Over the Golden Pool (DVD) Review
Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and ultimately winner of 3 Oscars, On Golden Pond is an offbeat Hollywood blockbuster. Based on Ernest Thompson’s play of the same name, the film offers a character-driven story that explores numerous themes such as aging, abandonment, and family relationships of various kinds. Veteran television and film director Mark Rydell fills the big screen with a star-studded cast for this 1981 release. Due to its well-developed characters and realistic portrayal of human interactions, it’s a film that’s sure to make you laugh, cry and/or smile. In fact, if you don’t find Norman to be one of the funniest and most eccentric characters ever created, then you must not be watching the same movie.
On Golden Pond follows the life of a retired New England couple on their annual summer vacation to Golden Pond. Norman Thayer (Henry Fonda) is an elderly retired college professor. Sarcastic and cantankerous, he manages to distance himself from almost everyone except his wife Ethel (Katharine Hepburn). In fact, his scathing behavior nearly destroyed the relationship between him and his daughter, Chelsea (Jane Fonda). When Chelsea brings her new boyfriend Bill (Dabney Coleman) over for a visit, it isn’t long before Norman stirs things up yet again. But Norman and Ethel receive an unexpected summer guest when Bill and Chelsea take an extended vacation to Europe, leaving Bill’s 13-year-old son Billy in his care. It’s an odd trio, but as the three learn to live with each other’s quirks, they also learn about each other. But the real test for the new family comes when Chelsea and Bill return from Europe. Can she learn to accept her father’s vices? And can Norman finally be proud of his daughter for who she is?
Hollywood veterans Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda deliver two of the best performances of their respective careers. Fonda is absolutely brilliant as the wobbly, cranky Norman. One can’t help but laugh at his antics, although it helps that he has the best written lines in the entire movie. Dabney Coleman, though brief in his guise, makes an immediate impression as he strikes up a classic dialogue with Henry Fonda over nighttime sleeping arrangements. In the end, though, On Golden Pond works thanks to the chemistry between the three characters that comprise the majority of the story: Ethel, Norman, and Billy. They come together to create an epic drama filled with conflict, conquest and mayhem without the usual Hollywood blood and gore. It’s really rare for a movie of this nature to capture an audience without boring them, and On Golden Pond does.
Complementing this strong cast and script is a simple yet memorable instrumental score composed by Dave Grusin, a veteran film and television composer known for such works as Tootsie (1982) and The Goonies (1985). Filmed on location in and around Squam Lakes in New Hampshire, the beauty and majesty of this pristine landscape is perfectly matched by its bespoke soundtrack to create a theme of endless peace and tranquility. Overall, it’s a pretty nice cinematic experience. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and watch On Golden Pond. Then see if you can say “Ethel Thayer” real fast without a lisp!