”LL  SEE YOU In My DREAMS  4.0****

 

         At Last.. a must see movie for the “over 50” crowd and a should see movie for the “under 50” crowd !!!

 

“I'll See You in My Dreams”  is one of this year's truly great surprises. It's a film about growing old, being older and taking new chances. In  the wrong hands it might have been played up for stale laughs about hot flashes and Viagra. Thankfully, what we get is a sweet and charming little film that  speaks to audiences of any age. It’s refreshing to see a film that treats older women with respect and not as stereotypical "cougars" on the prowl or the butt of jokes.

 

It’s well written, perfectly cast, warm and honest, funny and sad, a  genuine slice of real  life. The movie begins with a subtle touch.. an older woman of 71 and her beloved dog,  and ends with a heart rendering touch… the same woman and her new dog. What happens in between will make you really  feel with and for the characters, especially the lead character, Carol, a widow  played expertly by Blyth Danner ( mother of Gwyneth Paltrow ) in her best performance ever. Danner is such a lovely woman who just happens to be 72 years old . She has an aura, a glow about her such that you can’t take your eyes off her when she’s on the screen. The story is nicely uncomplicated. Carol is a widow of 20 years who lives alone in a nice home with a nice pool with her beloved dog. But she leads a ritualistic do-the-same-thing day after day life. It’s not unpleasant but it is changeless. Fortunately she has some darling girlfriends who live nearby in a retirement home. They meet for lunch, play cards and golf and, of course, gossip.  Then one day out of the clear blue sky things change. Two men come into her Carol’s life…a 20 something intriguing pool boy and a 70ish suave, handsome bachelor retiree. The rest, as they say, is for you to see and enjoy and relish.

 

I give special praise to the casting in this move starting of course with the incomparable Blyth Danner along with June Squibb, Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place as the girl friends and Sam Elliott and Martin Starr as the older retiree and pool boy.

 

If you’re looking for something special to see, “I’ll See You In My Dreams” is a dream come true. Shot on a shoe string budget in 18 days, this delightful, touching, poignant and very funny independent film is packed with more genuine emotion than you’ll likely see any time soon.

 

You don’t have to be in the AARP crowd to enjoy this movie, but if you are you can and will more easily identify with the characters and feel what they feel and laugh and cry with them as only someone with some age and the wear and tear that goes with it  can truly appreciate.

 

Since this is a small independent movie without any publicity, it will be hard to find. In Raleigh, it’s at the Colony and in Durham it’s at the Carolina. BUT, in any event, please put it on your ‘“must see” list and at least catch it when it’s on DVD or Netflix or some other streaming/TV channel. If you do, you’ll thank me.

 

Clark