Oldies Movie Review - Barefoot in the Park

Director: Gene Saks
Genre: Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 1967
Starring: Robert Redford, Jane Fonda
 
I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 37: A MOVIE from the 60s
           
Description: Paul (Robert Redford), a conservative young lawyer, marries the vivacious Corie (Jane Fonda). Their highly passionate relationship descends into comical discord in a five-flight New York City walk-up apartment.

Review: Paul and Corie settle into a shabby little apartment in Greenwich Village after a luxurious honeymoon. Their apartment is a bit smaller than expected and has some defects, but they both try to make the best of it.

Enjoyable screenplay by Neil Simon, who adapted his play for film. It is mainly the fresh, casual acting by Robert Redford and Jane Fonda that holds the attention throughout the film, since the most scenes are set in their tiny apartment.

I loved this film, it was funny and heartwarming.

Rating: 4/ 5

80s Movie Review - Nine to Five

Director: Colin Higgins
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 109 minutes
Year: 1980
Starring: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Dabney Coleman

Description: Three female employees (Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton) of a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot (Dabney Coleman) find a way to turn the tables on him.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 5: A MOVIE FROM THE 1980S
 
Review: Three working ladies are done with their sexist and narcistic boss and decide to give hi a taste of his own medicine.

“Nine to Five” is without a doubt a fun film, with comedy. There is many to laugh about and the three leading ladies work well together. The story itself isn’t all that special and the acting is questionable (Dolly Parton should stick to singing). It’s a very cheesy, yet entertaining 80s comedy, with a title song that is better then the actual movie.

Rating: 3/ 5

10s Movie Review - Book Club

Director: Bill Holderman
Genre: Comedy/ Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 104 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Andy Garcia, Craig T. Nelson, Don Johnson, Richard Dreyfuss, Alicia Silverstone, Ed Begley Jr., Wallace Shaw

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 4: A MOVIE WITH A MAINLY FEMALE CAST
 
Description: Four lifelong friends have their lives forever changed after reading “50 Shades of Grey” in their monthly book club.

Review: The modern mature woman isn’t sitting home alone drinking tea surrounded by cats, but she’s active, worldly and has a healthy appetite for love and sex. The classic TV-series “The Golden Girls” already showed us this many years ago.

In “Book Club” we meet four long time friends, who started a book club when they were in college and are still standing strong. Amon them are Diane, who lost her husband a year ago and is now constantly checked on by her overprotective daughters, when she meets a charming pilote that sweeps her off of her feet. Vivian, a successful hotel owner who has never married and has no intention to, until she encounters an old flame. Sharon, a federal judge, who has no love life whatsoever, after her divorce many years ago, when she discovers online dating. And Carol, who has been married for many years and is missing the spark in her relationship. The four women decide to read “50 Shades of Grey” for their book club, which will forever change their lives.

I love stories about book clubs, people talking about books and learning from them in their real life. “50 Shades of Grey” is not the kind of book to read for a book club in my opinion, because it’s so bad. Especially for this group of book veterans. And it feels a bit outdated, they should have done this movie when the books weren’t turned into movies yet (which are equally terrible, probably even worse). That’s why I have always loved “The Jane Austen Book Club”, these people read actual good books and discuss them in depth. In “Book Club” they whole element of the book club is just a fraction of it all. And even though I did enjoy the characters and their individual story, I would have preferred there to be more book discussions between the women. They hardly talk about the book.

They missed the mark on this and it was released at the wrong moment.

Rating: 2 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 31: This is Where I Leave You

Director: Shawn Levy

Genre: Drama/ Comedy

Runtime: 103 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver, Corey Stoll, Dax Shepard, Connie Britton, Timothy Olyphant, Rose Byrne, Katherine Hahn, Abigail Spencer, Debra Monk

Description: When their father passes away, four grown siblings are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens.

Review: In “This is Where I Leave You” we follow a family that comes together after the father of the family died. There are a lot of unsolved issues, frictions and relationship problems and this doesn’t make the mourning process any easier.

After Judd finds his wife in bed with his boss, he gets a call from his sister Wendy, that their father passed away. His father wants to be buried within the Jewish tradition and this means they have a ‘sitting Shiva’. Here people will visit them for an entire week, to give them their condolences. Which also means that the family has to be together the entire time.

The family is a party of five: Judd, sister Wendy, oldest brother Paul, youngest brother Philip and mother Hilary. Judd is trying to deal with his upcoming divorce and he also bumps into a woman he used to like. Wendy is married with two children, but her husband is a work-aholic and she is secretly still in love with her first love Horry, who she was in an accident with. Paul and his wife Annie are desperately trying to have a child, but nothing has worked so far. Philip, who just brought home his new girlfriend Tracey who is much older, never really grew up. Mother Hilary has to deal with all her children, while also saying her final goodbyes to her husband.

The movie is a mix of drama and comedy, but the focus is more on the drama. Although that’s very light. There are subtle jokes and especially the dysfunctionality of the family is funny. All the characters are really interesting to get to know.

The cast is really good. Jason Bateman plays a role he has played before, but he is likeable and proofs he can carry a movie. Tina Fey is also strong in a more serious role then we are used to from her. Adam Driver is solid and Jane Fonda is delightful as the mother, who sometimes overshares information that as a kid you wouldn’t be very happy with.

“This is Where I Leave You” is an excellent film about a family with problems. Dysfunctional families somehow always interest me, it reminds me of how great mine is.

Rating: 4,5/ 5