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On Golden Pond (1981)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 6/18

GoldenPond
6/18: Having avoided On Golden Pond for a long time because of Jane Fonda, I finally got the courage to sit through it just for her father's sake.

Afterwards, I have a mixed bag of feelings largely because it's an inconsistent movie that somewhat requires a "best by date" stamp. The acting ranges from sublime (Henry Ford) to funny (Dabney Coleman) to overdone (Katharine Hepburn). She should've calmed down more. To my dismay, the high amount of profanity words is shocking for a supposedly family picture. Couldn't the writers have cut them out and still deliver a solid screenplay?

I like the male characters but not the females. Jane Fonda is so useless that she shouldn't have bothered showing up. Whenever she appears, it's like she's getting ready for a commercial shoot in sunny Southern California. Only her father deserved the Oscar which had been long overdue considering how many classic performances he gave throughout his career, most notably The Grapes of Wrath, The Ox-Bow Incident, and 12 Angry Men. Five months after winning the long-coveted award, Henry Fonda passed away from heart disease.

I'm impressed with Katharine Hepburn for diving off the boat and swimming to rescue her co-stars. Katharine was 73 years old when she did it...in the freezing cold water! She was suffering not only from Parkinson's disease but also essential tremor. At any rate, it's brave of her not to be shy about it by going ahead and being seen, regardless.

Dabney Coleman is funny; I thought he should've been Oscar-nominated. Even the kid, Doug McKeon, is impressive as well. If there's anything to be shocked, Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn had never met each other until they worked on this film. By the way, the cinematography for the introduction is excellent, especially when the water is reflecting the colors of the sunset.

All in all, On Golden Pond can be saccharine and corny that's overrun with profanity at times, but it's hard to overlook Henry Fonda's final great performance.