Grumpy Old Men (film)
| Grumpy Old Men | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Donald Petrie |
| Written by | Mark Steven Johnson |
| Produced by | John Davis |
| Starring | Jack Lemmon Walter Matthau Ann-Margaret Burgess Meredith Daryl Hannah Kevin Pollak |
| Cinematography | Johnny E. Jensen |
| Edited by | Bonnie Koehler |
| Music by | Alan Silvestri |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates | December 25, 1993 (U.S. release) |
Running time | 103 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35.1 million |
Grumpy Old Men is a 1993 Warner Bros. romantic 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). The original music score was composed by Alan Silvestri.
Plot summary
Two elderly widowers, John Gustafson (Lemmon) and Max Goldman (Matthau), despite having been friends early in life and living next door to each other for years, do not get along and argue incessantly. (It is later revealed that a major source of their antagonism is John's having married Max's sweetheart, May, decades ago.) The two men also resort to playing childish pranks on each other on a regular basis, such as throwing dead fish in each other's cars and
The rivalry gets more heated when a new neighbor, Ariel Truax (Ann-Margret), moves into the neighborhood and both Max and John both compete for her affections. Although Max and John are not the only people smitten by the widowed Ariel, they seem to be the two men in the neighborhood that she is most interested in.
Eventually Ariel begins spending more time with John to Max's dismay and he shames him into ending his relationship with Ariel, citing what John did to May (despite John telling Max that his relationship with the woman he married, Amy, was much better than John's marriage to May) and the fact that John owes thousands of dollars in back taxes (which John is determined to avoid at any and all costs even though the IRS is threatening to take everything he owns, including his house) and can't support Ariel. Max tells him he "ain't got time" to find another Amy, and John decides to let Max have her.
Things come to a climax on Christmas Eve when John storms out of his house and heads to a bar due to a fight he had with his daughter Melanie's husband. Max goes down to the bar to try and calm John down, but doesn't get what John is upset about (the whole Ariel situation) and further angers John, who leaves the bar and begins walking home. On the way John suffers a massive heart attack and Max, who left after him to try to apologize, finds him in a snow drift and calls an ambulance.
Max goes to visit John in the hospital on Christmas Day, and shortly thereafter breaks the news to Ariel who decides that she's better off with John than Max. The two marry, with Max adding his own personal gift (a dead fish in the limousine as payback for the dead fish in his car).
Subplots
In addition to the main plot of the film several subplots are employed. Among them:
- the aforementioned tax problems, which Max helps John pay for as a wedding gift
- Melanie's marital problems, which result in separation and (later) divorce
- Max's son Jacob's run for mayor of Wabasha, which he wins
- Jacob and Melanie's friendship, which blossoms into a relationship at the end of the movie
- The Wabasha ice-fishing community, specifically John and Max's ability/inability to catch anything
- John's father, J.W. "Grandpa" Gustafson, and his views on the women of Wabasha, mostly perverted
Cast and Crew
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Jack Lemmon | John Gustafson |
| Walter Matthau | Max Goldman |
| Ann-Margret | Ariel Turax |
| Burgess Meredith | Grandpa Gustafson (J.W.) |
| Daryl Hannah | Melanie Gustafson |
| Kevin Pollak | Jacob Goldman |
| Ossie Davis | Chuck (Bait Shop Owner) |
| Buck Henry | Mr. Sneyder (IRS Agent) |
Bonus scene
After the closing credits, a bonus scene appears on screen, where Walter Matthau supposedly breaks the fourth wall. While sitting in his bathtub, he says to the viewers, "If I knew there was going to be a nude scene, I would have asked for another million!"
External links
