A sequel to the thoroughly enjoyable Grumpy Old Men, 'Grumpier Old Men' is A Sweet Film, with Lively Performances. The sequel has the spirit of its prequel & the amazing cast, led by the impeccable talents of the Late/Great Jack Lemmon & the Late/Great Walter Matthau, are in full form! 'Grumpier Old Men' Synopsis: John and Max resolve to save their beloved bait shop from turning into an Italian restaurant, just as its new female owner catches Max's attention.'Grumpier Old Men' works well as a romantic-comedy, as it has moments of humour & subtle romance. I loved the prequel & I must say, the sequel doesn't fail to deliver. The film has sustained its energy & wit, that one would expect from it.Mark Steven Johnson's Screenplay is entertaining, although initially the pace is slightly slow. Howard Deutch's Direction is top-class. Tak Fujimoto's Cinematography is good. Editing also is ably done. Performance-Wise: Lemmon & Matthau shine all through. Its their sheer on-screen chemistry, that alone is worth watching the entire film. Sophia Loren is top-notch. Ann-Margret is impressive. Kevin Pollak & Daryl Hannah leave a mark. Late/Great Burgess Meredith is memorable in his part.On the whole, 'Grumpier Old Men' is a smooth, relaxing watch.

If you watched Grumpy Old Men and know the ending there, you can't imagine how these two curmudgeonly old geezers could get a feud going again, especially after what Walter Matthau did for Jack Lemmon when Lemmon was really down. And in point of fact the boys seem to lose a step or two from the first film.Still Grumpier Old Men finds Lemmon and Matthau in their superbly timed best just fighting for sillier reasons. In the first film the rivalry heated up a bit because the two were panting hot and heavy for Ann-Margret and Lemmon got her. Now it's Matthau pursuing and what an object of pursuit he has in Sophia Loren. In the first film Ossie Davis owned a bait shop where everyone bought bait, but also liked to hang around, just like a barbershop. Davis dies during that film and now we find out that Sophia and her aunt Ann Morgan-Guilbert have taken it over and want to make it an Italian restaurant on the lake. Well when the senior citizens of this small Minnesota town hear about this they're up in arms. Fishing is close to a religion there and Matthau is leading the charge. That interferes more with romance than anything else.And the Holy Grail of that religion is none other than the largest catfish known to humankind, the legendary Catfish Hunter. Returning as Lemmon's father is Burgess Meredith who has been on the quest for most of his 95 years. When Lemmon's daughter Darryl Hannah finally ties the knot with Matthau's son you won't believe what's going on with our two leads on the wedding day of their kids.Grumpier Old Men was the farewell performance of Burgess Meredith ending a career that spanned six decades. The man was close to perfection in his performance as the oldest of the old geezers in Grumpier Old Men. This is man who has lived so long he really doesn't feel the need to be subtle and discreet. His courtship of Ann Morgan- Guilbert is a combination of geezer and caveman.Grumpier Old Men, keeping the Lemmon-Matthau standard of comedy high.

Grumpier Old Men (1995) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Sequel to Grumpy Old Men have Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau returning with more fights and foul language. This time out Lemmon is still happily married but Matthau is on the move and takes a special interest in an Italian woman (Sophia Loren) who has just moved to town. I think the most remarkable thing about this film is how well Loren looked. Even at 61 she's still a head turner and her comic timing isn't too bad either. I'm sure this film was only made because the first one made money but it doesn't really matter as no one should take this too serious as it's just a silly comedy meant to make you laugh. There are plenty of nice laughs here but I don't think it's as good as the original. This certainly isn't in the league as The Odd Couple but we do get a pretty good throwback to that film here as there's a scene where Lemmon has to spend the night with Matthau but can't put up with his dirty house. Ann-Margret returns but is pretty much wasted as is Daryl Hannah and Kevin Pollak. The perverted Burgess Meredith is back and steals the scene every time he's in it. Both Matthau and Lemmon are naturally very good and they easily slip back into their roles. It's priceless watching the two men work together even when the material isn't as strong as one would hope. Lemmon gets a special notice here due to a very touching scene with Meredith. Another problem is the direction, which has one of those "made for TV" feels to it. In the end this film could have and should have been a lot better but the cast make it worth watching.

More of the same for those who enjoyed the first film, nothing great but a decent time killer. Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau return in their twilight years as the ever-battling duo, but this time with the added attraction of Sophia Loren who still looks gorgeous at age 60. She winds up posing a threat to their favorite bait and tackle shop when she decides to take it over and turn it into an Italian restaurant. Since Lemmon's already got sexy Ann-Margret as his hot girlfriend, Sophia hits it off with old man Matthau (ah, the magic of movies), who does not look as good for his age (75). Burgess Meredith is better used in this one in his role as Lemmon's naughty old pop. **1/2 out of ****