On Golden Pond [VHS]

In this delightfully heartwarming film two cinema legend's ,Katherine Hepburn and Henry Fonda, are matched up for the first time ,with spectacular results .Hepburn and Fonda play an elderly,bickering married couple coming to terms with age .They are celebrating his 80th birthday when their estranged daughter (played by Henry's real life daughter Jane) turns up out of the blue with a new fiancee' and his 12 year old son in tow . The daughter and her dentist boyfreind plan to go on vacation to Europe and leave the 12 year old boy with the old couple .First off the boy is rude and unappreactive of the efforts of Katherine Hepburns character to welcome him ,but towards the end he slowly warms to them and by the end doesn't want to leave .In between this time there are some worrying sequences dealing with senile dementia and some funny sequences that will have you laughing . So sit back with some popcorn and enjoy the oscar winning performances of the leads and laugh at the subtle humour .Overall a brilliant feelgood movie complete with sparkling perfomances by all involved .Enjoy .

It's many years since I last watched 'On Golden Pond', and what a treat I've been missing. The brilliant acting of a simple (but very common) story is enhanced by the fabulous cinematography - something that my memory had completely overlooked. Many of us can relate to the parental disconnect; whereby parents from a different age were brought up to help their children 'achieve', but totally ignored the obvious need for love and 'approval' - just to know that they have (in some way) satisfied their parents' hopes for them is a driving force that, for many of us, remains an unfulfilled frustration. The Golden Age of storytelling has rarely been bettered than in this film, which is full of the genius of great film-makers. A delight to which I will keep returning - albeit with sadness for my own relationships, and hope that 'it can happen'.

I saw this when it first came out and remembered almost exclusively the negative side of the old man, as expertly acted by Fonda. He was so hard on his daughter, who came to him as a wounded girl in spite of her life working elsewhere, far away from the vacation home in New England. In a way, it mirrored the way I have felt about my own father, also a difficult if warmhearted man. I identified completely with their daughter, who is struggling with his putdowns, remembering slights and criticism far too long and unable to move on. So I didn't want to watch it again, that is, until I heard Jane Fonda talk about reconciliation and what making the film meant to her. We had had it for at least 5 years, never played.

I am happy to admit that my memories of the film were completely skewed. The most powerful thing in the film that I noticed this time, as a much older man in a 20-year marriage that is essentially good, is the chemistry and effort that the old couple makes to keep things together. It is beautiful, touching, and completely believable in the balance they must strike. There is also the playful humor of the old curmugeon, with his faults, vulnerabilities and fears as he tries so hard to make his way with dignity while knowing that his body is failing him and that death will come soon. I do not think that I have ever seen Fonda or Hepburn better, acting more naturalistically and spontaneously than the heavily stylized stuff that came out of the hollywood of their era. Indeed, they reveal entire new sides to their talent.

The other subplots are also wonderfully successful. The daughter's boyfriend, so comically fearful of the outdoors, draws a very clear line beyond which he will not tolerate jibes from the father. Jane is also excellent, though her performance is perhaps the weakest of the film. Finally, there is adolescent boy whom they dump on the couple while they take a trip to Europe - the evolution of his relationship with the old man is difficult but fruitful, revealing an aspect to him that the daughter cannot quite see.

Alas, the ending was a bit too pat and schmaltzy for my taste - too much gets resolved, the feelings and breakthroughs appeared rushed to me - it is still a very moving film with as much psychological realism as hollywood can tolerate. It achieves the status of good art that one can perceive in wildly different ways at different times in one's life.

Warmly recommended.