Golden Boys is a film that seems like a homage to the Whales of August. Both films focus on a cast of elder stars, but the earlier picture featured a tighter storyline and better performances. Golden Boys does have some charm, and a curiosity to see David Carradine in one of his last roles, but it also has an unfocused narrative.
In 1905 Cape Cod, three elderly sea captains, Captain Hedge (David Carradine), Captain Burgess (Rip Torn), and Captain Ryder (Bruce Dern) are tired of their bachelor’s home being a mess and none of them having any skill in the kitchen. The trio decides that the best way to take care of their needs is to advertise for a wife and for one of them to get married to have their home and bellies taken care of.
They also decide that Captain Burgess will be the one to take the marital plunge. They find a suitable catch and she says that she’ll come to visit to see if the situation is acceptable. The vision that gets off the train is a horrifying one and the old men run and hide. It turns out that it was a case of mistaken identity; the ugly woman had grabbed the wrong bag, when Captain Hedge encounters Martha Snow (Mariel Hemingway) in their home and is smitten.
Captain Ryder also decides that marriage might not be too bad when he sees the fetching Snow. Although Burgess still doesn’t want to dip into marriage. As the two men argue over who will court Snow, the pious Captain Bartlett (Charles Durning) has a stroke burning down the inn of Web Saunders (John Savage) who has acquired a demon rum license (or liquor license) and Captain Hedge is desperate to hide his friend’s involvement in the fire.
The Golden Boys is a film that I really wanted to like because if its seasoned cast. You don’t see such elderly sea dogs getting to strut their stuff anymore as our multiplex is more geared towards the jaded youth. I was struck that it wasn’t the first old folks at the seaside and was very much reminded of the Whales of August that boasted a cast of Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Anne Sothern, Vincent Price, and 66-year-old whippersnapper Harry Carey, Jr.
The seaside setting might be where the similarities end as the earlier film had a better feel to it and perhaps a bigger budget. Golden Boys has a good concept but seems to lose its way. The conceit of three elderly bachelors courting a younger woman to take care of them has potential, but the narrative swerves all over the place with focus on the tavern fire, bribery stemming from it, some young couples romancing each other, and some romance for one of the other elderly captains.
Too many irons in the fire and it seems unfocused. It also makes the Carradine/Hemingway romance seemed forced at the end as we’re taken too far away from that storyline again and again. The selling point may be seeing the late David Carradine one last time. I’ll not go into the salacious nature of his sudden death.
The distributor seems to be cashing in on it too since it’s played up with a reference to the Carradine retrospective on the disc (though it’s not too retrospective, but more on that in a minute). Julie Harris also makes an appearance in the cast, but she’s given little to do and in fact has no lines.
The Golden Boys had some potential but it just wasn’t a project that came together to make a memorable film. Fans of any of the cast will enjoy seeing them again (a last time for at least one), but the film is slow going.
The Golden Boys is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.
Special features include the 40 minute “From Zen Master to Shipmaster: The Life and Career of David Carradine” and the film’s theatrical trailer. It appears the documentary was thrown together at the last minute since it’s not listed on the back and only mentioned in a sticker on the front of the disc.
It’s also not really a career retrospective, but does feature the actor talking about his career and Golden Boys as the interviews seem to be taken from the production of the film. I was hoping for an entire career retrospective with interviews with his costars, but it was good to hear what was presented.
Knocking the Golden Boys might make me sound a little ageist, but I’m happy that these actors were given a chance to perform. I just wish it was in a better film. It may be slow going, but I wish the plot would’ve been less cluttered. The Carradine tribute may seem tacked on, but I may have liked it better than the film itself.
The Golden Boys is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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