Sometimes the grumpy characters are the most interesting, and on occasion, even the most beloved. Name your favorite grumpy, grouchy character from a TV show or movie. It can be a real person, a puppet, animated... as long as they are grumpy and grouchy.
Mine: Oscar the Grouch (Sesame Street)
Archie Bunker.
He was racist, sexist, anti-Semiticโฆhe hated everyone!
And yet he was a lovable blue collar guy, a WWII vet and he ran a good household.
Grump yes, but not a jerk.
Carl Fredricksen from Pixar's Up cone to mind.
shareIt has been so long since I've watched that movie that I've kind of forgotten a little bit about his personality, but if I remember correctly he was mourning the death of his wife so he was curmudgingly but you couldn't help but feel for him and love him.
Good choice!
Fred Sanford.
shareWe meet again.
Fred Sanford is one of my all-time favorites. I'm frustrated now that when you asked for a cookie I didn't offer you a gorilla cookie. Next time.
Also you better keep in line with your units of measurement comments. Don't make me get my bud nipper.
https://youtu.be/kWUzQZwW9do?si=Z1cbPqyh1Ngxhw8D
Thanks for bringing up a childhood trauma.
My cousin was the victim of a fatal bud nipping in 1983.
http://www.popfi.com/wp-content/uploads/tv-smashed-with-bat.jpg
Was his name Julio?
shareYes, and he was down by the schoolyard when it happened.
shareI'm trying really hard to somehow marry Fred Sanford's Puerto Rican neighbor with a Paul Simon song and a television.
How about you type that into your computer and see what it spits out?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFLvhKv-Lbo
Hhhhhmmmm....
Archie Bunker was my first thought. I see he's been taken.
How about Larry David? The first four seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm were very funny.
Larry plays a fictional version of himself. ANti-social, cynical, a bit grouchy, endless liar, but funny just the same.
I say the first 4 seasons cuz one was a huge fan at that point. Started losing interest by Season 5 - barely watched it after that.
That is a show that my husband has been trying to get me to watch for years. Would you recommend just the first four seasons? Some shows do lose steam after a while.
shareYes, I would recommend the first four seasons.
Especially 2,3, and 4 because the show really hit its stride at that point. It's 10 episodes, with a story arc each season.
By Season 5 it was running out of steam, plus the story arc that year wasn't very interesting.
By Season 6, the humor was starting to repeat itself. I pretty well cut out after that.
But yeah, check out the first 4 seasons, see what you think.......
Squidward - Spongebob
Fred - I love Lucy
George Jefferson
Iโm all in on George Jefferson!
A classic TV grump, we loved him every week!
All great examples, but I especially love Squidward. I could identify with that fella sometimes. I liked SpongeBob as a character to watch on TV but I would not want him to be my neighbor!
shareSo many great ones already listed. I'm not sure if he's "full grouch" or not, but I'll go with Al Bundy. I just loved Al...he definitely appeals a lot more to men than he does women ๐, but Ed O'Neill played him perfectly.
It's kind of ironic, but when "Married With Children" ran, I loved watching the show, but I wasn't married or had any kids. However, now that I'm married with kids myself...I relate even more to Al now than I did back then! ๐
Another good one! Ed O'Neill is good at playing grumps in general, I think. ๐ I knew him as Jay Pritchett on Modern Family.
shareI've never been able to watch "Modern Family" because I will always see him as Al Bundy for the rest of my life! ๐ And that is not a knock against him or anything...I think he's a fantastic actor (He was good in the old Denzel Washington movie "The Bone Collector" and also in the movie "Little Giants" with Rick Moranis). But I just love Al Bundy so much... he's an icon to me! ๐
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