Review of On Golden Pond (1981) by Hatem A — 28 Jan 2012

3.5/4.0.

Death is no laughing matter but "On Golden Pond" succeeds in dealing with the subject of aging and impending death with some decent amount of humor. This is no comedy and it has a large number of heart-rending moments but it also has a good amount of light-hearted humor mostly thanks to a flawless Oscar-winning performance by Henry Fonda in his last role.

Adapted by Ernest Thompson from his 1979 play of the same name, the movie centers on aging couple Ethel (Katharine Hepburn) and Norman Thayer (Henry Fond) who go to spend the summer at their home on a beautiful lake called "Golden Pond". They are visited by their daughter Chelsea (Jane Fonda), who is estranged from her somewhat hard father. She comes with her new dentist fiancée Bill (Dabney Coleman) and asks her parents to take care of his young son Billy (Doug McKeon) while they go on vacation. Although the young boy is extremely annoyed at being left alone with old people, he eventually grows close to Norman as they go on fishing trips together.

The movie is about how a couple deals with aging (in the case of Fonda's character) and is a tale of a dysfunctional family. The Fondas are great together portraying a relationship that presumably mirrors their real life one. We get some interesting insights about the past of this family but just enough (not too much that is). There is also a beautiful love story at the movie's center with Fonda and Hepburn having a good deal of on screen chemistry.

The actors are all pitch perfect but it is Fonda's movie - he steals every scene he is in portraying a somewhat difficult character dealing with aging. One would expect this movie to be an endless weepie but it is not and that is one of the best things about - it is never emotionally manipulative up to its ending.

"On Golden Pond" is a great looking movie - you will want to go spend a summer on that lake. Director Mark Rydell and cinematographer by Billy Williams (who later won an Oscar for "Gandhi") perfectly capture the beauty of the lake and its surroundings, which is essential for the movie's success. The movie's only flaw is that at times it has some TV movie sensibilities for some reason but that is a minor quibble. Won 3 Oscars: Actor (Fonda), Actress (Hepburn), Adapted Screenplay; Nominated for 7 Others: Picture, Director, Supporting Actress (Fonda), Cinematography, Editing, Sound, Original Score.