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Grumpier
Old Men (1995)
Two years after Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon reunited
on screen for "Grumpy Old Men," we get a sequel. And
while the original was hardly original, it did do well
at the box office, so this re-reunion is no surprise.
Much like the original, this film only marginally passes
for a movie. There is the obligatory love interest and
the supposed rivalry but this time both come in the
form of Sophia Loren. As an Italian woman who moves
to town with her aging momma and plans to turn the duo's
favorite old bait shop into a "restorante," Loren seems
to hold the entire film on her shoulders. For what it's
worth, she is the best part of the this sequel.
Loren looks great! She spends much of the film in
low- cut dresses that reveal her wondrous bosom. Even
though she must be well into her 60's, Loren can still
turn heads. When she walks through a bar in the film
and all of the men go ga-ga over her, we have no trouble
believing it. But even more surprisingly, Loren also
holds the film together when it comes to the plot device
of hooking her up with Matthau. The "grumpy old man"
looks all-too-old when the movie begins. He actually
looks near his deathbed when we first see him. It is
only after Loren appears on the scene that he gets a
little color in his cheeks. Loren actually makes us
believe she is interested in this old codger. For this,
at least, she deserves an Academy Award nomination if
not the statuette.
The secondary characters from the first film round
out the supporting cast with one new face thrown in.
Ann Margret, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollack, and Burgess
Meredith all reprise their roles from the original and
Ann Guilbert (Millie from the old "Dick Van Dyke Show,"
and Yetta from "The Nanny" of late) joins the group.
Forced to share romantic scenes with Meredith (who also
looks sickly), Guilbert also deserves kudos here. Meanwhile,
Hannah and Pollack have roles that are slightly more
involved this time around and yet they still somehow
manage to stay in the periphery. For the sake of both
of their careers, they should consider this a lucky
break.
Howard Deutch, who cut his teeth in John Hughes films,
takes over the reigns from Donald Petrie here and the
effect is only this: we get a film that isn't as slick
as it's rather lackluster predecessor. Deutch doesn't
really add much to his repertoire by helming here yet
it probably doesn't do much to damage to his resume
either. This is a better film than, say, his "The Great
Outdoors," yet no where on par with "Article 99." Deutch
isn't going to get the big films by rehashing the films
of better directors yet one wonders if he has even directed
a film since 1992's "Article 99?"
Writer Mark Steven Johnson reprises his role as author
here as well. I guess we shouldn't be surprised that
he adds little to his database either. Johnson again
continues to spice the script with "dickheads" and "putzs."
His vocabulary seems very limited. And once again, with
the lame story, we see the best the film has to offer
in the outtake reel during the closing credits. In keeping
with the theme of the sequel, it's a bit of a letdown
compared to original. These bloopers commence with numerous
takes where Matthau mentions flatulence. Now that I
think about it, maybe it isn't Johnson with the limited
vocabulary.
"Grumpier Old Men" is really a misnomer. The duo is
actually a little more laid back here. Matthau looks
really ill (I don't think there'll be an "Even Grumpier
Old Men") and Lemmon has very little to do in the plot.
He almost phones in his performance. For a duo that
has had numerous successes in film together, it kind
of sad to see them go out this way. This film isn't
awful, it's only slightly less than okay. At one time,
that would have been a dreadful thing to have to say
about a film with two of the greatest actors of the
mid 20th century.
Note: At the time of filming, Matthau was 75, Lemmon
was 70 and Margret was 54.
This was Matthau and Lemmon's 8th film together.
Music by Alan Silvestri with tunes by (the Italian)
Dean Martin prevalent in the film. Where the first film
opens with the (supposedly) ironic "We're Having a Heatwave,"
this one opens with a more humorous (and more fitting)
tune by Louis Armstrong.
Review written in 1996
Report
Card
Script:
D-
Acting: C+
Cinematography\Lighting: D+
Special Effects\Make Up: C-
Music: A+
Final
Grade: C-
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