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.We often expect sequels to be weaker than the original. But sometimes we may be pleasantly surprised. In this sequel, the "grumpy old men" are still up to their old tricks, going after each other and teaming up to close down a restaurant. Some of it may be a bit far-fetched (in real life, a store owner would get the cops involved) but it's good fun.Sadly, the film has the distinction of being Burgess Meredith's final film. On the plus side, he really goes out with a bang. His acting and delivery of witty lines is top notch, and the film does a great job of hiding his Alzheimer's. You can really feel the talent in his character.

I thoroughly enjoyed this outing, but I can readily understand all the negative reviews. Let's face it: The appeal of any movie depends almost entirely on the age of the person watching it, and there is absolutely nothing in this movie that would appeal to teenagers and people in their twenties, thirties, forties and possibly fifties. In fact, not only does the movie have no appeal to these groups, the vast majority would actually hate it. But I found this film most entertaining. And it was good to see Sophia Loren looking so alluring. I'll admit Ann-Margret wasn't quite so startlingly sexy, but she was still looking quite attractive. I wouldn't mind a date with her myself! I'd also admit that Walter Matthau tended to way over-act, but that's Walter Matthau. He always over-acts. That's his shtick! Director Howard Deutch did a pretty good job, though he tended to use far too many close-ups and was way, way over-fond of unflattering shots of Walter Matthau. I might be wrong, but at a guess, I would say his training was in TV. As a general rule, TV directors seem unable to shake off their training when they move over to the big screen.

Fun story of two older men who never quite outgrew boyhood, and the ladies they love.What a treat to see two master actors, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, working with silly material and enjoying every minute of it.The lady loves, Ann Margret and the ever-sexy and dazzling Sophia Loren, do equally well with a lightweight, sometimes over-the-top script. The principals are aided by a uniformly fine supporting cast, including Burgess Meredith as the Lemmon character's outrageously lecherous dad, and Ann Morgan Guilbert as Sophia's feisty mama. The older players' interaction is a delight.My only quibble with this film is the fact that Meredith's character dies without getting married like everyone else. Why? I wondered whether Meredith had perhaps expired during filming, but, according to Wikipedia, the actor lived a whole two years following this movie's release! The original film, "Grumpy Old Men," takes place during a picturesque Minnesota winter, with snow used to charming effect. The follow-up capitalizes on a Midwestern summer. Like apples and oranges, both productions satisfy.

It's just possible that the intention was to shoot four Grumpy Old Men titles featuring the four seasons because after the Winter setting of the first one we are now in Summer though theoretically such a cycle should have begun with Spring and ended with Winter so maybe the cyclical thing was an afterthought. Whatever we have virtually the same cast doing virtually the same thing with one absentee and two replacements one of which, Anna Guilbert is actually a native of Minneapolis adding a touch of authenticity. If it was unrealistic that Ann Margaret - who, after all, was teaching English at university and would by definition have access to dozens of eligible males - would marry Jack Lemmon in the first film it is equally unrealistic that Sophia Loren would wed Walter Mattheau here other than for feelgood reasons. On the other hand it's probably churlish to nitpick in this way when the film is only intended to entertain. Which it does.