Franklin Street, Myriad Pictures, Parkside Pictures,
Shirley MacLaine, Amanda Seyfried, Anne Heche, AnnJewel Lee Dixon, Thomas Sadoski, Tom Everett Scott, Philip Baker Hall, Alanna Ubach, Joel Murray, Adina Porter, Sarah Baker, Steven Culp, Basil Hoffman, Gedde Watanabe
Harriet is a retired businessman, and very wealthy woman. She is also the worlds biggest control freak and everyone hates her. She lives in a small town, and over the years was the primary supporter of the local paper due to her advertising revenue. One day, while reading the obituaries, she notices that the beautiful words describe people in the greatest light, even though she really didn’t like any of them. Then she got an idea. She decides to visit the paper and find the girl, Anne, a frustrated writer who wants to be so much more than an obituary writer. She informs Anna that she is now hired to write her obituary now, while she’s still alive, so that Harret can make sure it’s done well enough. She doesn’t want to leave it to chance. So she provides Anna with a list of all her contacts, her estranged daughter, her ex-husband, and everyone else in her life. Problem is that no one has anything good to say about Harriet.
This comedy is really in the wheelhouse for Shirley. She nails the grumpy old lady who has her way 100% of the time. No one can every do anything right in her eyes, and though she’s sweet at the center, the harsh exterior is played perfectly. It’s a great role for AManda as well and she works with Shirley very well. It’s a very interesting story, and very, very funny. This might have appealed to me more as a Senior Citizen myself, but I found it really funny. It’s very cleverly written, the script is excellent, and the acting is really well performed. All the cylinders are firing, and I found this to be a very pleasant surprise. I enjoyed this movie, and I recommend it for a bunch of laughs and a pleasant time.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
