Classic Film: "Grumpy Old Men" (1993)

Picking a favorite Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau collaboration is just too painful and arduous a task. I simply can't choose between what is a now classic collection of masterful comedy. The two of them headlined 7 major motion pictures together: The Fortune Cookie, The Odd Couple, The Front Page, Grumpy Old Men, Grumpier Old Men, The Odd Couple 2, and Out To Sea. But I'm going to focus on one film in particular, 'Grumpy Old Men'. 

Yes, that film. The movie that marked the career resurgence of both actors. The picture that made them pop culture phenomenons. When you think of Betty White's current white-hot career rebound, compare it to the impact that 'Grumpy Old Men' had on the two legendary, Oscar-winning actors. 

'GOM' could probably owe the biggest debt of gratitude to its crude script. The sight of watching two old men cursing at each other is an age-old past-time, but when they're Lemmon and Matthau, they make the obscenities so funny they sound fresh. Walter (playing Max Goldman) calling Lemmon (playing John Gustafson) a "dickhead" isn't exactly Paddy Chayefsky, but it works like magic. 

As serial collaborators, the two actors had a familiar chemistry that worked on all levels of the film. Goldman and Gustafson were two 70-something men who had lived in the same town and neighborhood all their lives. They had tormented and scolded each other for the same period. They fought over long-deceased women, the size of the fish they caught, and traded tales of recently dead colleagues. But the film focuses on their new adventure, a battle of wills for the heart of their new neighbor, Ariel (played by Ann-Margaret). What ensues is an hour + of hilarity and heart, which is why the film was so successful. It isn't all crude, it's anchored by real camaraderie and love between the two leads. The sort of friendship that could only exist between longtime rivals. Respectful rivals, but rivals nonetheless.

As with all their collaborations, Lemmon takes the role of the "straight-man" in the film, while Matthau gets to have all the fun. Because Lemmon is such a dynamic dramatic actor, I understand why they cast him as such. But lest we forget, he's got the goof-ball chops too. If you haven't seen "Some Like It Hot", do so. In that film, they give him the role Matthau would have probably played if they were in it together. Matthau shouldn't be underestimated either. While he drops sarcasm and toxicity like the legend he is, the more dramatic moments of the movie (like when he finally admits Gustafson is a friend) are heavy and meaningful. Only a pro could make Goldman more than just a grouchy old man.

The biggest delight of the movie isn't Lemmon nor Matthau, its Burgess Meredith. As Lemmon's father, he livens the comedy as a sexually-expressive old rascal. Some of the funniest parts of the film come from him and him alone. When he calls it "colder than a witch's titty" outside, you've got to roar with laughter. 

Ann-Margaret has a thankless role, and (to me at least) a kooky, unlikeable character. Some of the things she does and gets away with are just outrageous, and her bohemian freedom is off-putting. Her jumping around in the snow dressed only in a bathing suit is not "free & adventurous" (as the film implies), it's idiotic. Her stealing mail from her neighbors and opening it to "see who they were" is not endearing (as the film implies), it's creepy. Her sneaking into a home in the night to cook dinner and seduce a man is not sexy (as the film implies), it's psychotic. And her smothering a new boyfriend and then being offended when he gets irritable is not justified (as the film implies), it's selfish. 

Other than that one weak spot (I actually could have done without the love triangle plot, but I understand why it was needed) 'GOM' is a gem. I wouldn't rate it above or below any of their other collaborative films however, it's just too hard. 

Below are a few clips from 'Grumpy Old Men':