Grumpier Old Men (1995)

 

Grumpier Old Men - 1995

Coming up next is 1995's "Grumpier Old Men".  In this sequel to "Grumpy Old Men", we see longtime pals Max and John up to their old hijinks.  An elusive catfish has been spotted in the area, and Max faces off with a tough Italian businesswoman.

The film's cast includes Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Sophia Loren, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollak, and Ann Morgan Guilbert.

Longtime friends and fishing buddies John Gustafson and Max Goldman are excited.  They are sure that this is the year that they will snag Catfish Hunter, an elusive catfish, on their fishing lines.

John's father is also pretty excited about it, too.  He sits on a sofa on the banks of the lake, drinking beer, and fishing to his heart's content.

The town of Wabasha, Minnesota is changing fast.  Max is initially excited about the new changes, namely a lovely Italian named Maria.  He becomes less than enthused when he discovers that she will be turning his favorite bait shop into an Italian "ristorante".

"People are not gonna come down here for Italian (EYE-talian) when we got a Chuck E. Cheese right in town," he tells her matter-of-factly.

And so begins a sour relationship between the two of them.  Their carts crash at the supermarket, and so do their personalities.  They call each other "ox" and "nag".

Maria is really a very nice lady, and she wants nothing more than to settle down in a nice town and make a life for herself.

It's all-out war when Max enlists the help of John to get Maria a bad report from the health inspector.

John's wife Ariel sends him to apologize for his behavior.  However, he had too much to drink and passes out at Maria's restaurant.  She has him take a hot shower before he heads home.  Ariel arrives and thinks the worst.  Of course, nothing happened, but it doesn't do good things for John and Max's friendship.  Max is secretly in love with Maria.

The icy relationship between Max and Maria thaws when they spend a little time together, and Max finds out what a good fisherwoman she is.

He gets the most ridiculous grin on his face after their first date.  John just rolls his eyes.

John and Max's friendship sours over a disagreement involving the wedding of their children.  The gloves come off with a vengeance.

Max gets a new dog named Lucky to get rid of John's cat Slick, who likes to go to the bathroom on Max's newspaper.

Things get heated up.  A duel is fought on the front lawn with fishing poles.  The animals just watch in disbelief.

The death of John's father brings them closer together.  John and Max stand on the edge of the lake remembering the old man and renewing their bonds of friendship.

The days go by and Max and Maria get engaged.  On the day of their wedding, things don't go exactly according to plan.  As they make their way to the church, John and Max hear a report that Catfish Hunter has been sighted in the lake.  Not wanting to miss an opportunity to catch the elusive fish, they get their gear and head to the water.

Of course, they catch him.  John decides to release the fish back into the lake so that he can live to swim another day.

The two of them hurry off to the church for Max's wedding to Maria.  "My son-in-law has the face of a mackerel," sniffles Maria's mother.

Just like Max did at John's wedding to Ariel, John has planned a surprise for the newly married couple.  He sneaks Max's stinky dog Lucky into the limousine.  Max and Maria, initially startled by the smell, start laughing.

And so does, John, who watches their departure with a grin on his face.

Cast rundown:

   Jack Lemmon................................John Gustafson

   Walter Matthau..............................Max Goldman

   Sophia Loren.................................Maria Ragetti

   Ann-Margret..................................Ariel Gustafson

   Burgess Meredith...........................Grandpa Gustafson

   Daryl Hannah.................................Melanie

   Kevin Pollak...................................Jacob Goldman

   Ann Morgan Guilbert.......................Mama Ragetti

And that's it for Grumpier Old Men.  There was supposed to be another film in the "Grumpy Old Men" series.  It was to have taken place in Rome.  The storyline would have seen Maria's former husband contest her marriage to Max on the basis that their divorce was never finalized.  However, the film never got past the planning stage.

Can I tell you how much this shot makes me laugh?  It features Walter Matthau on the lake during the opening credits.  If you stick around during the closing credits of the film, you can see some hilarious outtakes.

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The Front Page (1974)

 

The Front Page - 1974

Coming up next we have 1974's "The Front Page", a film about a newspaper editor who tries to get his top reporter to cover one last story before he leaves the business to get married.

The film's cast includes Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Susan Sarandon, Austin Pendleton, Carol Burnett, Vincent Gardenia, David Wayne, Allen Garfield, Charles Durning, Herb Edelman, Harold Gould, Jon Korkes, and Martin Gabel.

There's big news in Chicago.  Accused/convicted Russian sympathizer Earl Williams is going to be executed.  His gallows are being erected right outside City Hall.

Chicago Examiner editor Walter Burns wants his top reporter, Hildy Johnson, to cover the story.  However, Hildy announces his retirement from the newspaper business and his intention to get married.  Burns does everything he can to change Hildy's mind, but Hildy says "Sayonara" to newspaper life.  Disappointed but not defeated, Burns starts to plot to get Hildy to stay.

Hildy's fiancée is movie house organist and "classy dame" Peggy Grant, who gets the audience involved with the song "Button Up Your Overcoat".

Burns goes to see Ms. Grant and spins all sorts of wild and wacky stories about her intended groom.  However, that doesn't work when Hildy calls on the phone and straightens everything out.

Meanwhile, back at the reporter's room at City Hall, prostitute Mollie Malloy, a friend of the doomed Earl Williams, pays the group a visit and condemns their portrayal of her relationship with Earl.  "If you was worth breakin’ my fingernails on, I’d tear your puss wide open," she says to the bunch.

Though she has feelings for Earl, the truth of their relationship isn't the way the reporters have painted it.  "That’s a lot of bunk!  Like all that other stuff you been writing.  Calling me an Angel of the Pavement and the Midnight Madonna.  Who ya kiddin’?  I’m a two-dollar whore from Division Street, and you know it!" she exclaims.

When Hildy comes to the reporter's room to announce his retirement, he isn't thrilled by the replacement that Burns has sent.  But, he shrugs it off, fully intent on saying goodbye the world of journalism.

However, a jailbreak by Earl Williams sends all those plans right out the window.  Williams eventually hides out in the reporter's room, and only Hildy knows what is happening, providing the Chicago Examiner with a very hot advantage over the rest of the city papers.

Mollie is on hand to help out with the injuries that Earl sustained in his escape.  Reading a report that she intended to marry him on the gallows, he asks her if it was true.  "Well, if it’s in the papers, it must be true.  They wouldn’t print a lie," she says to him with a smile, but she casts the reporters a sneer.

When Burns gets wind of the fact that Hildy has Earl Williams with him, he insists that nobody but Hildy get the story.  Of course, in the heat of the moment, Hildy casts off all of his previous plans and dives right on, vigorously pounding out the story on the typewriter.

Poor Peggy is left realizing that she will always in second to Hildy's first love: journalism.

The story reaches its peak when Burns and Hildy uncover the fact that the Mayor of Chicago and the Sheriff are hiding a reprieve for Earl signed by the governor.  Once it's made public, Earl is a free man.

After it's all said and done, Hildy joins Peggy on a train out of Chicago to get married and start a new life.  Burns wishes him well and gives him a watch as a farewell gift.

Of course, that's just a deviously sneaky way for Burns to send a telegram to the train's first stop so that the police can arrest Hildy for the theft of a watch.  Burns will stop at nothing to keep Burns working with him in Chicago.

Cast rundown:

   Jack Lemmon...........................Hildy Johnson

   Walter Matthau.........................Walter Burns

   Susan Sarandon.......................Peggy Grant

   Austin Pendleton.......................Earl Williams

   Carol Burnett...........................Mollie Malloy

   Vincent Gardenia......................Sheriff

   David Wayne............................Roy V. Bensinger

   Allen Garfield...........................Kruger

   Charles Durning........................Murphy

   Herb Edelman..........................Schwartz

   Harold Gould............................The Mayor

   Jon Korkes...............................Rudy Kepler

   Martin Gabel............................Dr. Max Eggelhofer

And that's it for The Front Page.  I think that a good blog is only as good as the material it covers.  Therefore, it should cover as much ground as possible, including films the blog owner both likes and dislikes.  For me, this film falls in the dislike category.  I hated the relationship between Lemmon and Matthau's characters in the movie.  Carol Burnett was very unhappy with her performance in the film (however, I liked it).  When it was shown on an airplane on which she was traveling, at the conclusion of the film she stood up and apologized to the passengers.

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