Viewed in
2012
Formats
HDTV
Premise
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau play two elderly neighbors who fight for the affections of a new elderly neighbor.
Liked
Matthau and Lemmon busting each other's balls.
Disliked
Not enough grumpy old men.
Thoughts
It was cute and funny at times.
The best parts were Lemmon and Matthau being grumpy towards each other. While their fastball had slowed, their chemistry and charm were still quite strong, as they hurled insults and practical jokes. I also enjoyed the late great Burgess Meredith as Lemmon's horny dad. There were some very humorous moments that took advantage of the old men gimmick, like arguing who had the worse medical problems, or Meredith kept calling the two elderly leads "kids".
Unfortunately, there wasn't enough old curmudgeon gags. The love triangle and plot were pretty boilerplate, but then the subplots (including Buck Henry as an IRS agent) spiraled out of control at the end, resulting in implausibly neat happy endings. Ann-Margaret did her best, but the writing did her no favors, making her kooky beyond believability just to fit the plot's needs. Kevin Pollack and Daryl Hannah's love subplot was more likable than the love triangle. When there's problems like these it became easier to be taken out of the moment, by realizing the characters lived in small-town Minnesota, but without accents, and there's a Jewish family that appears to celebrate Christmas.
If you're a big fan of the legendary duo of Lemmon and Matthau, it's worth a watch. I just wished it had better writing and more grumpy old men, but it was fun watching them reunite, like an over-the-hill band on one last nostalgic tour.
