Reviewing Movies

The Middle Class tradition of a summer spent at the cottage is a ritual fast becoming beyond the means of the average family. Couples who both work full-time, teenagers with summer jobs, and the costs of affording a second home have made this only a fond memory for most. Long retired the Thayers have spent their summers on Golden Pond all their married life. The couple of old loons are as much a fixture on the lake as the pair of Loons who sail out to greet them upon their arrival. At the end of long and illustrious acting careers both Katherine Hepburn and Henry Fonda are note perfect as this aging couple raging against the coming of the night. Casting Henry’s own daughter as the confused and rebellious offspring was a stroke of genius. As the grandson dropped off for the summer Doug McKeon merely had to play his own smart aleck, inexperienced, young self amid these two old pros. He was never to give a performance its equal and probably didn’t realize until many years later the generosity the two afforded him. The young punk at the dock showing off his pecs was the son of the director. As Ethel tells her daughter, “If I’d know I’d have rented a 13-year-old for Norman.” Or something close. Life On Golden Pond unfolds at a sedate pace. There is parchesi, fishing, berry picking, picture puzzles, and reading in front of the fire place. If you ever get a chance to see a performance of the stage play upon which this is based, go.