Joe, Al and Willie (George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg) are three elderly pensioners who live together to save money. But money is still very tight and they lead very simple, predictable lives. One day, Joe announces to his friends that he's planning on committing a robbery. After all, if it's successful their money problems are over, and if it isn't, they get a free place to live! Well, considering their situations, Joe is right...what do they have to lose?

"Going in Style" was remade a few years ago and I was rather indifferent towards the film...and my review called it 'thoroughly adequate'. It was okay...but nothing special. Plus, it was a remake. So what do I think about the original? Is it better, is it worse...or is it pretty much the same?

The cast for this film (as well as the remake) is impressive. George Burns and Art Carney are both comedic geniuses and fine actors. As for Strasberg, he's no comedian...just a man who taught acting for decades and is considered a god among actors!

So is it any good? Yes, though I was surprised that it was far less a comedy than I expected...far less than the sequel. In fact, shortly after the robbery, it becomes very dark...and later, the darkness of the plot continues. I'll say more as I don't want to spoil the film...but it's deadly serious at times.

Overall an interesting film but one that could have used a bit more comedy and a lighter touch. Now this is NOT to day it's bad...it's not. The acting is excellent and the basic story idea interesting...but it's not a film that will wow you either.

Feisty Joe (a marvelously sprightly performance by George Burns),jolly Al (a terrific Art Carney),and mopey Willie (the excellent Lee Strasberg) are three old retirees who share an apartment in Queens, New York. The guys decide to pull off a daring and outrageous bank robbery in order to alleviate the stultifying tedium of their dreary and uneventful twilight years. Writer/director Martin Brest, who was only 28 when he did this picture, offers a moving and amusing seriocomic delight about the plight of the elderly and the need to go out with a bang instead of a whimper. Among the notable highlights in this often funny and sometimes surprisingly poignant winner are Al's impromptu street dance, the hilarious heist sequence (our heroes all wear Groucho Marx glasses!),Joe crying while looking at an old black and white photo of his deceased wife, and Joe and Al living it up in Las Vegas. Burns, Carney and Strasberg all shine in their roles; Burns in particular is simply superb. Charles Hallahan lends nice support as Al's amiable nephew Pete. Billy Williams' bright, polished cinematography, Michael Small's catchy, jaunty score, and the warm, gentle, upbeat tone all further enhance the overall sterling quality of this sweet little treat.

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.