Grumpy Old Men (film)
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| Grumpy Old Men | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Donald Petrie |
| Produced by | John Davis |
| Written by | Mark Steven Johnson |
| Starring | Jack Lemmon Walter Matthau Ann-Margaret Burgess Meredith Daryl Hannah Kevin Pollak |
| Music by | Alan Silvestri |
| Cinematography | Johnny E. Jensen |
| Editing by | Bonnie Koehler |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | December 25 1993 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 103 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35.1 million |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Grumpy Old Men is a 1993 Warner Bros. comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, and Ann-Margret, with Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollak, Katie Sagona, Ossie Davis, and Buck Henry.
Directed by Donald Petrie, the screenplay was written by Mark Steven Johnson, who also wrote the sequel, Grumpier Old Men (1995).
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[edit] Plot summary
The story concerns two elderly men, John Gustafson (Lemmon), a retired history teacher, and Max Goldman (Matthau), a retired television repairman. Both live in Wabasha, Minnesota, and are widowers.
Despite being friends early in life, and living next door to each other for years, the men do not get along. They argue over everything, such as who is the better fisherman, and pull cruel pranks on each other. While both characters feel loneliness, John is also having trouble with the Internal Revenue Service, which is hinted at throughout the movie.
Further subplots involve John's daughter Melanie (Hannah) and Max's son Jacob (Pollak), as well as John's father, "Grandpa Gustafson" (Meredith), who enjoys talking about women, drinking beer and ice fishing. Also involved in the story is Chuck (Ossie Davis), who is friend to both John and Max, and runs the bait shop they both frequent when fishing on the local lake.
Ariel, an attractive widow (played by Ann-Margret) moves into the house directly across the street from Gustafson and Goldman. Her arrival causes a stir in town, whose longtime residents react differently to her. Both Gustafson and Goldman compete with each other to win Ariel's heart, but ultimately Ariel and John find themselves falling in love.
John had won a similar romantic "contest" years earlier, which initially caused the rift between himself and Max. After a fight with Max over the relationship with Ariel, John decides to allow Max to "win" this "second round". On Christmas Eve, Melanie arrives at John's place with her daughter and estranged husband Mike. John feuds with Mike, which ultimately causes John to storm out of the house and walk to Slippery's, a local tavern.
Upon the request of Melanie and Jacob, Max reluctantly walks down to Slippery's to talk with John, and attempt to end the decades-long feud. This becomes a disastrous event. The stress of his breakup with Ariel, his tax troubles, and Melanie's troubled marriage causes John to suffer a heart attack on the way home. Flustered from his argument with John, Max stubbornly walks home, and finds his neighbor lying on the ground, which begins to worry Max as he runs toward him to help. Out of concern, Max realizes that John is having a heart attack and immediately beckons help from a nearby house.
The heart attack causes Max to re-evalulate things, and realizes that John and Ariel are meant for each other. Max explains everything to Ariel, who visits John in the hospital, and they resume their relationship. In the meantime, the IRS gets a court order to seize John's house, prompting Max to humorously attempt to keep the IRS agent (Henry) from entering the residence long enough for Jacob, the newly elected mayor, to obtain a cease and desist order from the court.
John gets well and leaves the hospital. Shortly afterwards he and Ariel wed. Max tells John that Jacob got the IRS to waive the penalities and interest, and that he took care of the $13,000 the IRS said John owed them. A grateful John hugs Max and it seems that they have rekindled their friendship. But this is called into question when Max pays retribution to John by placing a rotten fish inside their wedding limo. That night Max goes to a dance, figuring he might get lucky. The movie ends with Jacob and Melanie appearing to begin a romantic relationship.
[edit] Quotes
- Max: "Morning, dickhead."
- John: "Hello, moron."
- Max: "Why don't you do the world a favor and pull your bottom lip over your head and swallow."
- Grandpa: "Kids. Can't live with 'em, can't shoot 'em."
- Max: "If I knew there was going to be a nude scene in this picture I would've asked for another million."
- Grandpa: "Looks like Chuck's a tom cat on prowl. Yeeooww...."
- Max: "Hey dickhead, did you win the lottery?"
- John: "Did you enjoy your shower smartass?"
[edit] Trivia
- Ariel at one point says that she teaches English at Winona State University, a real four-year institution. Wabasha is approximately 35 miles (40 minutes' drive time) from Winona. Presumably, Ariel had lived in Winona with her husband until his death.
