Grumpy Old Men (1993)

Despite relying on some clichéd gags and audience familiarity with their particular brand of comedy, seeing Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau on screen together is a real treat. Timing is the essence of comedy and both men show they’ve still got it in spades. It helps that they worked together before because throwing just any two aged actors into these roles could have been a disaster. While the end product may not be the highlight of either of the stars’ careers, what we get is a delightful comedy that will more than likely put a smile on your face.

Wabasha, Minnesota neighbors John Gustafson (Jack Lemmon) and Max Goldman (Walter Matthau) have been rivals for decades since John stole Max’s high school sweetheart. John is long since divorced and Max is a widower, which leaves them ample time to torment each other with pranks. When a beautiful widow (Ann-Margret) moves in across the street, both men vie for her attention and affection, escalating their rivalry to new heights.

While the story isn’t all that unique, Grumpy Old Men has a lot going for it thanks to the characters and the talent bringing them to life. I don’t have to say much else about Lemmon and Matthau. They’re icons of comedy and they do a fine job of balancing their boyish antics with the limitations of their aged bodies. Ann-Margret’s character could have been something of a throwaway but she makes the role more than just a pretty face. She succeeds at the subtle things that drive her suitors crazy while also maintaining a firmness that puts them in their place. Then there’s Burgess Meredith as Lemmon’s father. He steals the show every time his character is allowed to go off on a tangent and talk dirty.

Rather than be just a slew of raunchy retiree antics, the filmmakers slow the pace down a little with a side plot involving John’s daughter and Max’s son kindling some romance as her marriage concludes its death spiral. I guess it gives younger viewers something to connect with and it is treated with enough care so that it doesn’t fall into standard rom-com trappings. It’s the completely forgettable part of the film and, while you never want a part of your film to be forgettable, at least the sidebar characters that miss the mark rather than the main characters. These scenes are not bad; they just fail to make an impression.

Maybe that’s one way to describe this film as a whole. You aren’t likely to remember particular scenes in great detail but you remember the overall experience. If you were to make a list of 90s comedies worth watching again, Grumpy Old Men should be on that list. It’s not one of the all-time greats but it is consistent enough to make you forget about a few minor flaws and remember it fondly.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5

Airplane! (1980)

Here’s another film that some people were shocked to learn I never saw before 2013. Spoofing Hollywood’s obsession with disaster flicks in the 1970s, Airplane! still holds its own. My generation has had this film’s brand of sarcastic genre humor played to death thanks to the Scary Movie franchise and countless other one-off attempts at genre spoofing. Younger viewers, those who don’t watch older films, and anyone who tends to look down on silly humor will probably feel like this is a waste of time. If you can put things in context and forget that all the other inferior genre-spoofing films exist, you will have lots of fun.

Despite his fear of flying after a war, Ted Striker (Robert Hays) boards a commercial jetliner to win back the heart of his girlfriend (Julie Hagerty). After the in-flight meal, dozens of passengers grow ill. When the cockpit crew all succumb to food poisoning, the flight crew is desperate for a pilot. Ted begrudgingly volunteers and works through his trauma to save the lives of all on board with the help from control tower staff.

While the structure of the film is straight-up drama, Airplane! infuses every scene with as much humor, irony, and wacky randomness as possible. Many of the background characters portray ludicrous stereotypes or are celebrities playing against type. Some of the jokes are subtle but the zany stuff never stops escalating. Some may complain about this but disaster films have a knack for not lightening up on the tension until the very end. Why should a disaster spoof be any different in its mechanics?

The faux-serious delivery of the film only amplifies the humor. Everyone in this film acts all serious despite the outlandish things they say, do, and see happening around them. I think this is probably where most genre-spoofs lose steam. They tend to go for the obvious references and situational jokes but fail to sustain any kind of mood between jokes. Airplane! builds up a mood and plot and inserts the jokes around that. That is why this film continues to be held in high regard despite all the topical imitators that have followed.

Is this movie for everyone? No. My wife didn’t see what the big deal was and even I have to admit that I can only rate this film as high as I do because I can see past the years of lame spoof films. Though Mel Brooks was making genre comedies for a decade already, this film was a first-of-its-kind in terms of sheer random silliness. In this day and age of genre spoofs and Family Guy randomness, you couldn’t make this kind of film a success anymore. The filmmakers caught stupid-humor lightning in a bottle with this one.

RATING: 4 out of 5