Minnesota’s Most Famous Movie Turns 30 This Holiday Season
It premiered in theatres across the country during the holiday season back in 1993, and it all took place right here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
I'm talking, of course, about the film, Grumpy Old Men. The blockbuster motion picture based here in Minnesota debuted in theatres around the country on Christmas Day 30 years ago.
In case you need a little refresher, according to IMDB.com, the storyline of Grumpy Old Men centers on the characters played by Walter Matthau (Max Goldman) and Jack Lemmon (John Gustafson), who are childhood friends, rivals, and next-door neighbors in Wabasha. (Picture the big-voiced movie trailer guy saying this tagline the movie used: 'The best of enemies... until something came between them.')
But while Grumpy Old Men's story was based in Wabasha, much of the film wasn't actually filmed there. Most of the exterior scenes of various houses were shot in St. Paul, with various other parts of the state involved, as well.
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The ice fishing scenes were shot on Lake Rebecca, in Rockford, northwest of the Twin Cities (just under two hours northwest of Rochester.) Various shots of Barn Bluff in Red Wing were used, as were parts of Faribault. Center City and Stillwater also had a few cameo appearances.
The film went on to gross over $70 million dollars and also spawned the sequel, Grumpier Old Men, which hit movie screens two years later, in 1995. So, on its 28th anniversary, enjoy some pretty funny bloopers and outtakes collected from Minnesota's most famous movies.
And keep scrolling to check out the complete list of OTHER movies that have been filmed here in the Bold North too!
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Gallery Credit: Shel B
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