To me, this movie is perfection.

Sorry, this movie sucks

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Grumpy Old Men focuses on the town of Wabasha, Minnesota, where two bickering elderly residents reside and consistently bicker with one another. They are retired teacher and widower John Gustafson (Jack Lemmon) and retired repairman and fellow widower Max Goldman (Walter Matthau), whose friendship as children ended when John dated and married Max's crush in high school.Now, such a rivalry reaches critical mass when an attractive eccentric named Ariel (Ann-Margret) moves across the street and steals the eye of both men. Both John and Max are smitten with the woman and try to find ways to earn her friendship and maybe even her hand. However, both men are far past their prime in terms of relationships, but John and Max can put many fighting youngsters to shame with the way they try and get back at one another.Such a film would not be half as memorable or fun if the leads weren't the legendary screen actors Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. The film pulls of its hardest job effortlessly because of them and that job is making both men truly seem like lifelong rivals who have a subtle but present soft-spot for one another. Lemmon and Matthau manage to achieve a shockingly believable relationship in that regard, and their performances mimic the kind that would've been present in early black and white cinema or even the Vaudeville days.Both of their performances require energy that some would assume would be far past their years. But, as usual, Lemmon and Matthau defy the odds and commit to hilarious performances of sweetness, sourness, and true comedic talent. One mustn't forget the talent possessed by Ann-Margret as well, who handles the female character "stuck in the middle of lunacy" role to strong effect, especially in the more dramatic scenes. Consider when she gets her lengthy monologue with John about how him and Max need to stop fighting each other. It's a scene of surprising emotional honesty thanks to writer Mark Steven Johnson's refusal to make the monologue too sentimental.Johnson, who would later find some success writing and directing films based on lesser-known superheros, keeps the film heavy on humor and relatively minimal on the inclusion of emotionally manipulative sequences in the film. First and foremost, the film remembers it's a comedy and refuses to compromise its title for frequent and contrived dramatic instances. However, when the drama does roll around, it's handled in a pleasantly modest way (especially towards the end, when the film goes for broke in a sequence that shows humanness to the fullest degree).Grumpy Old Men can easily be criticized for having a plot like a sitcom and rather ordinary direction by Donald Petrie, who refuses to do much with the story visually other than capture the snowy landscape of Wabasha, Minnesota. However, like many comedies with high-profile actors, it may be easy to critique the plot's contrivances, but it's hard to fault the actors for being so committed to a project they inherently fit into well. Lemmon and Matthau captures the soulful energy of bickering neighbors wonderfully and that's worth the price of admission alone.Starring: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, and Kevin Pollak. Directed by: Donald Petrie.

it's hard to believe that 2 giants of the screen are actually dead,, well 3 if you count Burgess Meredith as well,, first off Ann Margaret was great in this movie, and still looks wonderful for her age.. Walter Mathau and Jack Lemmon were first paired on the big screen in the Odd Couple I believe ,, someone correct me if i'm wrong on this but I don't believe that I am on this one.. this movie is set in an around Minnesotta they do a lot of ice fishing up there, and this is what our main characters do in their spare time.. both men are trying to win over their sexy new neighbor .. played by the lovely Ann Margaret, unfortunately she can only choose one of them,, both of these men just love to play pranks one one another, 2 of my fav are the frozen snow on the roof and he sprays it all down with the water hose.. and the other is the stinky rotten dead fish in the car.. gotta love these two along with Burgess Meredith they will all be missed so much.

Grumpy Old Men is directed by Donald Petrie and written by Mark Steven Johnson. It stars Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Ann-Margret, Kevin Pollack, Burgess Meredith, Ossie Davis, Daryl Hannah and Buck Henry. Music is by Alan Silvestri and cinematography by Johnny E. Jensen.A lifelong feud between two neighbours has been continuing since for ever. Now in the twilight of their lives, things get worse when a new female neighbour moves across the street.A perennially fun viewing experience, one that boasts a wonderfully mature cast having a good time in the process. It would be easy to decry the formula, the trajectory of where it will go, and maybe stand tall and proclaim the writing isn't up to the standard of a Wilder or Simon movie, but that's kind of missing the point. It's a new era of film and the makers of Grumpy Old Men have tailored it to suit impressively the twin talents of Matthau and Lemmon. Both of whom are wonderful, their chemistry set in cement, their timing and reactions to scripting an utter joy. It's not without problems, anyone can see that, especially when the film veers onto the drama path, but the comedy over rides it all to leave a adult friendly holiday movie full of warmth and chuckles. 7/10

You'd have to be hard-hearted in the extreme not to respond to this autumnal flowering of two mega talents. You're not so much watching Grumpy Old Men as watching The Fortune Cookie, The Odd Couple, The Front Page and remembering a great screen partnership and a great off-screen friendship. The story is really nothing at all but there's a great warmth radiating from the heart of this film set in a Minnesota winter and revolving around a lifelong love-hate relationship between two widowers who clearly have been through everything - childhood, dating, marriage, child-raising and loss of wives together. It may be unrealistic that love interest Ann Margaret, a good two decades younger than either, would not have a beau or even several beaux in her own age group or even if not would choose either one of these over-the-hill suitors but such is the charm and warmth we don't really care.