Lemmon and Matthau play (respectively) John Gustafon and Max Goldman, neighboring widowers who have a long-standing feud with one another. When new neighbor Ariel (Ann-Margret) moves into the house across the street, they find themselves fighting for her affections. Meanwhile, there's a subplot about Gustafson's unhappily married daughter Melanie (Daryl Hannah), who may be in love with Goldman's single son Jacob (Kevin Pollack). Burgess Meredith co-stars as Gustavson's randy old dad, in what turned out to be a scene-stealing performance.

Much of Grumpy Old Men is spent watching the stars try to one-up each other with pranks and insults. This is the central joke: old men engaged in vulgar name-calling, making impotence remarks, and generally acting childish and immature. Senior citizens using profanity and acting like horny teenagers are a rather dubious source of comedy in my book, and I've always felt that this movie got somewhat stuck in a repetitive groove.

Nevertheless, Lemmon and Matthau are hilarious here, even when the script is lousy. With a facial expression or a tone of voice, they get a laugh. It's their work that elevates Grumpy Old Men above its decidedly low-brow level. Now that both actors have passed, the film also serves as an elegy to the value of watching two genuine pros go at it.

( 1/2 out of four)

DVD Features:

Grumpy Old Men is presented on Blu-Ray in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio.

The sound and picture quality on the Blu-Ray is outstanding, especially considering that the film is sixteen years old now. The images were very clear, and I didn't notice any grain. The only bonus feature on the disc is the theatrical trailer.

Grumpy Old Men is rated PG-13 for language and adult content. The running time is 1 hour and 45 minutes.