertly rendered by Roy Christopher) is littered with empty takeout cartons, askew paintings and discarded newspapers that appear to be holding up furniture. A framed and autographed Mike Piazza jersey - nice touch! - is partially obscured by a dead plant and a lamp. Two weeks later, the place is immaculate, and Oscar is going nuts.

Fittingly, both actors seem to be shying deliberately away from earlier versions. With that razorlike wit that has served so many of his TV incarnations, the bearlike Larroquette is sloppy in appearance more than in speech and manner. Regalbuto - who slightly resembles Jack Lemmon in profile - eschews much of Felix's prissiness, focusing more on the character's self-pity and obsessiveness. A darker spin might call Felix's sanity into question, but that's not what's going on here.

The ``modern'' updates come via thrown-away lines and references: cell phones, e-mails, an Al Gore joke. Dispensing with the English Pigeon sisters, Simon has a sex-starved Oscar arrange a date with the Spanish Costazuela sisters (Maria Conchita Alonso and Alex Meneses). So much of the humor comes from botched language jokes. (``You look like Miss Spain'' ``Si, I miss Spain all the time.'') Simon fans will recognize the Costazuelas - and even specific yuks - from the playwright's female version of ``The Odd Couple.'' Still, Meneses and Alonso bring a definite spark to the proceedings whenever they're on stage. They're dippy and sexy at the same time.

Then and now, whatever its title, ``The Odd Couple'' has always found a way to reach a broad audience. Purists and revisionists alike should take to this ``new'' version like a neat freak to a newly opened Lysol can.

OSCAR AND FELIX: A NEW LOOK AT THE ODD COUPLE - Three stars

Where: Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood.

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday; through July 21.

Tickets: $28 to $46. Call [phone].

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Photo:

Felix (Joe Regalbuto, right) interrupts the poker game in Neil Simon's ``Oscar and Felix,'' at the Geffen Playhouse. At table: Gregory Jbara, left, John Larroquette as Oscar, Richard Portnow, Ryan Cutrona and Samuel Lloyd Jr.