On Golden Pond

On Golden Pond
Directed by Mark Rydell
Written by Ernest Thompson from his novel
1981/US
IMDb page
First viewing?/YouTube rental

Ethel: Sometimes… you have to look hard at a person and remember… that he’s doing the best he can. He’s just trying to find his way, that’s all. Just like you.

The acting is the thing in this sweet movie about family and aging.

Norman Thayer Jr. (Henry Fonda) and his wife Ethel (Katharine Hepburn) have spent summers at their place on Golden Pond in New England for years.  He is about to turn 80 and is currently obsessed with dying and his failing memory.  Ethel adores him but worries.  Their daughter Chelsea (Jane Fonda) is to visit for the birthday party with her new boyfriend Bill (Dabney Coleman) and his thirteen-year-old son Billy.  Chelsea carries a grudge toward Dad for various slights in her childhood.

And Dad is definitely not on his best behavior for Chelsea’s visit.  He seems to have lost his filter and blurts out the first thing that crosses his mind, which is usually not too pleasant.  Despite all this Chelsea wants her parents to take Billy for a month so that she and Bill can vacation in Europe.  Norman and Ethel agree.

This is one of those movies I was sure I had seen before.  Evidently not.  It’s a well-done story about aging and family.  It would have been treacly without the outstanding Oscar-winning performances by Fonda and Hepburn.  How is it that Fonda did not win before this?  He is really great here.  Hepburn is playing Hepburn as only she can.  I loved the scenery too.

Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn won Best Actor (his first) and Best Actress (her fourth) Oscars.  The film was nominated in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress.

Loons! I love them so