YMMV / On Golden Pond

• Awesome Music: Dave Grusin's beautiful main title theme.
• Funny Moments:
  Billy: So, I heard you turned eighty today.
  Norman: Is that what you heard?
  Billy: Yeah. Man, that's really old.
  Norman: You should meet my father.
  Billy: (astonished) Your father's still alive?
  Norman: Nah, but you should meet him.
• Harsher in Hindsight: The major theme is getting old and fearing death. Sadly Henry Fonda passed away just a year after the film’s release at the age of 77. What’s most harsh is that a memorable scene is the family celebrating his 80th birthday. Something Henry Fonda never got to celebrate in real life.
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • Norman and Chelsea opening up to each other toward the end.
  • Chelsea calling Norman "Dad" when they're saying goodbye.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • "The loons, Norm! Listen to the loons!"
  • "You're my knight in shining armor!"
• Tear Jerker:
  • Norman expressing his fear of aging to Ethel after getting lost in the woods, leading into her "knight in shining armor" speech quoted on the main page.
  • Ethel trying to put on a brave face after Norman's heart-attack scare with a bunch of Don't Fear the Reaper sentiments, only to break down sobbing.
  • The ending. "Ethel, listen — the loons. They've come around to say goodbye."
• Values Dissonance: When Chelsea expresses her frustration to her mother about how she could never get her fathers approval Ethel more or less tells her to get over it and quit being selfish.

---