BBB

(out of 5)

Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda play an aging couple who have never fully reconciled his differences with their daughter (Jane Fonda).  They get their chance when she leaves her husband’s son with them for a few weeks and comes back from her vacation to find the young boy having developed the relationship with old Henry that she never had. This prompts some dramatic exposition, and Ernest Thompson’s intelligent screenplay (based on his own play) brings it out with genuine humanity and warmth. Hepburn is at her most energetic, ornery and feisty despite the passing of time, while Fonda is a crotchety old fogey with a golden heart at his core. Lovely stuff, not particularly challenging, but lovely all the same.

IPC Films, Incorporated Television Company

United Kingdom/USA, 1981

Directed by Mark Rydell

Screenplay by Ernest Thompson, based on his play

Cinematography by Billy Williams

Produced by Bruce Gilbert

Music by Dave Grusin

Production Design by Stephen B. Grimes

Costume Design by Dorothy Jeakins

Film Editing by Robert L. Wolfe

Academy Awards 1981

Golden Globe Awards 1981