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13 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
A masterful comedy that's also a touching portrait of old age, 25 May 2005
10/10
Author: Brandt Sponseller from New York City

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.

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11 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
A must-see that is probably not what you think, 27 May 2000
Author: Surfer-23 from Minneapolis

A short preview of this film on television might suggest a zany comedy in which old age-jokes fly fast and furious, but "Going in Style" is in fact a serious film, with only bits of humor thrown in here and there.

George Burns is Joe, a man who suggests to his two roommates (Art Carney and Lee Strasberg) that they rob a bank in order to relieve the boredom of retirement. When they do, the find their lives do in fact change drastically, though in quite unexpected ways.

The characters are three-dimensional and complex, and it is apparent that they, just like real people, have issues in their lives -- sometimes very serious ones -- that have gone unresolved for many years. The dialogue is realistic, but relaxed, and includes a lot of repetition of lines (Joe, Willie, and Al are all starting to lose their faculties somewhat and occasionally need repetition from each other). This makes the pacing deceptively slow; when you think back on the film after watching it, though, you find that a whole lot happened in those 97 minutes.

"Going in Style" has no caricatures (except, perhaps, Joe`s attorney) and, though the problems of old age are presented in a matter-of-fact way, the film is never preachy. It should also be noted that it is gratifying to see a movie in which younger members of a family (Pete and Kathy) show such genuine respect and kindness to their elders.

All the leads are terrific, but Burns is perfection itself as Joe.

This film is very highly recommended.

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11 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
George Burns gives a great performance!!!!, 21 October 2003
Author: dtucker86 from Germany

George Burns was truly one of the most amazing entertainers of all time. For almost forty years, he was part of the comedy team of Burns and Allen and then after Gracie passed away, he was forgotten for many years, however, he made one of the most amazing comebacks in Hollywood history when he played Al Lewis in The Sunshine Boys. Can you imagine this amazing achievement? George was 79 years old when this film was made and had never really "acted" in the traditional sense of playing an imaginary role, and yet he won an Academy Award for best supporting actor!!!The Book Of Lists mentioned this as one of the most amazing accomplishments ever at an advanced age!!Then George played another great role in the "Oh God" series. This man defied belief! Going In Style was in a sense his first "dramatic" role and he pulled it off with equal brilliance! Yes this was not a happy film to watch. In fact, I was 11 when my dad took me to see it and he commented that it was basically a very depressing story about three old men waiting to die. George has two fine co-stars in Art Carney and Lee Strasburg (who was one of the most legendary acting coaches of all time). Strasburg's role is small and he dies early on and leaves the show to Art and George. They pull it off wonderfully! It is a joy watching these two old pros at work. I wrote to Art Carney several years ago and asked him what it was like working with George Burns and he told me that George was a joy to work with and a real pro and one of the nicest people he ever worked with! They must have had a ball doing this film and it certainly shows! Even though George masterminded a bank robbery and it showed him holding a gun,it all seemed so innocent and nice. Martin Brest directed this film, he has had a wildly uneven career, but this was one of his outstanding early efforts, he later went on to direct the blockbuster Beverly Hills Cop and also directed the recent bomb of all time Gigli. However, Going In Style is a fine film ,even though its not a happy viewing experience. I think that the saddest scene in the film is where George is looking thru some old photos of himself as a young man and breaks down crying and wets himself. It is a very hard scene to watch indeed.

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
First-half is great, but it loses its impetus and steam..., 22 January 2005
7/10
Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

Three elderly friends concoct a scheme to rob a bank...but what will they do with all that money? Although bank robbery is hardly endearing, director Martin Brest (doing very nimble work) glosses over the extremities and gives us George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg at their most amiable. Brest isn't afraid to be tender, but he's not maudlin and has a good sense of humor and pacing. Unfortunately the script loses steam in the second-half, which gets gummed up with much realer issues and plot-snags (the weakest of which is Carney's trip to Las Vegas). However, up to that point, surprisingly good, with the three leads impeccably interacting. *** from ****

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
A great movie with three great entertainers., 6 September 2002
Author: Paul_Genet from Charleston, SC USA

"Going In Style" is one of the more entertaining movies I've seen. The characters, Joe, Al and Willie exemplify the elderly male generation of our time. Three men who've partially lost their identities in no longer being able to carry on their vocations. As more and more of us will be moving into the retired or "seniors" group, this movie shows us both the problems of retirement and one very entertaining and interesting solution. All three characters are at an age which is too often ignored in motion pictures. Though basically this movie isn't exactly moral, it's a very good insight into the lives of its characters. Art Carney is an accomplished actor and George Burns was an accomplished entertainer. I'm not sure how many people know that Lee Strasberg was one of, if not the great teacher of dramatic acting during his lifetime. In "Going In Style," Strasberg, as the "not always up to speed" character Willie, is nevertheless often a bit of a surprise. All three men, portraying the various ways we age, give a beautiful performance, each in his own way. As a minor collector, I consider the motion picture the major art form of the past century. That's not to say that all the movies made during the last century are works or art, but quite often many were. It remains to be seen whether that tradition will be carried on into the new century before us. Whatever, I am very grateful for the gift of this movie and highly recommend it.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
'How would you guys like to go on a stick-up with me?', 22 November 2006
9/10
Author: Camera Obscura from Leiden, The Dutch Mountains

Martin Brest is best known for his popular successes BEVERLY HILLS COP, MIDNIGHT RUN and SCENT OF A WOMAN, but more recently his career went into free fall. With his last two films he made a complete mockery of himself with the disastrous GIGLI (2003), starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, and before that, he was responsible for MEET JOE BLACK (1998), starring Brad Pitt, which was slayed by the critics, and a box office failure, so it's safe to assume his career is effectively over by now. But back in 1979 he made this delightful little film, for which who also co-wrote the script.

The story is simple: three kindly old men (George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg), indistinguishable from the half-forgotten ranks of senior citizens you might pass on any city park bench in warm weather, decide to light up their lives by sticking up a Manhattan bank in broad daylight.

Don't be put off by the idea of 'three old guys robbing a bank.' The film is a delight. Very New York and very low-key with hardly any grand scenes or set-ups, but there's great writing and the three leads give such great performances, it plays very smoothly. Although the film was marketed as a comedy, it's above all a heartfelt drama and a truly moving portrayal of old age.

One of the highlights: when the three seniors are on a little trip to Manhattan and Art Carney starts dancing to the rhythms some Caribbean Street musicians. It's such a marvel to see 80-year old George Burns clapping and smiling and genuinely having fun at this improvised street scene. It's a shame this film is practically forgotten. Very simple, unpretentious, but funny, insightful and ultimately a very moving picture. A rare combination. Don't miss this one.

Camera Obscura --- 9/10

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
An excellent movie and cast of actors., 20 January 1999
10/10
Author: anonymous from Midland, TX

The movie is well thought out and acted. One can't condone their method to break their bored lifestyle but the movie does it in such a way as to be funny and, in a way, understandable. My only complaint is that a musical soundtrack wasn't made available.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Bittersweet, 11 September 2006
10/10
Author: pamsfriend from New Jersey

That is the quality imbued in this film by Brest, through the writing and direction. It would have been so easy to make a caper film, or a male-bonding buddy picture, but Brest does it the hard way so that we care about the characters and not the story. He fills each role with actors who look real, not pretty, like Charles Hallahan as Pete. He looks like someone who's worked all his life, not a person sent down by central casting.

And he is unafraid to let silence play a roll. How many directors would find 'suitable' music to waft in and out of the soundtrack as the three amigos occupy their bench? Here they sit in blessed silence until we wonder who will speak next, since Willie does not seem to want to open his mouth. When they get to Vegas, it would be so easy to do quick cuts of their winning streak with appropriate music blasting, but Brest stretches the scene so that we are not sure if they will keep their gains.

Any sentiment comes hard earned, like watching Joe stumbling around the apartment after the death of Willie, finding his own album of photographs and reflecting, only to have nature spoil the mood.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
An excellent film., 4 June 1999
Author: Phil Bennett from London

This is one of my favourite films. In takes turns as a comedy and as a drama. All three men play outstanding parts and the film balances itself quite well between funny to downright sad without ever going over the top. Definitely one to see.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Going in Style Really is ****, 17 April 2006
10/10
Author: edwagreen from United States

A terrific gem of a film.

Three elderly men are so bored with their lives that they rob a bank and actually get away with it for a while.

The trio are all masterfully played by Art Carney, Lee Strasberg and George Burns.

With the robbery behind them, it's time for vacation in flashy Las Vegas. Coming back to face the ultimate music, 2 of our "heroes" pass on and leave the rest of the story and the loot to the survivor.

A sad but extremely effective commentary on retirement and old age. If you're contemplating retirement, miss this film until you know how you're going to spend your days.

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