The Worst Film Ever

Fresh and Exciting

Awesome Movie

Blistering performances.

On Golden Pond is a timeless classic and the 1981 movie is one of the greatest films ever made. So it was very difficult for this version to come close to the movie. Andrews and Plummer are fantastic together and I can't believe they waited 36 years to do something together again. They are brillant as usual but the rest of the cast is way out of their league and look very unconfortable. This is a good try but it comes nowhere near the emotional resonance of the movie. Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn and Jane Fonda are unforgetable in these roles and it's hard to picture anyone else comparing to them.

There is so much talk about the poor ratings this movies received that its good qualities have been largely ignored. It should be a great pleasure and honor for the public to have Mr. Plummer perform live on TV. He is one of the only great actors left from the generation of theater actors that included Jason Robards and George C Scott. Of course, the public is as always ignorant and most people prefer to watch trashy programs such as the survivor. In this movie, both Plummer and Andrews were superb as was Glenne Headly. In this era of trashy movies and low life so called actors such as Tom Green, David Spade, and Adam Sandler, who all should be working together in a Burger Joint instead of making films, it's refreshing to have such a good play performed live on TV. Plummer is a true treasure in this movie as he was in the last year's film the Insider and in American Tragedy. We hope to see more of him in the future.

This made for a nice little program to watch on sunday night, but it just can't quite match up to to the powerful performances put in by the cast in the movie. Plummer and Andrews put in good performances, but the rest of the cast does not seem comfortable doing live television. I don't know if they'll ever put this out again, but watch it only if the movie isn't on!

On Golden Pond has certainly enjoyed great success, and has endured for much longer than it has had any right to. It is a mediocre play about basically nothing. There is really no explanation, for example, as to why the father and daughter are at odds with one another. Also, there isn't much character development to allow for your truly feeling one way or the other about them. Even so, the play was a success in New York, and the film adaptation an even greater success. The new live television production of the play, does nothing to improve the piece. It does boast the reunion of both Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, who have tremendous chemistry together. They are far less feeble than their movie counterparts, and, you never feel that Plummer's Norman is in any danger of actually dying. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing. The film version played on this so heavily, and I was not a fan of it, or Hepburn's manner acting style. She also looked far too old to be in her early 60's. Due strictly to the strength and personality of Andrews and Plummer, this live presentation is recommended. I hope that these two pros can be afforded a better vehicle in the future.