On Golden Pond (2001)
Character-driven story about an elderly man coming to terms with his age, and the nearing of death; a middle-aged woman attempting to enter into a father-daughter relationship with her dad, whom she has never known closely; and a young teenager dealing with parental divorce. Ethel and Norman Thayer are an old couple living "On Golden Pond". Their daughter, Chelsea, is 42 years old, and has never been married. She is dating a 45 year old dentist, and brings him up to Golden Pond to meet her parents. Her boyfriend, Bill, has a 14 year old son named Billy, who comes along. Young Billy has been virtually raised by his mother, who is newly divorced from his father. The troubled child is left with the elderly Thayers for some time, as his father and Chelsea take off for a tour of Europe.
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Disturbing yet enthralling
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
I love the original. I do not like this adaption! I do however have a soft spot for the cast and so I will not dare judge this to harshly! Julee Andrews and Christofer Plummer star in this TV adaption of the play "On Golden Pond". Now If TV wants to adapt plays I would recomend they stay away from re-making movies that were done right to begin with! TV should make "Sunset Boulevard" "Miss Saigon" "les miserables" and "chess". If they want to remake "Deathtrap" please do so! IF TV doesn't want to do musicals they should it least film a broadway performance of these plays! Now if you go on to rent this edition of "On Golden Pond" please do yourself a favor and don't rent it! Rent Bette Midler's edition of Gypsy
What a huge disappointment this effort turned out to be. Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer were unconvincing as a couple who had been married for years. Comparisons to the Fonda/Hepburn film are inevitable and this version only reaffirms how marvelous the 1981 film is. In this live T.V. version, the line readings were stiff and lifeless and the pacing was just plain bad. None of the cast members conveyed anything resembling real human emotion. Granted, this was "theatre", which is different than film, but surely the producers/director/actors could have made more of an effort to capture the emotional aspects of the story. This was especially disappointing because the actors involved (Andrews, Plummer, Glenne Headley and Sam Robards) are talented individuals. Oh well....better luck next time.
Well worth watching! The acting it great. However, this "live" re-make does not come close to giving me the emotional experience the original did! Example (POSSIBLE SPOILER): In the original movie, the boy is the the main influence in Norman's life. He is the one who helps him come to terms with his age and destiny. In this re-make, his is kind of on the side line. This is worth watching, and very entertaining, but falls short of the original! But what do you expect? I don't think entertainers ever say "Hey Joe, that movie was pretty stupid, let's re-make it!"
I know the years have dimmed my memories of the original movie staring Fonda and Hepburn. However, I feel that this remake surpassed the original in many ways. First, the chemistry between Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer was superb. It was completely believable that these two had been married for years, and yet loved each other very much (in a rather kooky and dysfunctional way). Secondly, Norman's memory problems were present, but were not portrayed in as depressing a manner, and the overall movie was much more light hearted and funny than the original. Finally, the interactions between Norman and Billy were priceless! It was so much fun watching the two of them interact.Sure, there were a few technical goofs (like the lighting guy that happened to be in the scene for a few moments, the shadows appearing outside the windows, etc.), but this was LIVE theater. Anything and everything can go wrong in that situation, but the show went off with hardly a hitch.Bravo to the cast and crew. And it was so great to see Andrews and Plummer back together again. I hope we see more!