Art Carney portrays retired 68 year old Mel Adler, whose pleasant existence is shattered due to a fire in his apartment from which he is barely rescued but which destroys his possessions, eventuating his son placing him into a retirement home but, after one day's residence, he is freed in turn by his grandson Jody (Chris Makepeace). Jody persuades a very willing Mel to live with him while the youth begins his first year at a local college where the roommates are enthusiastically accepted by the student body since Mel also enrolls as an undergraduate, but Jody's father tries to avoid giving them assistance as his plans for his son had concentrated upon Jody's attendance at Harvard, with a result that Mel becomes scapegoat for the change of educational venue. The quaintly paired freshmen contend with studies, a struggle not lessened by burgeoning romantic liaisons, Jody with a coed and Mel with his English instructor, while a number of subplots benefits from Carney's superb timing and ad libbing, and also from an intelligently composed script. The film's quality of amiability is never cloying, due in the main to the focussed performance of Carney as a pragmatic elder, and the work benefits as well from the able cinematography of Laszlo George and crisp editing by Ron Wisman for this Disney production utilizing attractive Toronto locations.
2 Reviews
When old becomes cool.
mark.waltz1 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
I couldn't declare that this Is realistic in the perspective of when I was college age, but gramps here is pretty cool, even more so because viewers will recognize him as Ed Norton from "The Honeymooners". The Oscar winning Art Carney still has what it takes to get attention without really trying, and his 68 year old character is a breath of fresh air to the kids he attends college with, along with grandson Chris Makepeace.
Carney's son is embarrassed by him, and thinks that his son is making a big mistake. But obviously the big mistake is being a big stick in the mud, and Carney has no more sticks or mud pies to give. He even attracts one of his professors who finds Carney refreshing and honest and funny. Indeed he is funny, getting laughs from the students simply by commenting honestly on his aches and pains and even his erotic fantasies.
Unbelievable or not, it's definitely entertaining, basically because Carney is so charming and refreshing, and in the mid 80's, older people were "in". He works well with Makepeace who treats his grandfather with great respect and obviously loves him and doesn't want to see him toss to the side like his father does. Adam Ludwig plays a pompous professor whom you can't wait for Carney to take down. Yes, this is gimmicky and sentimental, but it's one time for me that it works.
Carney's son is embarrassed by him, and thinks that his son is making a big mistake. But obviously the big mistake is being a big stick in the mud, and Carney has no more sticks or mud pies to give. He even attracts one of his professors who finds Carney refreshing and honest and funny. Indeed he is funny, getting laughs from the students simply by commenting honestly on his aches and pains and even his erotic fantasies.
Unbelievable or not, it's definitely entertaining, basically because Carney is so charming and refreshing, and in the mid 80's, older people were "in". He works well with Makepeace who treats his grandfather with great respect and obviously loves him and doesn't want to see him toss to the side like his father does. Adam Ludwig plays a pompous professor whom you can't wait for Carney to take down. Yes, this is gimmicky and sentimental, but it's one time for me that it works.
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