Grumpier Old Men
Encyclopedia
Grumpier Old Men is a 1995 romantic comedy film
, and a sequel
to the 1993 film Grumpy Old Men
. The film stars Jack Lemmon
, Walter Matthau
, Ann-Margret
, and Sophia Loren
, with Burgess Meredith
, Daryl Hannah
, Kevin Pollak
, Katie Sagona
, Ann Morgan Guilbert
. Grumpier Old Men was directed by Howard Deutch
, with the screenplay written by Mark Steven Johnson
and the original music score composed by Alan Silvestri
. The film was Meredith's final motion picture appearance. He was already suffering from Alzheimer's disease
and had to be gently coached through his role in the film.
) and Jacob (Kevin Pollak
), have become engaged after a brief relationship. Meanwhile, John is enjoying his marriage to wife Ariel (Ann-Margret
), which occurred at the end of the first film.
The spring and summer fishing season is also in full swing in Wabasha, Minnesota, with the annual quest to catch "Catfish Hunter
", the lake's largest catfish
, consuming the fishing community. However, the local bait shop closed after the death of its proprietor Chuck in the first film. New arrival to Wabasha, Maria Ragetti (Sophia Loren
), has purchased the building with the intent of converting it into a fancy Italian restaurant. Max and John join forces to try to sabotage the restaurant and succeed to a point, enough to make Ariel force John to go over to the restaurant and apologize to Maria for what he's done. Originally, John doesn't want to do it, and is encouraged by Max to tell Ariel so, which results in John moving in with Max as Ariel throws him out of the house. John eventually breaks down, and goes to apologize to Maria after realizing that Max lives a slovenly (almost squalor-like) lifestyle at his home.
Things go awry, however, when John and Maria trade shots of grappa
over the conversation. He tells her that he's happily married with Ariel for six months. Maria mentions that her marriage with Antonio ended badly before it began. Eventually, John drinks too much and passes out, waking up the next morning in the restaurant, leading Ariel and Max to believe that the two slept together. However, Maria's mother Francesca stops the confrontation by revealling two things: the first is that she and John's father are in a relationship, and that Maria in fact is infatuated with Max, to everyone's surprise.
While out in his boat one day Max finds Maria on the lake fishing, and the shared interest helps to begin a romance between the two. However, Maria calls it off thanks to Francesca (Ann Morgan Guilbert
) reminding her of five failed marriages in the past, and Max is bewildered and disappointed.
To complicate things further, Jacob and Melanie's wedding plans are causing the couple stress, due to their fathers' apparent inability to plan a proper wedding. After John decides to book "Handsome Hans", Wabasha's "polka king" for the wedding, Melanie finally snaps and she and Jacob get into a huge argument, which results in the wedding being called off and the two to live separately. Upon hearing the news, John and Max call off their truce and reignite their feud.
Once again, Max and John resort to childish pranks to get back at each other, which include: Max broadcasting a video of John sitting still, naked, for a statue Ariel was making of him, Max disconnecting John's outboard motor, John cutting Max's fishing net and boat anchor line, and John's cat Slick spending the night inside Max's truck clawing the "authentic imitation leather" on the seats. This leads to the climax of the feud. Max adopts a one-eyed bulldog named Lucky, who chases Slick into John's house, messing up the house, and causing the statue of John to break. Seeing the destruction of the statue, Ariel moves out, telling John she isn't coming back until the two are done fighting.
In addition, Max had another date scheduled for Maria, but her mother will not let her go because Maria has been heartbroken five times in her past marriages and she fears that Max will make it six. Maria does not show up for their date and Max tries in vain to get in contact with her.
Saddened over Ariel leaving and moving in with Melanie, John goes to the lake to fish with his father (Burgess Meredith
) and get some advice of what to do about what had just happened. However, Grandpa has died on the couch he used to fish on. At his funeral, his ashes are scattered in the lake, and Max and John call off their feud again. The two also help Jacob and Melanie reunite after their brief estrangement and the wedding is apparently back on. Before leaving to reconcile with Ariel, John convinces Max to try again with Maria, telling him to "park that stupid pride of his" and tell her how he really feels. Max decides to visit Maria at Ragetti's.
Max stops to see Maria, but her mother refuses to let him in. He doesn't give up and comes in anyway by telling Francesca that he refuses to leave until he sees her. Maria doesn't want to see him, but she eventually comes out. She comes clean by telling Max the tuth on how many times she's actually been married. He was only aware of one marriage, to a man named Antonio and could be implied that John told him about it. Max decides then to explain to Maria he's not like the other 5 men she was with and that he knows how to treat a lady. In telling her how he truly feels, the two rekindle their romance.
Much like the first film, a wedding is to take place at the end. On the way to the wedding, however, Max and John see a fellow fisherman who has come in contact with Catfish Hunter and is staggering around bewildered after being unable to catch him. Max convinces John that they should take one more try at catching the fish, considering his boat is nearby. John agrees, and the two set out to catch Catfish Hunter in spite of all the damage John did to Max's boat earlier in the film. The two manage to reel in the large catfish and have him in the boat, but John says that they should throw him back. He reminds Max that his father had been trying to catch Catfish Hunter for twenty years, and the two should be in the lake together. Therefore, Catfish Hunter is returned to the lake and the duo rushes to the church for the wedding, which turns out to be Max's wedding to Maria (which is not revealed until Max and John arrive at the church; it is implied that it is Jacob and Melanie's wedding, but the two had eloped prior to this). Max and Maria are wed and drive away in the limousine to their reception to be held at Maria's restaurant, which will also serve as the town's bait shop again. As in the first film, a trick is played on the newlyweds in the limo on the way to the reception. Max and Maria were kissing and looked up to see Lucky looking back. They are startled at first, but realized that they're smelling Lucky. John had put the dog in the front seat to stink up the limo as revenge for the prank Max pulled on him with a dead fish.
suggested making a third film in the series entitled Grumpiest Old Men. The plot was going to involve Max and Maria going to Italy on a honeymoon where they are confronted by Maria's ex-husband (to be played by Marcello Mastroianni
), who would attempt to contest Maria's marriage to Max on the grounds that his own divorce from Maria was never finalized. Lemmon, Matthau, and Loren were going to commit to making the sequel a few years after Grumpier Old Men. The sequel was never made, however. After Lemmon and Matthau starred in the financial flop Out to Sea
in 1997 and the critical and financial disaster The Odd Couple II
in 1998, Warner Bros. decided not to make the film. Any potential reconsideration ended with the deaths of Mastroianni in 1996, Matthau in 2000, and Lemmon in 2001.
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
, and a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to the 1993 film Grumpy Old Men
Grumpy Old Men (film)
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 film stars Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
, Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
, Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...
, and Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
, with Burgess Meredith
Burgess Meredith
Oliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
, Daryl Hannah
Daryl Hannah
Daryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...
, Kevin Pollak
Kevin Pollak
Kevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, impressionist, game show host, and comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy at the age of 10 and touring professionally at the age of 20...
, Katie Sagona
Katie Sagona
Katie Sagona is an American actress. She acted in a series of films and TV shows throughout the 1990s and 2000s, including You've Got Mail, In Dreams, Grumpier Old Men, Black and White, and she also played Johnny Depp's daughter in Donnie Brasco...
, Ann Morgan Guilbert
Ann Morgan Guilbert
Ann Morgan Guilbert , sometimes credited as Ann Guilbert, is an American actress, who played the neighbor Millie Helper in 61 episodes of the early 1960s’ sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, and later Yetta Rosenberg, Fran Fine’s doddering grandmother, in 56 episodes of the 1990s’ sitcom The Nanny...
. Grumpier Old Men was directed by Howard Deutch
Howard Deutch
Howard Deutch is an American film director. His most recent theatrical release was My Best Friend's Girl, starring Jason Biggs, Kate Hudson, Dane Cook, and Alec Baldwin...
, with the screenplay written by Mark Steven Johnson
Mark Steven Johnson
Mark Steven Johnson is an American film director and writer.Johnson was born in Hastings, Minnesota and attended California State University, Long Beach. He has directed and co-written the two comic book based films Daredevil and Ghost Rider. His early writing credits are for the film Grumpy Old...
and the original music score composed by Alan Silvestri
Alan Silvestri
Alan Anthony Silvestri is an American film composer and conductor.-Career:Silvestri is best known for his collaborations with director Robert Zemeckis, having scored Romancing the Stone , the Back to the Future trilogy , Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Death Becomes Her , Forrest Gump , Contact ,...
. The film was Meredith's final motion picture appearance. He was already suffering from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
and had to be gently coached through his role in the film.
Plot
The lifelong feud between Max (Walter Matthau) and John (Jack Lemmon) has cooled, though they still continue to call each other "moron" and "putz", but now with affection. Their children, Melanie (Daryl HannahDaryl Hannah
Daryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...
) and Jacob (Kevin Pollak
Kevin Pollak
Kevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, impressionist, game show host, and comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy at the age of 10 and touring professionally at the age of 20...
), have become engaged after a brief relationship. Meanwhile, John is enjoying his marriage to wife Ariel (Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...
), which occurred at the end of the first film.
The spring and summer fishing season is also in full swing in Wabasha, Minnesota, with the annual quest to catch "Catfish Hunter
Catfish Hunter
James Augustus "Catfish" Hunter , was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During a 15-year baseball career, he pitched from 1965-1979 for both the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees...
", the lake's largest catfish
Catfish
Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
, consuming the fishing community. However, the local bait shop closed after the death of its proprietor Chuck in the first film. New arrival to Wabasha, Maria Ragetti (Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
), has purchased the building with the intent of converting it into a fancy Italian restaurant. Max and John join forces to try to sabotage the restaurant and succeed to a point, enough to make Ariel force John to go over to the restaurant and apologize to Maria for what he's done. Originally, John doesn't want to do it, and is encouraged by Max to tell Ariel so, which results in John moving in with Max as Ariel throws him out of the house. John eventually breaks down, and goes to apologize to Maria after realizing that Max lives a slovenly (almost squalor-like) lifestyle at his home.
Things go awry, however, when John and Maria trade shots of grappa
Grappa
Grappa is an alcoholic beverage, a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Italian origin that contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume...
over the conversation. He tells her that he's happily married with Ariel for six months. Maria mentions that her marriage with Antonio ended badly before it began. Eventually, John drinks too much and passes out, waking up the next morning in the restaurant, leading Ariel and Max to believe that the two slept together. However, Maria's mother Francesca stops the confrontation by revealling two things: the first is that she and John's father are in a relationship, and that Maria in fact is infatuated with Max, to everyone's surprise.
While out in his boat one day Max finds Maria on the lake fishing, and the shared interest helps to begin a romance between the two. However, Maria calls it off thanks to Francesca (Ann Morgan Guilbert
Ann Morgan Guilbert
Ann Morgan Guilbert , sometimes credited as Ann Guilbert, is an American actress, who played the neighbor Millie Helper in 61 episodes of the early 1960s’ sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, and later Yetta Rosenberg, Fran Fine’s doddering grandmother, in 56 episodes of the 1990s’ sitcom The Nanny...
) reminding her of five failed marriages in the past, and Max is bewildered and disappointed.
To complicate things further, Jacob and Melanie's wedding plans are causing the couple stress, due to their fathers' apparent inability to plan a proper wedding. After John decides to book "Handsome Hans", Wabasha's "polka king" for the wedding, Melanie finally snaps and she and Jacob get into a huge argument, which results in the wedding being called off and the two to live separately. Upon hearing the news, John and Max call off their truce and reignite their feud.
Once again, Max and John resort to childish pranks to get back at each other, which include: Max broadcasting a video of John sitting still, naked, for a statue Ariel was making of him, Max disconnecting John's outboard motor, John cutting Max's fishing net and boat anchor line, and John's cat Slick spending the night inside Max's truck clawing the "authentic imitation leather" on the seats. This leads to the climax of the feud. Max adopts a one-eyed bulldog named Lucky, who chases Slick into John's house, messing up the house, and causing the statue of John to break. Seeing the destruction of the statue, Ariel moves out, telling John she isn't coming back until the two are done fighting.
In addition, Max had another date scheduled for Maria, but her mother will not let her go because Maria has been heartbroken five times in her past marriages and she fears that Max will make it six. Maria does not show up for their date and Max tries in vain to get in contact with her.
Saddened over Ariel leaving and moving in with Melanie, John goes to the lake to fish with his father (Burgess Meredith
Burgess Meredith
Oliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
) and get some advice of what to do about what had just happened. However, Grandpa has died on the couch he used to fish on. At his funeral, his ashes are scattered in the lake, and Max and John call off their feud again. The two also help Jacob and Melanie reunite after their brief estrangement and the wedding is apparently back on. Before leaving to reconcile with Ariel, John convinces Max to try again with Maria, telling him to "park that stupid pride of his" and tell her how he really feels. Max decides to visit Maria at Ragetti's.
Max stops to see Maria, but her mother refuses to let him in. He doesn't give up and comes in anyway by telling Francesca that he refuses to leave until he sees her. Maria doesn't want to see him, but she eventually comes out. She comes clean by telling Max the tuth on how many times she's actually been married. He was only aware of one marriage, to a man named Antonio and could be implied that John told him about it. Max decides then to explain to Maria he's not like the other 5 men she was with and that he knows how to treat a lady. In telling her how he truly feels, the two rekindle their romance.
Much like the first film, a wedding is to take place at the end. On the way to the wedding, however, Max and John see a fellow fisherman who has come in contact with Catfish Hunter and is staggering around bewildered after being unable to catch him. Max convinces John that they should take one more try at catching the fish, considering his boat is nearby. John agrees, and the two set out to catch Catfish Hunter in spite of all the damage John did to Max's boat earlier in the film. The two manage to reel in the large catfish and have him in the boat, but John says that they should throw him back. He reminds Max that his father had been trying to catch Catfish Hunter for twenty years, and the two should be in the lake together. Therefore, Catfish Hunter is returned to the lake and the duo rushes to the church for the wedding, which turns out to be Max's wedding to Maria (which is not revealed until Max and John arrive at the church; it is implied that it is Jacob and Melanie's wedding, but the two had eloped prior to this). Max and Maria are wed and drive away in the limousine to their reception to be held at Maria's restaurant, which will also serve as the town's bait shop again. As in the first film, a trick is played on the newlyweds in the limo on the way to the reception. Max and Maria were kissing and looked up to see Lucky looking back. They are startled at first, but realized that they're smelling Lucky. John had put the dog in the front seat to stink up the limo as revenge for the prank Max pulled on him with a dead fish.
Subplots
As in Grumpy Old Men, several subplots are present in Grumpier Old Men. In addition to the sabotage of the restaurant and Max and John's poor wedding planning, Grandpa Gustafson again shows his perverted side. Unlike in the first film, where he had designs on most of the women of Wabasha, in the second film, Grandpa's perverted streak is largely due to his desire to have a relationship with Francesca Ragetti. At one point in the film, it is suggested that he succeeds, with Francesca finally being charmed by his overtures and dropping a rose into the water after his cremated remains are dumped in the lake. A second subplot with Grandpa Gustafson concerns his advancing age, as he is 95 and remarks that God must have forgotten about him. (When he dies, John remarks "Looks like God remembered you, Pop.") In the first film, Melanie's daughter Allie was a toddler, but in the second film her character was advanced to grade school age and played by a different actress, with added hints that she did not accept her mother's relationship with Jacob, but that had changed by the end of the movie.Cast
- Walter MatthauWalter MatthauWalter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
as Max Goldman - Jack LemmonJack LemmonJohn Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
as John Gustafson - Ann-MargretAnn-MargretAnn-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...
as Ariel Gustafson - Sophia LorenSophia LorenSophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
as Maria Sophia Coletta Raghetti - Ann Morgan GuilbertAnn Morgan GuilbertAnn Morgan Guilbert , sometimes credited as Ann Guilbert, is an American actress, who played the neighbor Millie Helper in 61 episodes of the early 1960s’ sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, and later Yetta Rosenberg, Fran Fine’s doddering grandmother, in 56 episodes of the 1990s’ sitcom The Nanny...
as Mama Ragetti - Burgess MeredithBurgess MeredithOliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
as Grandpa Gustafson - Daryl HannahDaryl HannahDaryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...
as Melanie Gustafson - Kevin PollakKevin PollakKevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, impressionist, game show host, and comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy at the age of 10 and touring professionally at the age of 20...
as Jacob Goldman - Katie SagonaKatie SagonaKatie Sagona is an American actress. She acted in a series of films and TV shows throughout the 1990s and 2000s, including You've Got Mail, In Dreams, Grumpier Old Men, Black and White, and she also played Johnny Depp's daughter in Donnie Brasco...
as Allie (Melanie's daughter)
Reception
Grumpier Old Men grossed $71 million domestically on a budget of $25 million. While some have said that this was less successful than the original, Grumpier Old Men beat its predecessor's total of $70 million and cost $10 million less to make than the original. However, critical reception was not as kind, as the film currently only holds an 18% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the movie holds a 65% "fresh" rating among Rotten Tomatoes' community members.Sequel
Following Grumpier Old Mens box-office success, Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
suggested making a third film in the series entitled Grumpiest Old Men. The plot was going to involve Max and Maria going to Italy on a honeymoon where they are confronted by Maria's ex-husband (to be played by Marcello Mastroianni
Marcello Mastroianni
Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni, Knight Grand Cross was an Italian film actor. His honours included British Film Academy Awards, Best Actor awards at the Cannes Film Festival and two Golden Globe Awards.- Personal life :...
), who would attempt to contest Maria's marriage to Max on the grounds that his own divorce from Maria was never finalized. Lemmon, Matthau, and Loren were going to commit to making the sequel a few years after Grumpier Old Men. The sequel was never made, however. After Lemmon and Matthau starred in the financial flop Out to Sea
Out to Sea
Out to Sea is a 1997 romantic comedy film starring Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Rue McClanahan, Dyan Cannon and Brent Spiner. The film was directed by Martha Coolidge, with a screenplay by Robert Nelson Jacobs...
in 1997 and the critical and financial disaster The Odd Couple II
The Odd Couple II
The Odd Couple II is the 1998 sequel to 1968's The Odd Couple. The movie reunites Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in their last film together.- Plot :...
in 1998, Warner Bros. decided not to make the film. Any potential reconsideration ended with the deaths of Mastroianni in 1996, Matthau in 2000, and Lemmon in 2001.