Grumpy Old Men Information

Grumpy Old Men is a 1993 American 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. This was the sixth film starring both Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau and their first on-screen pairing since 1981's Buddy Buddy.

Plot

Retired school teacher and widower John Gustafson (Lemmon) and former TV repairman and widower Max Goldman (Matthau), are former childhood friends and longtime next-door neighbors in Wabasha, Minnesota. Their rivalry began decades earlier when John had "stolen" Max's high school sweetheart, May, with whom John went on to marry and have two children with, daughter Melanie (Daryl Hannah) and son Brian (who died in Vietnam). Max went on to marry a woman named Amy, with whom he had his son Jacob (Kevin Pollak). Despite their differences, both men lead similar boring and lonely single lives, and share a mutual love of the Minnesota winter pastime of ice fishing, as well as competing, arguing, insulting, and pulling cruel practical jokes on each other whenever possible. A subplot of the film involves John's ongoing issues with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), owing thousands in back taxes, and his desperate attempts to avoid field agent Elliot Snyder (Buck Henry).

The vacant house across the street is being moved into, but neither Max or John know who the new neighbor is until both are awakened at 1:30 AM by the sound of a snowmobile racing up and down the street. They see their beautiful new neighbor is college professor Ariel Truax (Ann-Margret), who quickly becomes the talk of the town with her exuberant lifestyle and bizarre tactics to get to know her new neighbors. Their mutual lifelong friend Chuck (Ossie Davis), who owns the lakeside bait shop, advises that they take advantage of the opportunity, as does John's 94-year old father, John Sr. (Burgess Meredith).

Cast

• Jack Lemmon as John Gustafson
• Walter Matthau as Max Goldman
• Ann-Margret as Ariel Truax
• Burgess Meredith as John Gustafson Sr.
• Daryl Hannah as Melanie Gustafson
• Kevin Pollak as Jacob Goldman
• Ossie Davis as Chuck (Bait Shop Owner)
• Buck Henry as Elliott Snyder (IRS Agent)
• Christopher McDonald as Mike
• Steve Cochran as Weatherman
• Joe Howard as Pharmacist
• John Carroll Lynch as Moving Man
• David James Carlson as Other Moving Man

Release

Grumpy Old Men was one of the biggest surprise hits of the year at the time of its release. The film opened on December 25, 1993 with a weekend gross of $3,874,911. However, its numbers gradually became stronger earning a domestic total of $70 million, well above its budget of $35 million.

Critical reaction

The film was met with mixed to positive reviews by critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 67% of 36 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.9 out of 10.

Caryn James of The New York Times called the film "the kind of holiday movie a lot of people are searching for." He went on to explain that the reason this is so because "It's cheerful, it's well under two hours and it doesn't concern any major social blights, unless you think Jack Lemmon tossing a dead fish into Walter Matthau's car is cause for alarm." Despite a mixed review about the film's credibility and diction, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times concluded his review by saying that "Matthau and Lemmon are fun to see together, if for no other reason than just for the essence of their beings." Peter Rainer of the Los Angeles Times said, "Watching Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau sparring with each other in Grumpy Old Men is like watching an old vaudeville routine for the umpteenth time." Rainer would add, "They play off their tics and wheezes with the practiced ease of old pros but there's something a bit too chummy and self-congratulatory about it all."

American Film Institute recognition:

• AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs - Nominated

Home video

Grumpy Old Men was first released onto DVD on June 25, 1997. On August 22, 2006, the film was made available in a DVD "Double Feature" pack along with its sequel Grumpier Old Men. On July 7, 2009, the film was made available by itself on Blu-ray. The "Double Feature" pack was later released onto Blu-ray on Feb 23, 2010. None of the Blu-ray releases contain any special features.