2/26: On Golden Pond (1981)

Today is the last day, #34, in my 34 Days of Oscar. Later tonight are the

Academy Awards and the official end of my little 34 day experiment. The final movie I watched this morning was "On Golden Pond". This excellent film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards. It won Best Actor (Henry Fonda), Best Actress (Katharine Hepburn) and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Mark Rydell), Best Supporting Actress (Jane Fonda), Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Original Score and Best Sound.

"On Golden Pond", based on the 1979 play by Ernest Thompson, focuses on Ethel and Norman Thayer (Hepburn & Fonda) who spend each summer at their lake house on "Golden Pond" lake. Norman's 80th birthday is approaching and their daughter Chelsea (Jane Fonda) will be arriving to celebrate and see her parents for the first time in several years. Norman is a bit of a curmudgeon and is often harsh to people other than his wife (including his daughter). When Chelsea arrives for the birthday, she arrives with her fiance Bill (Dabney Coleman) and Bill's son Billy. Chelsea and Bill plan on taking a month long vacation to Europe

and ask if Billy can stay at the lake house with Ethel and Norman. It isn't long before Norman begins to warm to having Billy around and they begin to spend most of their time together, fishing. When Chelsea returns from Europe, she sees that Billy has the relationship with her dad that she always wanted.

I really liked "On Golden Pond". I thought it was funny, sad and poignant all at the same time. Henry Fonda won the Academy Award for his performance and rightfully so. He gives a performance that is equal parts crotchety and

heartwarming. Katharine Hepburn also gives a spectacularly vibrant performance. She has so much energy as Norman's better half that she almost jumps off the screen. This is a much better film than the one that won the Academy Award this year in 1982 for Best Picture, "Chariots of Fire". The score though was a little annoying at times and sometimes overlapped the dialogue, making it hard to hear what was being said so I can see why it didn't win for Best Score. Jane Fonda was OK as the daughter who just wants a normal father/daughter relationship but I didn't see anything that makes me think she should have won the Academy

Award for Best Supporting Actress (which she didn't). The acting by the two main leads and the sharp and witty dialogue were the best things about this film. Other than not winning the award for Best Picture, I think it won all the awards that it should have.

Overall, I give "On Golden Pond" 4 out of 5 stars. It was a well written movie that was highlighted by 2 amazing and outstanding Academy Award winning performances. I would certainly recommend this movie to others and it was a great way to finish up my 34 Days of Oscar. I had a blast doing this and want to thank every one who took a few minutes and read a review or 2. After seeing 34 days in a row of movies, I'm looking forward to curling up with a good book for the next few weeks.