Redford and Fonda as you've never seen them before... wrinkly!
Legendary actors Robert Redford and Jane Fonda team up (again) in a story of two ordinary people in an ordinary Colorado town who decide to do something about being lonely at night... but the problem is that neither Redford or Fonda are ordinary people and when they pretend to be, it isn't convincing. The more I watched this play out, the more I thought it would have been so much better with two old people I had never seen before and not two iconic legends of cinema.
After a while, this clandestine sleeping arrangement gets even more awkward with the arrival of 7-year-old Jamie, Addie's grandson. The two old folk soon take on the role of parents - getting a dog, going to funerals and ball games together, camping and even all piling in the same bed.
All the while the silly, uncomfortable dialog of discovery that is meant to inform us about these characters gets more and more stilted, dull and unrealistic.
The biggest failing for me, though, was the total absence of any joy and humor and any compelling reason for these two oldies to wake up each day. These were just two sour old folks with empty lives. Even the bedroom scene in the fancy hotel was mechanical and void of any kind of affection. The scene with Holly in the bowling alley was just unnecessary!
In the end, even the superstar power of the two leads doesn't do enough to capture our hearts and goodwill. I just didn't care about these two people enough to root for a happy ending.
One last thing... Hey, Hollywood (and TV) directors... TV remote controls do NOT make a sound when you press the buttons... at least not here on Earth! It's very annoying that you think we need a loud click to let us know when the TV has been turned off when the sudden lack of volume and the visual cues are actually enough.
Legendary actors Robert Redford and Jane Fonda team up (again) in a story of two ordinary people in an ordinary Colorado town who decide to do something about being lonely at night... but the problem is that neither Redford or Fonda are ordinary people and when they pretend to be, it isn't convincing. The more I watched this play out, the more I thought it would have been so much better with two old people I had never seen before and not two iconic legends of cinema.
After a while, this clandestine sleeping arrangement gets even more awkward with the arrival of 7-year-old Jamie, Addie's grandson. The two old folk soon take on the role of parents - getting a dog, going to funerals and ball games together, camping and even all piling in the same bed.
All the while the silly, uncomfortable dialog of discovery that is meant to inform us about these characters gets more and more stilted, dull and unrealistic.
The biggest failing for me, though, was the total absence of any joy and humor and any compelling reason for these two oldies to wake up each day. These were just two sour old folks with empty lives. Even the bedroom scene in the fancy hotel was mechanical and void of any kind of affection. The scene with Holly in the bowling alley was just unnecessary!
In the end, even the superstar power of the two leads doesn't do enough to capture our hearts and goodwill. I just didn't care about these two people enough to root for a happy ending.
One last thing... Hey, Hollywood (and TV) directors... TV remote controls do NOT make a sound when you press the buttons... at least not here on Earth! It's very annoying that you think we need a loud click to let us know when the TV has been turned off when the sudden lack of volume and the visual cues are actually enough.