Walt Kowalski is a widower, grumpy, tough-minded, borderline-hateful, unhappy old man who can’t get along with either his kids or his neighbors, a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1973 Gran Torino he keeps in cherry condition. When his neighbor Tao, a young Hmong teenager, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Tao’s family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them form the gangs that foul their neighborhood.
| Production Status: | Released |
| Genres: | Action/Adventure, Drama and Thriller |
| Running Time: | 1 hr. 56 min. |
| Release Date: | December 12th, 2008 (limited), January 16th, 2009 (wide) |
| MPAA Rating: | R for language throughout and some violence. |
| Distributors: |
Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution
|
| Production Co.: |
Village Roadshow Pictures Entertainment, Gerber Pictures, Malpaso Productions, Double Nickel Entertainment
|
| Studios: |
Warner Bros. Pictures
|
| U.S. Box Office: | $73,232,000 |
| Filming Locations: |
Michigan, United States
|
| Produced in: | United States |
A single, suburban dad tries to make ends meet as a security officer at a New Jersey mall. It’s a job he takes very seriously, though no one else does. When Santa’s helpers at the mall stage a coup, shutting down the megaplex and taking hostages (Paul’s daughter and sweetheart among them), Jersey’s most formidable mall cop will have to become a real cop to save the day.
Ten years ago, a tragedy changed the town of Harmony forever. Tom Hanniger, an inexperienced coal miner, caused an accident in the tunnels that trapped and killed five men and sent the only survivor, Harry Warden, into a permanent coma. Then, exactly one year later, on Valentine’s Day, Harry Warden woke up–and brutally murdered twenty-two people with a pickaxe before being killed. Ten years later, Tom Hanniger returns to Harmony on Valentine’s Day, still haunted by the deaths he caused. Struggling to make amends with his past, he grapples with unresolved feelings for his ex-girlfriend Sarah, who is now married to his best friend Axel, the town sheriff. But tonight, after years of peace, something from Harmony’s dark past has returned. Wearing a miner’s mask and armed with a pickaxe, an unstoppable killer is on the loose. And as his footsteps come ever closer, Tom, Sarah and Axel realize in terror it just might be Harry Warden who’s come back to claim them.
An ambitious young reporter, John Grogan, and his wife, Jenny, also a reporter, move to a Florida, buy a house and adopt a Labrador puppy they name Marley. Marley quickly becomes a rollicking force of nature in their lives.