Director
Donald Petrie
Donald Petrie
Jack Lemmon - John Gustafson Jr.
Walter Matthau - Max Goldman
Ann-Margret - Ariel Truax
Burgess Meredith - John Gustafson Sr.
Daryl Hannah - Melanie Gustafson
Kevin Pollak - Jacob Goldman
Ossie Davis - Chuck
Buck Henry - Elliott Snyder
Christopher McDonald - Mike
My last highly unqualified Lemmon/Matthau movie critique was aimed at "The Front Page." After they filmed that, the guys teamed up in Billy Wilder's 1981 movie, "Buddy, Buddy." Well, I had already reviewed "Buddy, Buddy" in 2021 for a thread I christened "Video Rental Chicken Fat."
I'm not watching "Buddy, Buddy" again nor do I need to say anything else about it so I'm jumping to the next movie of theirs — the 1993 comedy "Grumpy Old Men."
I should mention that Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau both appear in the 1991 Oliver Stone movie "JFK" but don't share screen time together. That means "Grumpy Old Men" marks their first movie together as a pair in 12 years.
In this movie, divorcee John Gustafson (Jack Lemmon) and widower Max Goldman (Walter Matthau) are next door neighbors somewhere in frozen Minnesota. Once upon a time, they used to be buddies. Now, they're bickering geriatric rivals. Grumpy. Old. Just like the title says. Plus, they're constantly pulling some pretty mean pranks on each other to keep the animosity flowing.
Well, their feud reaches atomic levels when a gorgeous English widow, Ariel Truax (Ann-Margret), moves into the house across the street. Shwing!
John and Max's hormones rev up into overdrive as they both compete for her attention and hopefully romantic affection. They awkwardly flirt with her. They go out of their way to embarrass the other. They make complete asses of themselves in the process. Now, that's comedy.
As Max and John duke it out for Ariel's attention, their grown-up children, Melanie Gustafson (Daryl Hannah) and Jacob Goldman (Kevin Pollak), put up with their respective dad's constant complaining and bickering. 
The duel of the dads doesn't discourage their children from having a genuine and long-time friendship as they both try their best to get their dads to make amends and be the pals they used to be. Max and Melanie secretly had feelings for each other since childhood but they never quite got the kickstart they needed.
On top of all this, the movie throws in Burgess Meredith as John Gustafson Sr, John's dad, and it's a perfect comedic trio between Meredith, Lemmon and Matthau.
And the whole package pays off in the end. It's funny. I wouldn't say "Grumpy Old Men" is Lemmon and Matthau's most solid comedy, but I wouldn't hesitate to place it in fourth place following "The Odd Couple" followed by "The Fortune Cookie" followed by "The Front Page." I think that's a solid position for a comedy!
Off the bat, I thought the few sexual innuendos and that particular scene between John and Ariel that tries to be charming but fails is just too off-putting. I'll have to deduct points for that. Gross!
If alternate universes exist, I hope there's a version of this movie out there in the whatever-verse that also stars Carol Burnett because I just wish Lemmon and Matthau made more movies with her after "The Front Page." What could have been.
As I mentioned in my review of "The Front Page" in which Burnett co-stars, I think she makes a great addition to the two. If the writers had thought of it, I'm sure she could have fit somewhere in this movie.
Still, "Grumpy Old Men" is a fun film, plain and simple. It's as though the writers gave Lemmon and Matthau briefly explained the story to them in a sentence or two, told them what their respective characters are like, and just let them go at it. By 1993, who would be presumptuous enough to give Lemmon and Matthau direction on how to be funny?
The movie definitely channels the chemistry and comedic stye that makes Lemmon and Matthau funny in their second movie together, "The Odd Couple." Lemmon and Matthau continue to work impressively well off each other, tattered a bit from age but still in working order. Now, it's taken to the next level.
"Grumpy Old Men" focuses on the quarreling and irritation each one inflicts on the other without the character quirks their respective characters had in "The Odd Couple."
That's all this movie has to support it, save for a good supporting cast. In other words, there's no old grimy Oscar Madison and old squeaky Felix Unger. The movie takes all Lemmon and Matthau can offer by 1993 and uses as much as it can. The movie would work just as easily if it were titled, "Lemmon versus Matthau."
By this period "Grumpy Old Men" introduced a new generation of movie goers to the chemistry and comedy of these guys. The thrill of the movie is watching Matthau and Lemmon play off each other. Unfortunately, it doesn't feel as genuine as some of the previous movies of Lemmon and Matthau. It's lacking a little bit.
Burgess Meredith, by the way, is absolutely perfect as a supporting character. Never have I seen a performance of Burgess Meredith I didn't like whether on the series "The Twilight Zone" or the 1960s series "Batman," orespecially in the "Rocky" movies. I also title-drop "Clash of the Titans" while I'm on the topic Burgess performances. And now "Grumpy Old Men."
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| Burgess Meredith in "Grumpy Old Men." |
Though Lemmon and Matthau were slowing down as far as energy goes by this time, their old age works to the films advantage. Afterall, "old men" is in the title. They pissed each other off in "The Odd Couple." Now they do it again as old men.
The premise of a love interest is a nice and simple way to get these two characters and long-time friends to fight it out. The plot conjures up Norman Rockwell's piece "The Rivals" painted in 1922, which depicts two young boys meeting by chance at the front gate of a girl's house, one carrying flowers and the other carrying sweets, and glaring at each other in good ol' fashion male competition. Men let everything slide—unless there’s a woman involved.
Of course, the outcome in "Grumpy Old Men" is who Ariel will end up with, if anyone. For a comedy the premise is delicate and relatable. So is the outcome.
This is a satisfying comedy about a rivalry burning as hot and heavy as the joints of these old characters will allow. It manages to stand as endearing for the most part. The pranks are clever. The insults are satisfyingly cynical, the reactions are hilarious. It's funny. It could even work as a live action origin story of Statler and Waldorf from "The Muppet Show." Now there's an idea! "Grumpy Old Men" has found a place in pop culture. I often hear it referenced here and there. And it spawned a sequel! I'll get to that later.
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