Grumpier Old Men (1995) - Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau movies, with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, or one or the other

"This restaurant is sitting on top of one of the biggest and best worm beds in all of Wabasha county."

Director
Howard Deutch

Cast
Jack Lemmon - John Gustafson Jr
Walter Matthau - Max Goldman
Ann-Margret - Ariel Truax Gustafson
Sophia Loren - Maria Ragetti Goldman
Daryl Hannah - Melanie Gustafson
Kevin Pollak - Jacob Goldman
Burgess Meredith - John Gustafson Sr

While I've watched and reviewed "Grumpy Old Men" with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, having seen it

once or twice before, I've never seen its 1995 sequel "Grumpier Old Men" before until now. 

I wasn't ever really persuaded to watch it even though I enjoyed the first movie, and Lemmon and Matthau reprise their roles. Honestly, it struck me as just another sequel made only to recapture the first movie's lightening-in-a-bottle all over again. The first movie pairs Lemmon and Matthau late in their careers. Plus, with Burgess Meredith being added in amidst the duo to steal the show, the first movie is really well-balanced with a truly solid chemistry that's difficult to reproduce. But the writers and producers certainly tried with "Grumpier Old Men." 

I kept the intention to "watch it one of these days" in my mental to-do list mainly out of curiosity. I knew I'd eventually get to it. So, now I can scratch it off that list. 

In this sequel, Walter Matthau's Max Goldman is still a bit of a frump with enough dapperness to carry him around bachelorhood. 

Jack Lemmon's John Gustafson Jr is happily married to Ariel Truax Gustafson (Ann-Margret) from the previous movie. And the two are still neighbors. 

The two old men still fight. But the fighting words they sling at each other seem a bit more intended as ribbing rather than actual fighting words. Their friendship, not as ornery as before but still salty enough for the title's sake, needs to be smoothed around the edges. In other words, they've mellowed out just enough to be noticeable. 

Max's son, Jacob (Kevin Pollak), is now engaged to John's daughter, Melanie (Daryl Hannah). 

And John is enjoying married life with Ariel. John's father, John Gustafson Sr (Burgess Meredith) is alive and kicking. And fishing still remains a central pastime for John and Max, and whoever else in Wabasha, Minnesota is into fishing. The elusive catch of all catches, the infamous fish called "Catfish Hunter" remains at large in the local fishing hole. Yeah, Catfish Hunter is back!

However, things become sour when news that the bait shop from part one, a connecting social point for the fishing enthusiasts in the area, is going to turn into an Italian restaurant thanks to newcomer, Maria Sophia Coletta Ragetti (Sophia Loren) and her elderly mother, Francesca "Mama" Ragetti (Ann Morgan Guilbert). 

Sophia Loren and Walter Matthau in "Grumpier Old Men."

Max and John take their sites off each other and shift their grumpiness onto these soon-to-be Italian restauranteurs. 

They first try to put an end to the restaurant with childish pranks. This just backfires on them. Ariel becomes upset with John for his antics towards the new folks in town and it puts a bit of a strain on their relationship. In fact, she forces him to go and make amends much to the dismay of Max. 

The antics also backfires in Max's face as he and Maria begin to fall for each other. 

Even so, thanks to their antics, Max and Jacob end their engagement because of their respective dads. 

Amidst all the tangled problems between everyone, John Sr dies. 

Shortly after the funeral, Max and John really begin to consider everything that's going on and think that the best course of action ought to be towards mending relationships, encouraging their kids to marry, and welcoming the restaurant. After all, who doesn't like Italian food? In fact, maybe there's room for some compromise? 

The movie starts off well with some good laughs. Its pace picks up nicely from the previous "Grumpy Old Men." 

Overall, it feels more like a TV series pilot special running at 101 minutes. As always, Jack and Walter are fun to watch, and they still carry that long lasting chemistry. By this time, it comes naturally. 

Even so, I wanted to see more Burgess Meredith. I kept looking forward much more to his lines and screen time. Burgess's dialogue that gave me the most laughs. And then, in the middle of the story, he disappears. When he shows back up, he's dead. So, I didn't like that. No, sir. I didn't like that at all. 

In one scene when Melanie is worried because her little girl, Allie (Katie Sagona) swallows a quarter, 

Jack Lemmon and Burgess Meredith.

John Sr. says, " Relax. Kids swallow quarters all the time."

"Really?" Melanie replies.

"Sure. If she craps out two dimes and a nickel, then you can start worrying."

In another scene, John Sr reads a bedtime story to Allie.

 "And then the Mama Bear said, 'Somebody's been sleeping in my bed, too.' And finally, the Baby Bear looked and he said, 'Somebody's sleeping in my bed, and the bastard's still there!' But Goldilocks had a Remington semi-automatic with a scope and a hair-trigger."

"That's not the way it goes!" Allie remarks. 

"And that was the end of the Three Bears."

So, Burgess struck me as the best part of the movie. Otherwise, "Grumpier Old Men" tries to be different enough from part one, but it also tries to mimic the style and charm of part one. 

Somewhere in the second act, the movie starts to fall apart. The comedy wanes, the story begins to drag, and the plot starts feeling like it forgot where it needs to go. It starts floundering to the point where I wanted it to finally end. 
The plot is basically Walter Matthau refusing to accept the concept of a girl who's out of his league. And it pays off well for him in the end. Since John manages to marry in the first movie, then Max deserves a shot at marriage. It's a standard case of the sequel not being as good as the first.

It starts off as entertaining, begins to trip over itself in the middle of the second act and then seems to make things up as it goes along. By the end, it's not authentic. It's disjointed. 

The stars are fun to watch, but still I waited for something exciting to happen. It has its funny lines, most of which came from Meredith. That's not to say I didn't get some laughs from Lemmon and Matthau/

And as much as I love Walter Matthau, I couldn't take any sincere interest in his character's romantic pursuits. It certainly wasn't for me. Of all the Lemmon and Matthau movies, this one unfortunately falls the flattest.  

Moby Dick (1956)

"From hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee. Ye damned whale."

Director 

John Huston

Cast
Gregory Peck - Capt. Ahab
Richard Basehart - Ishmael
Leo Genn - Starbuck
Orson Welles - Fr. Mapple
James Robertson Justice - Capt. Boomer
Harry Andrews - Stubb
Friedrich von Ledebur - Queequeg
Mervyn Johns - Peleg

I've reached a point in life where I think it would be a loss for me if I don't read some of literature's most renowned and respected books. Life is starting to feel short.

At the moment, I am on a Charles Dickens kick. You see, after taking an online Hillsdale College lecture on "A Christmas Carol" last December (the only Dickens story I've read in its entirety so far) I started a Dickens reading list for 2026 as I hadn't ever tried to read a novel of his aside from "A Christmas Carol" since high school. 

Back then, I tried to read a couple books by Dickens which were on an assigned reading list but never could get past the first few pages.

To begin with, back then I had to pick a book each month and submit a book report at the end of each month. Unfortunately, I am a terribly slow reader and finish a book in a month seemed impossible to me. So, I had to read as much as I could in a month and finish the rest on a wing and a prayer. Somehow, I managed. I'm still slow, I humbly admit. How people read so fast, I can't figure it out. 

While trying to read Dickens back in high school, I complained of too many characters and how difficult his stories were to get into. 

Now, with "A Christmas Carol" as my starting off point since I've read it several times already, I'm now working my way through "Oliver Twist" and will continue from there. I want to give Dickens another chance. He deserves another chance. 

Last year, I got through five books. Two were audio books and three where actual books. My general routine now has developed into read one actual book and listen to an audio book at the same time. So far, it's working out well. And man! Is "Oliver Twist" a long book to get through. But I am proud to say I am pulled in. Once I finish it, I'll move onto "A Tale of Two Cities." 

So, with that said, I've had some weird intrigue with Herman Melville's "Moby Dick." I've never read it, and to be honest, I'm kind of intimidated by it. I've heard comments that it's hard to read, it's long, it's a thick book, it's difficult to get into, it's too deep, it's boring etc. My personal interest in whales and whaling is somewhere between minimal and non-existent. Honestly, I was never even that interested in seeing Shamu at Sea World when I was a kid.  

If all they say about the book is true, then I'll start the book by familiarizing myself with the plot first. I checked out the 1956 movie "Moby Dick" from my local library. And after watching it, I listened to Ben Shapiro's (yes, that Ben Shapiro) "Third Thursday Book Club" commentary on the book. Say what you will about Ben Shapiro, his insight into novels is great and engaging to listen to. 

Gregory Peck as Capt. Ahab in "Moby Dick."

I think my curiosity about "Moby Dick" comes from the general theme boiled down to man going up against God, and the biblical themes that run through the story. Plus, it's such a renowned and highly praised novel that I just needed to see what it was all about, even if I never end up reading it. 

If I looked into all the themes and symbolism packed within and discussed it all, this would be a critique half the length of the actual book. This is the movie adaptation of the novel, so I'm going to critique that. 

With "Moby Dick" or any movie that's based on a book, I'm not terribly concerned how much a movie follows a book as long as it respects the source material. Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" films certainly respect the source material (Tolkien's books) though the movie does take a few liberties with the stories. 

Andy Serkis's upcoming movie "Animal Farm" based on Orwell's book clearly doesn't follow the book nor does it look like it'll respect the source material. I can't wait to rip that mess apart!

Though I haven't read "Moby Dick," based on what I know of the story, the movie certainly respects the source material. And from what I read, it follows the story rather well. Besides, Herman Melville didn't make the movie. Anyways, this isn't a book report. It's a commentary on a movie. 

I would think the plot of "Moby Dick" is familiar with just about everyone. 

So, in this movie, a sailor who asks the audience to call him "Ishmael" (Richard Basehart) because that's his name decides to join the crew of a whaling ship called the Pequod. I think he's a schoolteacher in the novel, if I'm not mistaken. He befriends a harpooner named Queequeg (Friedrich von Ledebur) just as they're both about the sail under the seriously obsessed Capt. Ahab (Gregory Peck) who is fixated on hunting down an elusive white whale called Moby Dick. It's the same whale that once took his leg. So, Ahab is out for revenge! 

The voyage progresses with all the usual whaling work and general sea life of whalers. Ahab and his whaling crew encounter other ships along their way which are overshadowed by Ahab's hellbent determination, fueled by a desire for vengeance, to kill the white whale. 

All the while, Ahab's mind frames this quest as a cosmic struggle of man against evil. 

After a long period, when all seems lost and hopeless in regard to finding Moby Dick, the Pequod catches up to the mammoth whale. 

They chase it for three days until the whale smashes the Pequod's smaller boats and ultimately attacks the ship itself, killing Ahab when he's caught in his own harpoon and dragged under the surface of the frothy sea. 

When Moby Dick crashes headfirst into the side of the Pequod causing it to sink, all the crew except Ishmael are killed. He's rescued and lives to tell the salty tale. 

I think the movie certainly simplifies the novel's plot, condenses the backstories of the characters, and quickens the pace. It would have to or I'd still be working my way through the movie. I'm speculating a little based on what I know about the length of the novel and what sort of themes and topics it goes into. However, I wasn't bored at all with the movie. 

The movie tries its hardest to wrestle with the major elements of the story, in respect to the source material, so that it strikes a chord with the audience. 

Ahab's chase is ultimately for immortality which is the battle of all human battles. He wants greatness and will die trying to snare it with his harpoon.  

Gregory Peck doesn't just act with his voice; he acts also with his eyes. He is bloody fantastic in this role! He captures Ahab's flaming determination straight down to his hard gaze and intensity. 

Peck's performance is solid, intimidating and as uncompromising as the sea itself - relentless!

He gives Ahab a moral seriousness or gravity just by the look on his face. It's an amazing performance. 

Director John Huston is no small name among the lexicon of famed directors. He has quite a list of titles on his resume - "The Maltese Falcon," "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," "The African Queen," "Moulin Rouge," "The Man Who Would Be King," and "Annie" to drop a few titles.  

In this case, he gives this book adaptation a surreal and vast atmosphere that has an impressive immensity to it. There's definitely a biblical taste underneath it all. The sea tale is told with seriousness without the need of any swashbuckling flair. The entire picture, especially the effects, are accomplished masterfully. It still impresses 70-years later. 

I also have to single out Orson Welles as Father Mapple. He delivers one of the most intense sermon scenes in classic cinema. His sermon centers on the story of Jonah. It's not hellfire and brimstone though he warns sinners rather than rage against them. 

Gregory Peck would later play Father Mapple in the 1998 mini-series "Moby Dick" starring Patrick Stewert as Capt. Ahab and Henry Thomas as Ishmael. 

When it comes to the book, many comments on the Book Club insisted the book is boring, especially the parts describing the whale species. Shapiro recommends reading the first 150 pages, skipping the middle, and then continuing onto the last 150 pages. Maybe? 

The movie, though, is fantastic - the beginning, the end, and the middle. I can't yet say for sure, but if I ever decide to crack open Herman Melville's book, I suspect I'll be glad I watched the movie first. I don't normal carry such a sentiment. In this case, I think that's how I'll likely feel.  With it's acting, effects, atmosphere and visuals, "Moby Dick" needs to be counted among my personal favorite flicks!