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A Disappointing Continuation

Blistering performances.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

A few things struck me while I was watching "On Golden Pond". The obvious thing was the co-starring of two generations of Fondas. I understand that Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda hadn't been on the best terms due to her political activism in the '60s, and so this movie was a sort of reconciliation for both of them.As for the plot, the movie comes across as a "nice movie" that you can take the kids to see. Katharine Hepburn's "knight in shining armor" quote pretty much sums up the movie's feeling. I'm not saying that it's a bad movie, just a little too fluffy. It's a surprise seeing Jane Fonda and Dabney Coleman play wife and husband, since they had just played enemies in "9 to 5".Basically, it's a watchable movie, but not any sort of masterpiece. Probably worth seeing once. So strange to think that Henry Fonda won an Academy Award for the role and died a few months later.

On Golden Pond is famous for many reasons, and if you haven't seen it yet, you're missing out on some of the most memorable moments of semi-modern, semi-classic film history.Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda play an old married couple who return to their lake cottage to celebrate Henry's 80th birthday. He's a crotchety old man who's grumpy all the time and doesn't like getting older. Katharine supplies the warmth in the family, including their relationship with their daughter, Jane Fonda. Jane and Henry don't get along, mirroring their real-life relationship, and when she comes to the lake house to mend their old wounds, it's an uphill battle.Dabney Coleman costars as Jane's fiancé, and Doug McKeon plays Dabney's teenage son who bonds with Henry. Both Katharine and Henry received Oscars for their performance, as did Ernest Thompson for his adapted screenplay. It's hard to choose one famous moment from the film, since there are so many: Katharine's "go go go" speech, Jane's backflip, Henry and Jane's hug, Jane's tearful "I want to be your friend" line, and Henry's pronunciation of his wife's name. It's definitely worth watching, especially if you're a fan of anyone in the cast, or if you have issues with your father.

Hardly a classic.A retired couple, Ethel and Norman Thayer, are spending a summer in a cottage near a lake, as they always do. This time, however, their semi-estranged daughter, Chelsea, joins them...Maybe you have to be old to appreciate the characters and the interplay, but I found this pretty boring. The "quirkiness" (more like senility) of Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn's characters irritated me. The jokes seemed lame and trite. The father-daughter relationship issue, meant to be the central plot line, seemed not as significant as it was made out to be, and overdone.Not a classic, by any stretch of the imagination. I'll give it another go, though, in about 30 years time...

There is little dispute about the greatness of this movie, so I wanted to comment on the DVD extras from the 2003 "special edition" which, as far as I know, is the most recent release.You'll find audio commentaries by the director and the writer, both thorough and enjoyable, although the director is a little too proud of his work.There is a short doc on Katherine Hepburn, made for this edition and not long after she passed away, which contains a lot of great images and appreciation of her, but it's nothing too special.What is special is the short doc "Reflections on Golden Pond", which features the cinematographer and much of the crew, and really delves into the beautiful natural lighting of the picture. Better yet, the crew talks in specific detail about how they achieved certain effects for this entirely on-location film, long before digital made the beauty of movies so damn fake. You may look at 'Golden Pond' and think it's rather sweet and simple, but they when you watch this doc you realize just how much thought and work went into making it look so right. I teach film studies, so I'm always recommending material like this for students to learn more about the filmmaking process. It's so nice to watch a classic film and enjoy it on its own, and then learn more about how it was made.