Seems the only time I see first run movies is on airplanes. My carry-on bag was loaded down with several books, but I chose to watch movies. I could have learned a brief history of Croatia, but no, instead I watched Book Club. This is a cute story about 4 good girlfriends who’ve know each other for years, back to college days, and get together monthly on the pretense of discussing books. 50 Shades of Gray is introduced by the sauciest of the bunch, and senior sex becomes the theme. In a very comical way. They claim to be 67 years old. Well, Candice Bergen and Diane Keaton are each 72. Mary Steenburgen is 65, but Jane Fonda is 80. But they all look fabulous (especially Jane) and have chemistry. Actually, they all seem to play themselves, which is fine with me, it really was fun. The men are all age appropriate, Andy Garcia, Richard Dreyfuss, Don Johnson, Craig T Nelson.
The Leisure Seeker stars Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland as a long-married couple on a road trip in an aging Winnebago. Husband has dementia, he comes and goes. Wife is sick but hides it, she’s so busy taking care of him. Without the kids’ knowledge, they take the old motorhome for one last trip, heading to Key West to see Hemingway’s house. Husband taught literature and Hemingway was a favorite. Mirren plays a devoted wife, hiding her husband’s sickness from anyone they meet along the way. They occasionally call the kids back home, letting them know where they are.
The two films have casts and characters about the same age. In Book Club, they dress well and live high. In Leisure, they dress like most of us in that age group do, capris, overtops, flat sandals. In Book Club the women were running as fast as they could to stave off the old age that society – and nature – is throwing at them. In Leisure, they’ve accepted old age and want to remember the good times. I enjoyed both movies.
Happy Trails. blog 