Lee Eisenberg 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.

bigverybadtom Norman and Ethel Thayer are an elderly couple making their annual trip to their summer cottage. Once there, they bicker-quite a lot. Norman acts obnoxious, insulting, and out of it while Ether keeps calling him an "old poop". For being major actors, the two leads perform like a bad vaudeville team, and we nearly turned it off.But the estranged daughter arrives as planned, along with her new boyfriend and his teenage son. After a short time, daughter and boyfriend have to go to Europe while they leave the son at the cottage. It is not too surprising how the rest of the movie goes.Henry Fonda reportedly won his only Oscar for this movie, which is a shame because he gave far better performances in far better movies. Perhaps because he was about to die and they wanted to give him one before it was too late. There was certainly no other reason that anybody who had to do with this movie should earn any awards.

mmallon4 On Golden Pond deserves the title of "something you don't see every day". Movies which deal with old age don't usually become box office hits in a world obsessed with being young, yet On Golden Pond became the 2nd highest grossing film of 1981. Plus it stars two elderly actors who hadn't appeared in a major box office picture in over a decade.Despite their six decades in the industry, not only was it the first time Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn starred in a film together but they the first time they had even met each other. I never ceased to be amazed by the longevity of the careers of these two actors, especially Henry Fonda, whom I consider to have the most impress careers of any actor I've come across, scoring great films in every decade from the 30's right up to the 80's. On Golden Pond would be his last film and what a way to end a career. On Golden Pond reflects Fonda's real life relationship with his children. Reportedly the man was emotionally distant from his children, as are characters of Norman and his daughter Chelsea (Jane Fonda) in On Golden Pond. It makes you wonder how much of the interactions between the Fondas in the film are genuine with their intentionally forced and un-naturalistic manner of speaking to each other. Yet Norman will accidently utter Chelsea's name at several points showing that deep down he really cares about her. Also what's up with the bikini shots Jane Fonda? Was she trying to promote her exercise videos?Norman Thayer actually reminds me of my own grandfather in how he enjoys screwing with people's minds, such as the scene in which his future son in law tries to ask him if he would have a problem with having sex with his wife in their house. Norman Thayer seems like a stereotypical old man at first but we grow to empathize with his character. Just look at that battered old face of his which manages to say so much while his cranky, grump, smart aleck old man shtick helps the ease the likeability of his character. Norman is a man nearing the end of his life played by a man who literally was nearing the end of his life. Compared to Henry Fonda's appearance in the film Meteor which he stared in two years earlier, he aged quite a lot in that short period of time.Katharine Hepburn is one badass old lady in On Golden Pond. Just look at the scene in which jumps of a boat and into a lake to save her husband and nephew and doing he own stunts too. She also reportedly told Jane Fonda on set that she hated her but watching their scenes together you'd never know it but she's Kate, she can hate whoever she wants. Plus it's nifty to hear old stars curse, as well as flipping the bird. Norman and Ethel Thayer represent the old couple I believe most people would strive to be, married for decades but still madly in love with each other as ever.

jmeltdown I tried to watch this movie after hearing nothing but good reviews. Wow, I wish that I could rewind time and tell myself to go count grass blades out in the yard. Everything in this movie was about as hard as sandpaper. The friend of the child in the movie, Dave Hone, was a very odd kid. He didn't fit in the movie and was always saying thing that were not true. He said his favorite wrestler in the movie was a man named Rowdy Roddy Python. That person is close but not the same. Save yourself some time and just play with a pencil or eraser. And in the middle of the movie when the boat crashed into a rock, if you slow it down you can see something very funny. The rock is actually a very large tube sock filled with matchbox cars. Not goo effects at all.