Grumpier Old Men

Plot synopsis:
The feud between Max (Walter Matthau) and John (Jack Lemmon) has cooled and both of them patch things up, and their children, Melanie (Daryl Hannah) and Jacob (Kevin Pollak), have become engaged. Meanwhile, John is enjoying his marriage to new wife Ariel (Ann-Margret).
The spring and summer fishing season is in full swing with the annual quest to catch "Catfish Hunter," a rather large catfish. However, the local bait shop closed after Chuck, the previous owner died, and Maria Ragetti (Sophia Loren) has purchased the property with the intent of converting it into a fancy Italian restaurant.
Irritated it will no longer be a bait shop, Max and John join forces to sabotage the restaurant. They are successful at first with their practical jokes. However, when Ariel learns what is going on, she tells John to apologize to Maria at once. He eventually does, but falls asleep at the restaurant after drinking grappa. Max and Maria begin dating due to their shared passion in fishing, while her mother Francesca (Ann Morgan Guilbert) dates John's father (Burgess Meredith).
To complicate things further, Jacob and Melanie call off their engagement due to stress from their parents' involvement. Upon hearing the news, John and Max reignite their feud. Ariel is stressed out because of it and leaves John.
At the restaurant, Francesca is worried about all the time Maria spends with Max. She reminds her daughter of her five failed marriages and worries that Max will make it six. After being convinced to take a long look at herself, Maria reluctantly stops seeing him.
Distraught over losing Ariel, John heads to the lake for his father's advice, but finds him dead. Following the funeral, John and Max call off their feud again and John and Ariel reconcile. After realizing that their own inability to properly plan a wedding is what drove their kids to call it off, they decide to set it right. They help Jacob and Melanie reconcile (the couple later elopes), and manage to catch "Catfish Hunter" and release it, then clarify their own drama. Max marries Maria, and on the way to their honeymoon, discover Max's one-eyed bulldog, Lucky, in the car with them. Ragetti's is reformed so it will also be a bait shop.

Tags: revenge, comedy, prank

Review:
GRUMPIER OLD MEN is a neat follow-up, as we find how Max Goldman (Matthau) finds his new mate, Maria Ragetti (Sophia Loren).
It also settles the future of Max's son Mayor Jacob Goldman (Kevin Pollak) and John Gustafson's (Lemmon's) daughter Melanie (Darryl Hannah), and gives a bitter-sweet farewell to John's father (Burgess Meredith).I think the reason the sequel works is that there is a sense of time and continuity here that is not usually found.
In GRUMPY OLD MEN, the reactions of Lemmon and Matthau to the death of their close friend Chuck (Ossie Davis), who had only recently been their rival for Ariel (Ann-Margaret) showed them to be human beings - not just two good comic actors trading insults for yucks.
In the first film Meredith was always acting like a wild authority figure: over ninety years old, but threatening to tan the hides of the middle aged Matthau and Lennon like they were still kids when he stops them fighting.
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau return as John and Max, the longtime neighbors who in this movie have reconciled their friendship.
But the real scene stealer in "Grumpier Old Men" is the wonderful Sophia Loren as the new Italian woman in Wabasha, Minnesota.
They join forces to save their beloveds bait shop from being turned into an Italian restaurant by its new owner (Sophia Loren) who has just took over.Almost all of the cast from the first movie return, Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon are their usual brilliant self, with their usual awesome charisma.
Daryl Hannah and Kevin Pollack both return too, and are both as reliable as you'd expect.Sadly, Grumpier Old Men was Burgess Meredith's final film.
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.
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.
His courtship of Ann Morgan- Guilbert is a combination of geezer and caveman.Grumpier Old Men, keeping the Lemmon-Matthau standard of comedy high..
'Grumpier Old Men' Synopsis: 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.'Grumpier Old Men' works well as a romantic-comedy, as it has moments of humour & subtle romance.
Lighten up.Speaking of negativity, another reviewer, whom I won't name here (oh all right, it's John Ulmer), seems to think this movie is nothing more than a "shouting match," and is concerned about the age difference between the Old Men and their lady friends.
Max Goldman (Walter Matthau) and John Gustafson (Jack Lemmon) are still at each other's throats when Italian immigrant Maria Ragetti (Sophia Loren) arrives in town and throws everything into flux.
It is a fitting follow - up to Grumpy Old Men. Matthau and Lemmon shine in this great film.
Grumpy old men was an OK comedy with a nice performance by Ann-Margret, but otherwise forgettable.This film, on the other hand, has some real comic touches that actually also have something to say about the aging process - and life really doesn't end until it ends.But first the bad news: Daryl Hannah.
Consequently, whatever the short-comings there's plenty to remember fondly from this film.Oh, and don't miss the blooper-reel that runs under the final credits - Matthau and Meredith are having a grand old time.Oh, and Sophia Loren is still hot..
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.We often expect sequels to be weaker than the original.
The first go round was such a hit, that Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau got together for this sequel to the 1993 smash hit, "Grumpy Old Men." And "Grumpier Old Men" is every bit as good as the first film.
John (Lemmon) and Max (Matthau) team up for a time in the movie to plan the wedding of their daughter and son, Melanie and Jacob (played by Daryl Hannah and Kevin Pollak).
With the 10 films they made together – especially the nine comedies, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau have delighted audiences for decades.
After the fun of watching Lemmon and Matthau act like kids for less than 2 hours (i.e. from the first movie) I was satisfied, but then due to the success of the first movie the producers decided to give it another twirl, this time the story had the two starting off as friends thanks to the incidents that happened in the ending of the first film, but then some really really idiotic stupid reason, they were at it again.The movie was not funny as it was like a replay of the first, same pranks, similar plot and screenplay made this movie a waste of time.
The movie is directed this time by Howard Deutch, who later worked with the duo in 1998 for Odd Couple II, Deutch other movies also have not been well received like Getting Even with Dad (1994) and The Whole Ten Yards (2004), which are basically the reason why I will not bother seeing My Best Friend's Girl.The movie plot carries on 6 months after the incidents of the first, where both John (Lemmon) and Max (Matthau) were getting prepared for the wedding of their children.
Then a new arrival in town a beautiful lady by the name of Maria Ragetti (Sophia Loren) came in to change things by turning the towns bait shop to a restaurant.John and Max join forces to try and run the new lady out of town, but the issues between John and Max's children marriage plan caused both to reignite their feud as both refused to believe that their child was at fault.Only the ladies are alive till today (February 2013), as both Lemmon and Matthau died like half a decade after this movie release.
Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Sophia Loren, Burgess Meredith  these actors know what they're doing and they know how to hold a movie together.
Then, where there does seem to be promising originality, it ends up not being sufficiently developed.I thought that the budding romance between John's dad (Meredith) and Maria's mother (Ann Guilbert) had comedic potential, but the two ended up only having 2 or 3 scenes together, and the "stop the restaurant" campaign could have been (and seemed for a moment as if it was going to be) the comedic centrepoint of the movie, but in the end, all we got was about 10 minutes of what were essentially vignettes of the various things John and Max tried to do to stop Maria.
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau return in their twilight years as the ever-battling duo, but this time with the added attraction of Sophia Loren who still looks gorgeous at age 60.
Since Lemmon's already got sexy Ann-Margret as his hot girlfriend, Sophia hits it off with old man Matthau (ah, the magic of movies), who does not look as good for his age (75).
One of the things I like most about sequels is that they give viewers a chance to see the return of their favourite characters as well as being introduced to some new faces.Walter Matthau & Jack Lemmon were the perfect choice to play Max Goldman & John Gustafson, their comedic timing was spot on and flawless.
Other cast members Burgess Meredith, Kevin Pollak, Daryl Hannah, Katie Sagona, Ann Margret and Ann Morgan Guilbert delivered top notch performances.Sophia Loren as Maria Sophia Coletta Ragetti is lovely and hilarious, her character is new to town and when she turns the bait shop into a restaurant it makes way for pranks and the unexpected happens when Max falls in love.Many of the scenes during the film are filled with jokes and romance, one scene I found to be poignant occurs when John Gustafson goes to the couch by the lake to talk with his dad, only to discover that he's passed away.
"Looks like god remembered you Pop" was a moving moment as it helped the two main characters to reconcile their feud once again.The film ended with yet another wedding and another prank pulled in the honeymoon limousine, Grumpier Old Men proves that you're never too old for love and laughs.I'd give it a 7.4 out of 10.
I just finished Grumpier Old Men this morning and was expecting a modest sequel, but it turned into a great sequel, pretty much to the point where I enjoyed Grumpier Old Men to Grumpy Old Men. Despite the fact that they use some old jokes, this was a fun plot and I thought the guys have gotten even funnier, including John's father, he's a little dirty, but so much fun to laugh at.John and Max are now best friends again and couldn't be happier with each other, their son and daughter are about to get hitched, and they are overwhelming with the wedding plans.
Ann Margaret is back playing Jack's wife and Sophia Loren is sexy and funny playing Maria Righetti who wants to open a restaurante in place of the beloved bait shop that has been there for years.
Grumpier old men i think is another comedy classic movie.
Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau and Ann Margret are back in another comedy squeal.
Good comedy with simple story enhanced by a legendary cast.This sequel was done better than "Grumpy Old Men" and has a funnier script although does not work unless one sees the first movie "Grumpy Old Men" first which one may not like unless one is fammiliar with the lead actors.Ann-Margaret and Sophia Loren look so good for their age and really help brighten this movie.Could have been  better with a better screenplay and story.Only for big comedy fans who are fans the past works of the lead actors here......
This sequal is much better then the original Grumpy Old Men (which in most cases is not so with sequals).The jokes are better the plot outline is better the drama is better, this is not even comparable to the 1st one.Walter Matthau is exceptionally funny in this one and Burgess Meridith is just laugh out loud hilarious.You gotta love it.**** out of ****..
However, in Grumpier Old Men, the sequel to the fine comedy Grumpy Old Men, handles the rehashed formula better than many film sequels do.While I'm getting to sound repetitive and out of descriptive words, this is largely because of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau's chemistry together on-screen.
Had the film been a sequel with few returning cast members (say Lemmon and Matthau were substituted by two other actors), this sequel would've likely been a somber affair to view.In a way, I'm thankful the town of Wabasha Minnesota hasn't really changed much since our last outing, with the exception of John Gustafson (Jack Lemon) marrying Ariel (Ann-Margret) from the original film.
The restaurant is managed by Maria Ragetti (Sophia Loren), a gorgeous but uncompromisingly strict woman who catches the eye of Max even as him and Jack plan to foil the restaurant's forthcoming prosperity.Other events (aka subplots) occurring in Wabasha are the wedding between Max's son Jacob (Kevin Pollak) John's daughter Melanie (Daryl Hannah), a plot which would later be used by the same director Howard Deutch in The Odd Couple II, also starring Lemmon and Matthau, along with John trying to get his father (Burgess Meredith in his final role, which was burdened by spouts with Alzheimer's and difficultly remembering lines, some female company as he gets older.
One of Grumpier Old Men's immediate issues is that there is simply too much going on between plot-strands that involve marriage/romance troubles (I counted four including John's brief trouble with Ariel later in the movie) ad others that involve trying to sabotage the bait-shop-turned-restaurant.Grumpier Old Men may have too many new ideas for cutesy subplots, but it keeps the tone and feel of its predecessor alive and well.
Once you minimize your focus on that aspect in the film, you have just an average comedy that, while charming and pleasantly safe (a good and bad quality for this particular kind of picture), is just grateful to be buoyed by two very talented leading men.Starring: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Kevin Pollak, Daryl Hannah, Sophia Loren, and Burgess Meredith.
The pricey cast includes paired couples, Ann-Margaret and Jack Lemmon, Ann Guilbert and Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah and Kevin Pollack, and Sophia Loren and Walter Matthau.Although I did not see "Grumpy Old Men," the core of the cast and original storyline continue in "Grumpier Old Men," which is upbeat, outrageous, and a bit smug in never having to say, "prostate." It does have a plot (more than collecting social security benefits), with three principal areas of contention:A.
And, A(2) there is an inter-family wedding (Hannah and Pollack), as a sidebar.B. Sophia Loren (Maria Ragetti) and her mother, Ann Guilbert ("Mama"), have purchased Chuck's Bait Shop, located on one of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes (home of Catfish Hunter), to convert it into an Italian restaurant.
"Grumpy Old Men" was mildly amusing due less to the script than to the welcome return of Lemmon and Matthau who hadn't been on screen together in 12 years.
Anywho, they bicker some more, and we see Jack Lemmon posing nude in one scene (carefully covered by the camera), which I could live for the rest of my life without seeing.They are also arguing because Matthau is in love with a new Italian woman (Sophia Loren) who has just moved in, opening up a restaurant taking place of "Chuck's Bait Shop." The inhabitants of Grump Land don't like this, because the customers will scare away the fish, so they start pulling mean tricks and pranks on poor Sophia."Grumpier Old Men" is the name of this film, as if you didn't already know, and it truly is grumpier.
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau are a good comic pairing, but as I said in my review of "Grumpy Old Men," film executives seem to see "The Odd Couple" as a shouting match, when it was so much more.
Sweet and Sad. In this bright sequel to "Grumpy Old Men" we find John (Jack Lemmon) and Max (Walter Matthau) at it again.
Grumpier Old Men (1995) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Sequel to Grumpy Old Men have Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau returning with more fights and foul language.
This time out Lemmon is still happily married but Matthau is on the move and takes a special interest in an Italian woman (Sophia Loren) who has just moved to town.
`Grumpier Old Men' is a film that is a sequel to `Grumpy Old Men.' Reprising their original roles are Jack Lemmon as John Gustafson, Walter Matthau as Max Goldman, Ann Margaret as Ariel, Burgess Meredith as John's father, Kevin Pollock and Darryl Hannah as the children of Max and John.
Always delighting in Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, warmed by their aging and childish pranks, I enjoyed this film which is filled with delightful acting and fun script.It suffers, however,  from more than a few silly scenes..
The two titled characters (Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau) once again cause trouble for each other and once again their lives are turned upside down when a cold Italian beauty (Sophia Loren) moves to their Minnesota town.
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau are still the grumpy old men in this lovely sequel.John Gustafson (Lemmon) is still happily married to Ariel(Ann-Margret).But Max Goldman's (Matthau) only joy in his life is fishing with no woman.But things start chancing to Goldman with the new comer in town.Sophia Loren plays an Italian waitress called Maria Ragetti.Loren is hot in her role.Too bad she's too old for me.
The late Burgess Meredith can still be seen as Grandpa Gustafson.And he's not leaving without romance either.He finds the romance with Mama Ragetti (Ann Morgan Guilbert).Kevin Pollak and Daryl Hannah are also replacing their roles.Grumpier Old Men from 1995 is a lovely romantic comedy with the brilliant comedy couple Mr Lemmon and the late Mr Matthau.These two know how to make you laugh.And who could forget Burgess Meredith as the grumpiest old man.This movie offers you lots of great moments.Many moments of laughs.Grumpier Old Men is a must see for the fans of Lemmon and Matthau.They won't let you down..
"Good Lemmon & Matthau Comedy Sequel!".
Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Sophia Loren, Kevin Pollack, Daryl Hannah and Burgess Meredith star in this 1995 comedy sequel.
At my age, I had not seen most of Walter & Jack's previous films together.It was this film & the original were great.Great fun seeing the Max & John characters going after each other.Daryl, who I am NOT a fan of, dull in the character.The down point to the film was this side track story on getting the 2 adult children to marry.Scenes you can replay is always a plus to me in a film."Catfish hunter".Sophia's character was good, at least smart, but the OVER marriage story line too much.The death of the "Grandpa" character was sad.
However, due to excellent writing, a superb cast and great direction, this film is every bit as enjoyable as Grumpy Old Men. Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau made several films together and they worked together extremely well.
I have always loved Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.
This sequel to Grumpy Old Men is as funny as the original.
Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, and the rest of the cast from the original movie reprise their roles.