My Review of "Grumpy Old Men"

Grumpy Old Men is a comedy that came out back in 1993. I remember watching it back then and liking it and wasn't too sure if this movie would be able to stand the test of time. Fortunately it was and made me have a new found appreciation for this movie.

It all starts off in a small little town sometime in the 90s. We have two old senior citizens that live next door with one another. One of the grumpy old men is John who seems to be running away from authorities. The second is his neighbor Max. These two seem to absolutely hate each other but you can tell from the start that these two have a history and fraternally hate each other. It's quite clear that they seem more like brothers than they are enemies.

Though they won't waste any moment to insult each other or prank one another when the opportunity arises. These pranks and insults are very innocent to today's standards of pranks and vulgarity. Back in the 90s this was quite funny and I have to say it's still funny today. They pull off these pranks in such a way you can't help but love these characters. Senior citizens going after one another like this is watching kids play around with one another.

Eventually there's a mysterious woman, Ariel, that joins their neighborhood and she's the one that really sets the two going. Both of them have never seen such a woman as Ariel. She's basically a pixie dream girl for seniors. Although she's quite clear in what she likes and it's off to the races for these two men to win her affections.

I also like the little side stories that are going around the grumpy men because it gives the little town a little more life. We have the romantic interests of the old men's children. There's also townsfolks in their neighborhood that make them realize the mortality of their situation.

Another hilarious addition is John's father. One of the funniest scenes is John's father treating John and Max as if they're kids. He's also got a few really good likes that make you howl at how absurd it would come out of a 90 plus year old person.

As Max and John vie for Ariel more and more information is revealed behind why the two are such enemies. The two had grown up as great friends and something had gotten in the way. With Ariel in the picture, we pretty much have a sequel to that story.

You'd think that a story about old people in a small little town would be really boring but they were able to add so much color to the story. All of the characters in this movie are so loveable because of their innocence. It makes me long for movies like this again. There is no extreme violence and there are no crazy vulgar or disgusting situations to capture our attention. Yet I was still captivated and intrigued by the whole story.

I also liked what they did closer to the end to throw everyone off as to how it was going to end. They play upon the fact that our lead characters are senior citizens and make us think one way when it's really another.

Overall I really liked this movie. A lot more than I expected to like it. Movies like this are hard to come by nowadays and I really gained a better appreciation for this movie because it was still so entertaining after all these years. I have to give this movie an 8 out of 10. Those that are looking for some wholesome fun can have a great time watching this movie.