Live Life Team
‘Grumpy Old Men’ and ‘Grumpier Old Men’ were set in Wabasha, Minnesota. However, there is only a minimal featuring of the place in the movies as most of the filming took place in various locations in Minnesota. Some of these places are Center City; Chanhassen; Divine Redeemer Hospital, Faribault (opening credits/drug store), Hyacinth Avenue E & Frank Street, Lake Rebecca, Rockford (fishing hole), Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Paisley Park; Red Wing (scenic overlook), St. Paul (homes and snowmobiling), and Stillwater.
The plentiful snow in Minnesota provides ample opportunity for the enemies Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau to make each other’s life a living hell. During the shooting, the film suffered a couple of mishaps in one particular location in Minnesota. In her autobiography “My Story”, Ann-Margret tells of her snow ride experience with Jack Lemmon that went awry. While she was driving Jack on the back of her snowmobile, Ann took a fast icy turn and careened into a steel dumpster. Worried about losing Jack, Ann clung to the bike as if her life depended on it, and she desperately looked around for Jack until someone told her that Jack had bailed out far back of her and was fine. Meanwhile, with Minnesota’s freezing temperatures, Walter Matthau became ill and was hospitalised with double pneumonia.
Minnesota experiences great seasonal variation and is a great place for filming all year round. The abundance of water, the casinos and reservations, the small and big cities, and the cityscapes of Minnesota are just perfect for filming.
