Has Your Tween Seen "On Golden Pond"?

Source: Tween Parent Staff

(19 ratings)

On Golden Pond (1982)

With summer winding down, it might be a perfect time to introduce your tween to a heart-warming story about a retired professor, Norman Thayer (Henry Fonda), and his wife, Ethel (Katharine Hepburn), who spend their summers in a cottage on an idyllic lake in New England, called Golden Pond.

In celebration of his 80th birthday, Norman and Ethel receive a visit from their estranged daughter, Chelsea (Jane Fonda), her fiancé, Bill (Dabney Coleman) and his rebellious teenage son, Billy. With a family history of father/daughter tension, the visit is strained. After a short time, Chelsea and Bill head to Europe for a vacation and leave Billy with Norman and Ethel. After a bumpy start, Billy grows to appreciate the simplicity of life at Golden Pond and Norman and Ethel rise to the occasion of including a teenager in their lives. Upon Chelsea and Bill's return, aware of the bond that has developed between her father and Billy, Chelsea and Norman face the bittersweet and uncomfortable feelings of their tumultuous relationship.

There is nothing "cool" about this movie...it's just a wonderful tale of complex multi-generational relationships between family members. There's a strong message as we see the older folks enjoy some of the newer ways of approaching life just as the newer generation benefits from the experience and insights of the older folks.

Genre: Drama

Rating: PG*

Director: Mark Rydell

Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda

Length: 109 minutes

"I SPY" - Film Inconsistencies**

Sometimes it's fun and entertaining to look for mishaps in a movie and On Golden Pond is no exception! There are several to look out for:

• When Billy is circling the sailboat in the lake, you can see the shadow of a helicopter used for filming.
• When Billy is off in the speedboat by himself, you see the steering wheel on alternate sides of the boat in different shots.
• After gassing up the boat, the microphone boom (extension) is reflected in the boat's windshield.
• When the mailman comes earlier in the movie, the screen door is broken; in a later scene it is fixed; in an even later scene, it's broken again.
• When Chelsea arrives, it's dark outside, but light is shining in the windows on the landing.

Insider Scoop/Trivia (for Parents)**

There were several behind-the-scenes stories that might be interesting for parents, especially film buffs.

• The brown Fedora worn by Henry Fonda belonged to Spencer Tracy and was a gift to Fonda by Katharine Hepburn on the first day on the set. Fonda, overwhelmed with the gift, painted a watercolor of the three hats he wore in the film and gave the original to Hepburn. He had 200 lithographs made, personally signed and numbered each copy and gave one to every person who worked on the film. After Fonda's death, Hepburn found the painting to be a sad reminder and gave the painting to the screenwriter.
• This is the only film (and Henry Fonda's last) in which he and Jane Fonda appear together. She claims that the scene between Chelsea and Norman where she tells him she wants to be his friend mirrored the real-life relationship between father and daughter. During one take when she unexpectedly grabbed her father's hand, he started to cry and ducked his head away from the camera, embarrassed by his tears. The take appears in the final film.
• Gertrude, the canoe featured in the film, was included in an auction lot of the estate of Hepburn in 2004. The canoe was sold for $19,200 to entertainer Wayne Newton.
• Hepburn hurt her arm in a tennis match a few weeks before filming. She almost pulled out, but Henry Fonda convinced her to show up to start shooting on day one.
• The Purgatory Cove scene was shot in late September. To keep warm in the cold water the other actors wore wetsuits under their clothes. Hepburn was supposed to have a stunt double, but she insisted on doing it herself. She dove into the frigid water without a wetsuit.
• Hepburn is the only movie star to win four Academy Awards (2009) for her leading roles in Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968), and On Golden Pond (1981).
• Henry Fonda currently holds the record for the longest gap between acting Oscar nominations. His first nomination was for The Grapes of Wrath (1940), his second was for On Golden Pond (1981), 41 years later. He received one other Oscar nomination in the period between his two acting nominations, that was for producer of 12 Angry Men (1957).

Recognition

Nominated for ten Academy Awards (won three); six Golden Globes (won three); six BAFTA Awards (won one); one Writers Guild of America Award (won); one Grammy Award and a host of other nominations and awards around the world.

For additional information and guidance regarding specific content appropriateness, visit commonsensemedia.com.

* In the United States, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), through the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA) issues ratings for movies. The system was instituted in November 1968 and is voluntary; however, most movie theater chains will not show unrated domestic films and most major studios have agreed to submit all titles for rating prior to theatrical release.

** Source: Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com).