And So It Goes

Michael Douglas has made a late-life career out of playing selfish, racist, sexist scalawags. This predictable PG-13 outing is no different. His self- absorbed character is stuck with a grandchild he never knew about (he hadn't spoken to his drug-addicted son in quite some time) while that son goes to jail. Our hero lives in a four-plex and alienates all of his other neighbors; this doesn't bother him a bit. We can hardly wait for this nasty piece of work to get his well-deserved comeuppance!

Directed by Rob Reiner ("When Harry Met Sally..." and "The Bucket List") from a script by Mark Andrus (the excellent "Life as a House") this is a guaranteed over-50s crowd pleaser. The sound track, which begins with Judy Collins singing "Both Sides Now" and continues on to Diane Keaton singing "The Shadow of Your Smile," is both warm and satisfying.

We watch:

• Michael Douglas ("Last Vegas") Oren is the exasperated (and exasperating!) grandpa who does NOT want a child in his life. He is trying to sell his luxurious house and refuses to take a penny under what he thinks it's worth, regardless of the comps in the neighborhood.
• Diane Keaton ("The Big Wedding") Leah is the neighbor on whom he dumps the little girl; he exploits her good nature without an ounce of remorse. He hears her sing at a neighborhood spot and says he likes everything but her clothes, her patter and her selections...but is willing to represent her.
• Sterling Jerins ("World War Z") Sarah is a good little kid, scared, but willing to be flexible. She is deeply grateful for Leah's presence while Dad is "away." In fact, she starts to call her "Grandma."
• Frankie Valli ("The Sopranos") (Yes THAT Frankie Valli!) is the guy who auditions Leah after Oren nominates himself as her agent.
• Frances Sternhagen ("The Closer") Claire is his chain-smoking long-time office manager (40+ years) who sees everything with crystal clarity and speaks just as plainly!
• Rob Reiner ("The Wolf of Wall Street") Artie is Leah's friend, erstwhile suitor and piano accompanist who wears the worst toupee ever on screen. (Oren is NOT gentle about it!)

And so....When a movie is designed for a target audience, it should be no surprise that we found it entertaining. As we left the theater, the general consensus was that we liked it, but one woman took it a step further. "I'll own this one," she declared. "My boyfriend is gonna watch it!"

Expect a bit of profanity, an implied sexual situation, no blowie uppie stuff or vehicular mayhem and the only gunshot is when our "hero" shoots a stray Rottweiler with a paint-ball.

* * * * * * * * * * * *
Take a peek at this trailer:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi757574937/
* * * * * * * * * * * *