on the movie, “Grumpy Old Men”
HAS ANYBODY ELSE SEEN THIS MOVIE, AND WOULD YOU HAVE ANY VIEWPOINTS THAT WOULD ADDRESS THE LIVES OF AGED PERSONS AND WHAT THEY GO THROUGH IN THAT STAGE OF LIFE...?

After watching it, I put together my viewpoint of what I saw:
John Gustafson, a Minnesota native, who is an avid ice-fishing retiree and been feuding with his neighbor and wavering best friend, Max Goldman. The battle of wills between John and Max is evidenced by crude name calling, practical jokes, and competition. Max is unaware that John is hiding his problems. His daughter, Melanie, is having marital trouble, his home is about to be confiscated by the IRS due to owing back taxes, fees, and penalties. John and Max seem to be getting along when a new neighbor, Ariel, moves in and dates both men causing competition. Both the men compete for Ariel's heart and attention, as Ariel and John find themselves falling in love, which makes Max jealous. The pranks and feuding increase. Eventually, John gives up and breaks it off with Ariel and starts to stew inside. Things come to a head on Christmas Eve when John’s daughter, Melanie and unpopular boyfriend, Mike decide to make up temporarily and come over to pay a visit to John and suddenly John leaves to go to a bar, exasperated by everything. In time, their friend, local fish store owner, Chuck, pays a social visit to Ariel's house late one night, resulting in jealousy from both men and transforms them into competitors for Ariel's affections more intensely. While Max thinks he has the upper-hand in the quest, the tables quickly turn in John's favor when Ariel tells John of her feelings during a late night visit to John’s home. In the background, John's daughter Melanie and Max's son, Jacob, develop a romantic relationship with one another. Despite the gentlemen’s feuding, the sudden death of their friend, Chuck, along with all of John’s other problems, AND the budding romance between Max's son Jacob and Melanie may force the two old friends to erase their squabbles with each other. John's 94 year-old father, "Grandpa Gustafson" adds humor to the show with his coarse remarks about women, drinking alcohol, and love of fishing along with other things. Eventually, Max tries to patch things up with John, which falls apart. John leaves, heading for home, but has a heart attack on the way. Max finds him in the snow and actually ends up saving him. The heart attack causes Max to realize that John and Ariel really belong together. In the meantime, the IRS has seized John's house to pay off his tax debt, but newly elected mayor, Jacob obtains a cease and desist order from the court. John leaves the hospital and he and Ariel marry, saving John with a generous wedding gift by paying off John's back taxes and thus ridding him of his financial woes. The movie ends with Jacob and Melanie, John’s daughter, seemingly beginning a romantic relationship that brings a feeling of hope.

My reaction to the movie is that it shows many perspectives of aging, affects of senescence, and benefits of being an older adult. Such as being an older adult brings financial difficulties due to limited income, savings, and resources to draw from for expenses in this stage of life. This was evident with John, who struggled with losing his house to pay for back taxes. Other stereotypes of aging shown in this film that are notable are the issues of isolation and loneliness, the humor that comes from the most common stereotype that some older adults are often confused, scatter-brained, or irresponsible. Cognitive challenges could also be observed where alcohol abuse seemed to be a way to pass time as a “numbing” agent to cope with problems as well as for enjoyment. Other pathologies such as mood disorders, forgetfulness, alcoholism, and depression were part of the story. Death and bereavement is a part of the story, with the sudden death of their friend, Chuck. Stereotypes about aging are upheld and rejected at times in subtle ways such as the impression that these gentlemen are sometimes absent minded, bickering, lonely, and unhappy people. It is superficial to think that is all there is about the characters and their lives. They have an unseen side to them that makes them very real. Ariel seems to be the one character that is balanced, kind of carefree, and happy enough to be concerned with the happiness and well-being of others and seems to bring a distinct renewal and happiness to the gentlemen’s lives with the possibility of romance. If you look closer, you see that these characters are all ordinary people with needs, feelings, hobbies, and social relationships that make life interesting, fun, worthwhile, and rewarding. These characters are somehow independent enough to be able to do the things that most people do not seem to have the time to do in middle age. The characters show how they deal with relationships with friends and family. It gives an idea of the concerns and perspectives of people at this point in their lives. It is clear that the financial difficulty John experiences brings the resulting depression from seemingly unsolvable problems which prove to be solvable with strong social support. I loved the scenes when the characters engaged in activities such as fishing, whether for food supply or hobby. It was obviously something these gentlemen participated in and enjoyed. It provided opportunities for social bonding and fun competition in a noticeable parallel to the competition for Ariel’s heart and friendship.

I would recommend the movie; it was cute. It brings a fun, light-hearted perspective of what it’s like for people at that stage in life.

HAS ANYBODY ELSE SEEN THIS MOVIE, AND WOULD YOU HAVE ANY VIEWPOINTS THAT WOULD ADDRESS THE LIVES OF AGED PERSONS AND WHAT THEY GO THROUGH IN THAT STAGE OF LIFE...?

Ok...there are two other movies you should watch... "Boyton Beach Club" and "The Bucket List"... They both deal with aging issues!