Movie Review: On Golden Pond

The female and male characters in On Golden Pond were almost split evenly. Ethel and Chelsea tried to straighten out Norman, Billy Ray and Billy Ray Jr. There were serious issues between members of the opposite sex in this movie. Ethel and her daughter bonded. Norman and Billy Ray Jr. bonded. Norman and Chelsea finally bonded in the end after everything they had been through.

Chelsea is a strong female character when she isn't around her father. She is successful in L.A. but when she comes back to Golden Pond, it is if she's never grown up. She and her father constantly bicker and she calls him Norman instead of Dad or Father. They used to be close when she was younger but now she is convinced that he would have been happier with a son.

Ethel and Norman's relationship is loving but sarcastic. Norman always talks of dying while Ethel is always more cheerful. When Norman has chest pains at the end of the movie, the audience thinks that their time is finally up. It is not though, but Ethel prays that he will come out of this and of course Norman is sarcastic with his response: "I think my heart stopped hurting." He is angering to other people but to Ethel he's her "old poop"...I mean "knight in shining armor".
Ethel's relationship with Billy Ray Jr. is determined but at first the child will not open up to her. Throughout the month that he stays with the couple, however, he comes to adore Ethel and starts acting like Norman in his treatment of her. They sneak out of the house to go fishing, get caught, and you can see Norman's influence on Billy Ray's response.

Billy Ray Jr. and Norman get close in the month during his stay. They go fishing often and discuss things that Chelsea never could with her father. At one point when Norman yells at Billy Ray Jr., the boy says "You don't have to yell at me man!" There is an awkward silence and then Norman says something that is rarely heard "I'm sorry". It is a turning point in the movie. Billy Ray Jr. is able to reach a point within Norman that Chelsea never could because of fear. Norman sometimes called Billy Ray Jr. Chelsea without realizing it on their fishing trips and this shows that he was thinking of his daughter constantly.

When Chelsea comes back to retrieve Billy Ray Jr. she is upset and jealous of the relationship he has gained with her father. She is determined to have the same thing so she talks to him and performs a back flip like he has always wanted her to. Norman was a champion in diving back in his youth and gave Chelsea his medal after this feat.

Isolation from most of society in this movie plays a big part in the characters resolving their problems with each other. Other than the cruel young boys who pump Norman's gas one day at the grocery store, the family is without outside influence on the issues of age and relationships. By the end of the movie, most of their problems are solved. Chelsea has a growing relationship with her father and is no longer angry with him. Ethel is happy that her daughter and husband are close again. Norman no longer talks about death constantly. Ethel is very happy for this fact. Chelsea is married to Billy Ray and is now in a happy relationship. Billy Ray Jr. has a new respect for his elders after his month long stay with Ethel and Norman. He and his father also have a caring relationship with Chelsea, more so than before because now he knows her background: her parents, where she grew up, and what she used to do for fun as a child.