Shows the conflicts between three generations as the Thayers, a crotchety old professor and his wife, spend their summer together on a lake in New England. The couple agrees to mind their estranged daughter's boyfriend's child, while daughter and boyfriend go on a trip. The boy bonds with the old man in a way his daughter never did. Shows the terrors and graces of aging.

DVD release of the 1981 motion picture. Based on the play by Ernest Thompson. Special features include: Reflections on Golden Pond (documentary); commentary tracks by the writer; Katherine Hepburn tribute documentary.