Grumpier Old Men (1995)

John and Max resolve to save their beloved bait shop from turning into an Italian restaurant, just as its new female owner catches Max's attention.

Director:

Howard Deutch

Writers:

Mark Steven Johnson (characters), Mark Steven Johnson

Stars:

Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Ann-Margret

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Walter Matthau	...	Max Goldman
Jack Lemmon	...	John Gustafson
Sophia Loren	...	Maria Sophia Coletta Ragetti
Ann-Margret	...	Ariel Gustafson
Burgess Meredith	...	Grandpa Gustafson
Daryl Hannah	...	Melanie Gustafson
Kevin Pollak	...	Jacob Goldman
Katie Sagona	...	Allie, Melanie's Daughter
Ann Morgan Guilbert	...	Mama Ragetti (as Ann Guilbert)
James Andelin	...	Sven
Marcus Klemp	...	Eddie, Assistant Manager
Max Wright	...	County Health Inspector
Cheryl Hawker	...	Lena
Wayne A. Evenson	...	Handsome Hans
Allison Levine	...	Assistant at Dog Pound

Storyline

Things don't seem to change much in Wabasha County: Max and John are still fighting after 35 years, Grandpa still drinks, smokes, and chases women , and nobody's been able to catch the fabled "Catfish Hunter", a gigantic catfish that actually smiles at fishermen who try to snare it. Six months ago John married the new girl in town (Ariel), and people begin to suspect that Max might be missing something similar in his life. The only joy Max claims is left in his life is fishing, but that might change with the new owner of the bait shop.

---

Plot Keywords:

boat | lake | neighbor | rivalry | minnesota | 

---

Taglines:

Still Yelling. Still Fighting. Still Ready For Love.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for salty language and innuendos

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian German

Release Date:

22 December 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Grumpy Old Men 2

Filming Locations:

Mayslack's, 1428 4th Street NE, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,797,185, 25 December 1995

Gross USA:

$71,518,503

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$71,518,503

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lancaster Gate, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After being so cruel to Maria Max and John are at the bar celebrating. In the background you can hear Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" on the juke box. The song, which is about the pain of being in love, is often mistaken for being about going to hell. When Maria shows up in her sexiest outfit in order to torture the guys, this is a rather overt reference to the song about a temptress sipping red wine who drives men wild, Devil in a Red Dress.

---

Goofs

When Max and Maria are dining on the deck, they drink wine from a box. When the rain starts and they go inside, the box of wine disappears.

---

Quotes

[John charges at Max in a boat]
Max Goldman: You don't have the balls to take me on any more. Ariel's got you neutered.

---

Crazy Credits

Outtakes are run beneath the closing credits, including Burgess Meredith giving many different bawdy names for the Hawaiian island he visited, and the line he uses to invite Maria's mother back to his room.

---

Connections

Spoofs West Side Story (1961)

---

Soundtracks

Liar's Polka
Written by Thomas Newman and Frank Marocco
Performed by Wally Olson Band

User Reviews

The Geezers Are Back

If you watched Grumpy Old Men and know the ending there, you can't imagine how these two curmudgeonly old geezers could get a feud going again, especially after what Walter Matthau did for Jack Lemmon when Lemmon was really down. And in point of fact the boys seem to lose a step or two from the first film.

Still Grumpier Old Men finds Lemmon and Matthau in their superbly timed best just fighting for sillier reasons. In the first film the rivalry heated up a bit because the two were panting hot and heavy for Ann-Margret and Lemmon got her. Now it's Matthau pursuing and what an object of pursuit he has in Sophia Loren.

In the first film Ossie Davis owned a bait shop where everyone bought bait, but also liked to hang around, just like a barbershop. Davis dies during that film and now we find out that Sophia and her aunt Ann Morgan-Guilbert have taken it over and want to make it an Italian restaurant on the lake. Well when the senior citizens of this small Minnesota town hear about this they're up in arms. Fishing is close to a religion there and Matthau is leading the charge. That interferes more with romance than anything else.

And the Holy Grail of that religion is none other than the largest catfish known to humankind, the legendary Catfish Hunter. Returning as Lemmon's father is Burgess Meredith who has been on the quest for most of his 95 years. When Lemmon's daughter Darryl Hannah finally ties the knot with Matthau's son you won't believe what's going on with our two leads on the wedding day of their kids.

Grumpier Old Men was the farewell performance of Burgess Meredith ending a career that spanned six decades. The man was close to perfection in his performance as the oldest of the old geezers in Grumpier Old Men. This is man who has lived so long he really doesn't feel the need to be subtle and discreet. His courtship of Ann Morgan- Guilbert is a combination of geezer and caveman.

Grumpier Old Men, keeping the Lemmon-Matthau standard of comedy high.