GrimPrecise I'll tell you why so serious

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

tasmith1972 What makes this movie so great is that it uses no gimmicks, cheap thrills, or other silly plot devices to keep the audience's attention. There are no explosions nor is there nudity or "shock" humor. This movie relies entirely on a great plot and great acting. The story is grounded by the fact that the three principle actors behave exactly the way elderly men do. Even the occasional cuss word is perfectly placed. Althougn the movie is almost 40 years old, it holds up very well. This movie has its funny moments, but is not really a comedy. Rather it is a blend of it all. Easily the most touching moment is when George Burns is looking through old photos of his deceased wife. The photos were of his actual deceased wife, Gracie Allen, and for a moment the fourth wall is unofficially crossed as Burns shows the audience his very genuine grief.This movie woild be especially good for children to watch, as it shows genuine respect for the elderly, but also teaches the challenges of aging.

MoviesForAM The depiction of daily life in an apartment shared by elderly men on Social Security, in a city park filled with children playing on structures covered with graffiti and the streets and subways make this an American classic. Boredom and low expectations had become a part of life in the New York/New Jersey urban area for the characters in the film as well as for the era in the 70's, and this is the background depicted in every scene of "Going in Style." The plot has a couple of minor holes, the only one worth mentioning is that there's really no indication at all as to how the police figured out who to pursue, but the foundation of this film is the absolutely remarkable performance by George Burns, who proved that he was not only a comedian and a beloved personality but a true actor. His performance is deeply emotional and entirely convincing. It really is a masterful performance in every way. He had won an Oscar for the not so good "The Sunshine Boys," so the Academy voters had likely figured that he had already been honored, but surely he should have been handed another Oscar for "Going in Style." This film is a must-see.

Steve Pulaski Joe (George Burns), Al (Art Carney), and Willie (Lee Strasberg) are three geriatrics who share an apartment together in Brooklyn and spend their days sitting on a park bench, talking aimlessly amongst themselves or just sitting in silence as they decay in public. Living off their social security checks, and not really caring what the future days bring them, Joe proposes an idea to the guys that sounds infinitely more tempting than sitting on the park bench every day. The idea is that the three men buy disguises and proceed to plan and orchestrate a bank robbery. If they get caught, with all three of them having a spotless history, their sentence won't be long and, even if it is, they get free meals and a place to live as far as they're concerned. Not to mention, upon release, they'll have several uncashed social security checks waiting for them. If they get caught, well then they're "x" amount of money richer.Joe, Al, and Willie conduct the heist and, through a couple of minor complications, still manage to make out with around $35,000, an unprecedented amount they have never even come in contact with. The three men decide to take their earnings to Las Vegas, where they could either lose it all or make it back and even double it. These are cockamamie circumstances but such are the plot lines of Martin Brest's mainstream, directorial debut Going in Style, a hilarious comedy that also packs in some seriously contemplative ideas about what age does and how the need for adrenaline in some never simmers.The people who assume that everything done by the characters in Going in Style is done "just because" are the people who are going to emerge unsatisfied and underwhelmed by the film. Those who see Joe, Al, and Willie for what they really are - goofy, free-spirited, fearless, and genial - and their motivations as practical examples of a desire to fulfill nudging temptations are those who will emerge from the film ecstatic and satisfied. I fall in the latter. After watching three great character actors perform the dialog, events, and antics of a criminally underrated writer/director, I felt that Going in Style had been depressingly overlooked by the general public and deserved not just a rewatch but an reconsideration for its themes and ideas on age.To begin with, Burns, Carney, and Strasberg are all tremendous here, with no character outshining another as they all get their moments to shine. Early scenes are key to how we get to appreciate and like these characters, as we watch them sit and stare at birds, read the daily headlines, feed pigeons, or tell rambunctious rugrats to get lost. This is age in a nutshell; something that could confine you to a park bench, a newspapers, and passing glances if you allow it to. Joe, Al, and Willie could've easily been confined to this life till they died, but because of Joe's ostensibly outlandish but, in reality, somewhat practical proposal, the three can carry out something that makes them feel like they have meaning and significance.Consider the scenes when the men plan the robbery and how they plan to handle the understandably panicked bank tellers and customers. Just the act of planning this makes them glow and gets them excited; this is the first thing they've had to look forward to in years, and with that, the men decide to conduct the heist. As haphazardly-conducted as the heist turns out to be, the three couldn't care less. They feel important, they've just done something bad, and they will live the rest of their lives (however long that may be) with the idea that they did something important. Do the crime, do the time (maybe), get the bragging rights.The film was directed by Martin Brest, who later went on to do Beverly Hills Cop, Meet Joe Black, and Midnight Run, all of which have gone on to bear more prominent reputations than the unassuming Going in Style. Brest has always been one for action comedies, but Going in Style showcases an early point in his career where he seemed fascinated by the idea that adrenaline can still be had by the most unsuspecting people doing the most unsuspecting things. Ignoring its unremarkable legacy and future, this is a hilarious film with underrated meditations on life and age that shouldn't go unnoticed.Starring: George Burns, Art Carney, and Lee Strasberg. Directed by: Martin Brest.

Brandt Sponseller I've found it's almost impossible to predict what my opinion will be on a film that I haven't seen in many years. I recently rented both The Out of Towners (1970) and Going in Style. I hadn't seen either since at least the early 1980s, when I was still a teen. Before watching this time I would have predicted that they were both about equally good--that's what I remember from my earlier assessments. However, I ended up being slightly disappointed with The Out of Towners while I was blown out of the water by how excellent Going in Style is.This is a film that's best to watch knowing as little as possible about the plot beforehand. For those who must know something of the story, however, it concerns three elderly men who are living together in Astoria, Queens (part of New York City)--Joe (George Burns), Al (Art Carney) and Willie (Lee Strasberg). They're on Social Security, which doesn't provide a lot of money--that's why they're living together. They spend most of their days in a park near their apartment, feeding pigeons, watching children play, and so on. Joe comes up with a very unusual idea to supplement their income and put some excitement in their lives. The first half of the film involves planning and carrying out the idea. The second half deals with the aftermath, and is kind of an extended character study.The most remarkable characteristic of Going in Style is that writer and director Martin Brest, with co-writer Edward Cannon, managed to make a film that has elements of both almost absurdist comedy and deeply moving realist drama co-existing at the same time. Going in Style is a poignant portrait of old age, occasionally deeply sad and even pessimistic, but also very funny, and the three principal characters possess an almost Zen-like satiety, calmness and wisdom.It's interesting to note that Brest later went on to direct films as diverse as Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Meet Joe Black (1998). Going in Style has elements of both--Beverly Hills Cop's wacky crime-comedy and involved plot structure and Meet Joe Black's emotionally impactful minimalism and social/philosophical subtexts. Another way to describe the film might be in terms of another director, Woody Allen. Imagine Allen making Take the Money and Run (1969) or Bananas (1971), but in a mood much closer to Alice (1990) or even September (1987).The performances are excellent, but Burns especially stands out. Joe is a very different character for him, much more serious and gruff--he's almost a bit of a "heavy". If Burns had been just a bit younger, Going in Style shows that he could have easily had a career make-over/turnaround via Quentin Tarantino, similar to John Travolta. Carney and Strasberg both easily paint complex characters, as well, and the chemistry of any two or more of them together is simply magical.Brest, showing early inclinations towards minimalism, peppers the film with many extremely effective "pregnant pauses". These enable the cast to subtly stretch their mastery of comic timing and give more depth to the tragic or seriously emotional scenes. In both its comic and tragic modes, Going in Style tends to be a relatively "quiet" film--the tone/atmosphere reflects that Zen-like disposition that Brest and his cast create for the characters. We could easily see most of the film's "action" growing out of the pregnant pauses. Brest emphasizes this by loading early scenes with such pauses, such as when our protagonist trio are sitting on the park bench and hatching their plan.The above might sound a bit ridiculous or overly abstract to some, but keep in mind that it's all part of Brest's touching portrait of old age (an incredible feat for a 27-year old writer-director, by the way). Joe, Al and Willie live day by day, because they figure that each might literally be their last day. They're not in a hurry to do anything. They prefer to soak up the fullness of each instant. They're mostly content with their lives and have accepted their mortal fates. Their scheme is relatively easy to pull off because with the slight exception of Willie, who interestingly has some issues from the past he is still trying to deal with and is thus a bit less comfortable with the present, they look at it as just another thing they can experience before they check out of the world, with the consequences of the scheme, no matter what they are, all having their advantages.Brest works in a bit of sly social commentary more conspicuously into the script, as well. One example is the radio announcer who notes that the Gray Panthers are capitalizing on the events as a means to underscore the U.S.'s neglect of old folks. This is doubly clever because not only is the claim literally true, there are subtexts about opportunism, media influence, and so on. The above example is actually a very small detail in the film, but this is a film that has a wealth of such small details.