Book Club

First Hit: Although the age ranges they portrayed didn’t work, as a comedy it was out-loud funny.

The actual age ranges between these women (Fonda 81 & Steenburgen 65) was too wide ranging for me to believe that they were nearly lifelong friends. This part of the story needed cleaning up. However, once I got past this, I found the story funny, poignant, and enjoyable.

At the time I went to see this film, 11:00 AM, there was a small crowd of older women. I think I was the only man in the audience. And initially, they were laughing at just about everything. I was only mildly amused.

Yet something happened as the film went on, I found myself enjoying the pointed jabs at age, men, sex, and technology. What made it work was the actors themselves. They all have been around long enough for the audience to know them a little. The parts they played were perfect to how we know them.

The vehicle the story uses for these women to get together once a month is a Monthly Book club. They’ve been meeting monthly for over forty years and in doing so, they have learned to love and accept each other as they are.

Diane (Diane Keaton) was grounded in her flighty Annie Hall sort of way. Watching her slow build to telling her grown protective children that she was still capable of being happy, learning, and having fun experiences with a man was pointedly clear.

Vivian (Jane Fonda) played the rich I don’ need anyone loner was perfect. Jane has generally shown her skittishness towards being vulnerable and in this role, she has to become vulnerable with the man who shows up to her again after forty years.

Sharon (Candice Bergen) was the professional woman, who had her cat and her Federal Judgeship to keep her happy. After her divorce her husband Tom (Ed Begley Jr.) found love in someone one third his age. She said she couldn’t care less and was happy presiding over her courtroom until....

And Carol (Mary Steenburgen) was the only married woman in the group. Her husband Bruce (Craig T. Nelson) and her still liked sex. However, after his retirement party six months earlier, he was disinterested in her sexually and seemed lost.

Early in the film, the group meets and it’s Vivian’s turn to select a book. She chooses Fifty Shades of Grey. This gets all the women thinking about their sex life and eventually their love life.

Diane is afraid of flying and meets a very rich pilot Mitchell (Andy Garcia). Vivian runs into her old beau Arthur (Don Johnson) who is still in love with her. Sharon decides to try internet dating and meets up with George (Richard Dreyfus) an accountant and someone who really likes her. And Carol finds devious ways to try to get Bruce interested in sex again.

As you might imagine, older women finding that they are interested in love and intimacy is relevant to all people at any age.

Keaton was quirkily funny in both her actions (paddling a floating swan in a pool) and words. She can really shine when the role calls for it, and it does here. Fonda, I must admit, is someone I’ve adored for her intelligent skittishness towards men. Here she shows that she still has that power over me at 81. Bergen was the character I had the most reservations about. I never liked her TV role of Murphy Brown much, but here she shines. I loved her projections of herself on her contented cat. Steenburgen had the most difficult role because she was still in a relationship. However, the scene with the cop stopping her and Bruce after she spiked his beer with Viagra was funny. Nelson was very good as the reluctant husband finding his way after retirement. Garcia was excellent as the pilot who wanted to whisk Diane away. Johnson was very good as the very romantic younger man who still held a lot of love for Vivian. Dreyfus was funny and appropriately stuffy as the accountant that had found his match. Them getting out of the back seat of Sharon’s car was funny. Bill Holderman and Erin Simms wrote a script that worked for these actors. Holderman’s direction was strong enough to get me laughing out loud.

Overall: I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

I Do... Until I Don't

First Hit:  Although not well crafted, it had some funny sections and the film ended nicely.

Lake Bell as both director and lead actor did a fair job in developing this film. What didn’t work was that some scenes seemed forced while others ended with little reason for being and did not set up another scene. What did work for me was that there were some very out-loud funny moments and I liked how the film came together in the end.

The film follows three types of relationships partially through the eyes of a relationship guru named Vivian (Dolly Wells). She wants to prove her theory that marriage between two people cannot be "until death do you part." She surmises that people live longer these days so that this promise is not in tune with the changes in our aging process. What she thinks and believes is that after seven years of marriage a couple should have the option to renew or not. To prove her theory, she wants to video a couple falling apart to prove her point.

One relationship that Vivian follows is Bell as Alice who is married to Noah (Ed Helms). They own a window blind store that is failing. The reason it is failing is that he holds on to the ways his father and his grandfather ran the business and doesn’t want to change. They need money as they are about to go into Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Alice thinks by working with Vivian she might make some money. Adding to their issues, Alice doesn’t want to have children while Noah does. Alice also thinks that Noah is hot for her sister Fanny (Amber Heard).

Fanny and Zander (Wyatt Cenac) are not married but have been together for six years. They are raising a son and have publicly declared they’re in an open relationship. There is talk about having other partners but in the end, we find out that they're more talk than action (more sizzle than steak). This is another couple Vivian decides to video because she thinks their relationship will fail.

Lastly, she makes a deal to video Cybil and Harvey (Mary Steenburgen and Paul Reiser respectively) who appear to be tired of their long term marriage. Their communication is mostly made up of snide and snippy remarks towards each other. Cybil is intent on serving Harvey with divorce papers for Vivian’s video and has been guaranteed $10,000.

What the film follows is how these couples set up both their failures and successes with each other. In the course of their interactions, there are naturally developed situations and scenes that are laugh-out-loud funny. Two such scenes are when Alice tries to make money by becoming a massage therapist that gives happy endings to clients. Her first time attempt to do this happens to be with Harvey, who gets a happy ending massage coupon from his wife, Cybil. Their interaction is very funny. Another amusing scene is when Alice and Harvey meet, after the massage, Alice’s reaction is priceless.

When the couples learn about how they are being used by Vivian and that they still love each other, they plan to teach Vivian a lesson.

Bell is up and down in her character, there are times I thought her reactions were not congruent with her character. Helms is okay as Bell’s husband and as consistent in his character. Steenburgen was wonderful. I loved her shift through the film. Reiser is very strong as Harvey the quiet, semi-lost, husband looking for a way to share his deep caring for Cybil. Heard is very good as the free flowing and free spirited sister. Cenac was very good as Fanny’s partner and when he shows his true color for someone trying to seduce Fanny, it is perfect. Wells was funny and okay as the videographer who has a strong opinion about marriage based on her own failings. Lake Bell wrote and directed this film along with starring in it. Not many people do all three successfully and as the film and story evolved it got better which gives me hope that future offerings by Bell will continue to be stronger.

Overall:  The ending made up for some of the failings of the beginning scenes.

Last Vegas

First Hit:  I laughed off and on throughout this film – enjoyable.

It won’t win any Oscar tributes, nor will the Oscar winning actors get nominations for their roles in this film, and my guess is that this group of fine actors had a good time making this film.

Each of the actors Kevin Kline (playing the Florida retired Sam), Morgan Freeman (playing the, I just had a stroke Archie), Robert De Niro (playing the grieving Paddy) and Michael Douglas (playing the rich and I hate getting old Billy) were perfect for their roles.

After more than 60 years of friendship, these guys are in their 70s and the changes in their bodies and lives are more obvious. Billy wants to get the old gang together because he’s decided to get married for the first time (she’s 32). Although there has been a riff between Paddy and Billy, the gang gets together in Las Vegas to rediscover their friendship and have a good time.

For each guy there is something to resolve and this film finds a wonderful way for them to gain peace with themselves, their family, and/or their friends. The best part of this film is the way the actors were themselves (and their characters) with such ease.

Douglas is on target with beginning to process how time flies. De Niro is perfect as the guy who learns to let go, just a little. Kline is great as the guy who learns how to bring life and romance back into his life. Freeman is superb as the guy who wants to live his life on his terms, despite the warning sign of a recent stroke. Mary Steenburgen (as Diana) is sublime as the night club singing woman who helps Paddy and Billy resolve their disagreement. Dan Fogelman did an excellent job of combining today’s world and language with yesterday’s way of viewing life. Jon Turteltaub was very smart in letting these professionals enjoy their roles.

Overall:  Although its subject is light, this was a very enjoyable and entertaining film.

Four Christmases

First Hit: Somewhere in the concept of people having parents and step parents and dealing with Christmas there is a good film; this one isn’t it.

Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn play Kate and Brad respectively. They are a couple who think they’ve got it all together with no commitments, lots of fun dates, and doing all the cool things. There is nothing there on the screen that told me they weren’t acting parts.

The chemistry, their personalities didn’t mesh and I couldn’t see them as a couple. They don’t like being around their families, so their “cool thing” at Christmas is to jet off to some foreign spot, have fun, while telling lies to their parents and step parents that they are off dong some humanitarian gig for Christmas.

This year they get caught and decide to visit their four families. The only one that had any sort of realistic sense to it was the at Kate’s father’s house. It is here you get some decent acting by these scenes and John Voight. At the previous three family visits the situations are set up to create mayhem and comic riffs.

I’m shocked that Sissy Spacek, Robert Duvall, and Mary Steenburgen would have signed up for these roles. It makes them look stupid and I can guess that they may be embarrassed by being in this end product. This kind of film does fit Vaughn’s style but the writing doesn’t allow him to grow or do much real stuff.

Overall: The concept was great and perhaps Reese with someone else as the male lead and filmed as a drama and some decent writing there is a really good film. This slapstick view of the premise is a waste.

Step Brothers

First Hit: A less than mediocre film with an occasional spark of brilliance.

I think I’ve said it before in a earlier review that I don’t find Will Ferrell very funny.

I always see him as trying too hard to be funny and his energy and effort just don’t work for me. John C. Reilly on the other hand is someone who, at times, does some good work both in a serious and comedic roles.

In this film, the premise is that both these guys are 40 years old live at home boys. Neither of these boys/men work and they sponge off their respective parents. The parents meet at a conference, fall in love and decide to marry.

This puts both boys/men in the same house together and sharing a room. Eventually they have to fend for themselves, grow up a little, and then their parents see they aren’t happy being adults so the set it up for them to regress again.

Mary Steenburgen plays Will Ferrell’s mother and Richard Jenkins plays John C. Reilly’s father. We don’t often get to see Steenburgen and it was sad to me to see her in this film, it wasn’t a good role for her. Even worse was seeing Jenkins be in this film when, earlier this year, he was incredible in The Visitor.

Overall: Late night TV movie or a rental with your kids who may relate a little and find it funny to see adults act stupid.