I tried to like this movie but it simply wasn't working for me. The main character is completely unlikable, self-absorbed, and ungrateful, yet despite that throughout the movie she is treated like royalty. The supporting cast is like the people from a fashion magazine ad: Glossy but flat.
****SPOILERS****
Just about the only one I liked was Reuben; he wasn't any more believable (why would he be attracted to the young woman whose only remarkable feature was a big nose?), but he had little to say and he really could drum. The story is that of an old woman (Marie) who complains about living in a posh senior facility paid for by her son, and the impending wedding of her granddaughter. Because the old tramp disagrees with the granddaughter about marrying, and because she is a contrary person who needs constant attention, the old woman refuses to attend the ceremony and then takes off on foot to walk there. This hike is the main focus of the movie, but is interwoven with dream sequences that should explain the main character or her motivation but do nothing but alienate me.
Apparently she married a sailor and got pregnant (or vice versa), was widowed shortly thereafter, and then slept around a lot, relying on her non-apparent charms for support. All this and a lot of rain dull even the remarkable scenery and decent photography. On the hike she is helped by a lot of people for no good reason.
Possibly the main helpers are alternate futures she might have had; one a woodworking widower who runs a store (what if her husband had lived?), another a hardworking barkeep who puts up with the annoying woman even when she abuses her dog (what if she had worked for a living?). (If anyone did that to my dog, I would kick them out, not cover them with quilts.) Throughout the movie the main character remains self-absorbed and thinks everyone has to care about her and help her without ever giving anything back. There is no development, no growth. She is a user. In the end she manages to interrupt the wedding she was "boycotting" until she was no longer invited.
Further annoying was that at her age she should have known to walk on the left shoulder of a road with oncoming traffic. Instead she endangers a trucker and others with her carelessness and stays on the right. Then (because in her self-important opinion "cats like her") she antagonizes a lion. She is given a fishing pole, although she clearly has no license, no idea how to fish, or clean one. If a protein meal were needed, give her a pack of jerky or slim jims. Her barfly behavior and drunken exploits show beyond a doubt how she spent her life; why her son is so supporting and concerned about his useless mother that he mobilizes a whole search and rescue operation escapes me. Only once she encounters a dangerous situation; I admit I was hoping that the movie would end there, with her collecting her comeuppance, but no such luck.
This isn't one of those 'feisty senior does things her way' movies that make you cheer on the intrepid heroine.
****SPOILERS****
Just about the only one I liked was Reuben; he wasn't any more believable (why would he be attracted to the young woman whose only remarkable feature was a big nose?), but he had little to say and he really could drum. The story is that of an old woman (Marie) who complains about living in a posh senior facility paid for by her son, and the impending wedding of her granddaughter. Because the old tramp disagrees with the granddaughter about marrying, and because she is a contrary person who needs constant attention, the old woman refuses to attend the ceremony and then takes off on foot to walk there. This hike is the main focus of the movie, but is interwoven with dream sequences that should explain the main character or her motivation but do nothing but alienate me.
Apparently she married a sailor and got pregnant (or vice versa), was widowed shortly thereafter, and then slept around a lot, relying on her non-apparent charms for support. All this and a lot of rain dull even the remarkable scenery and decent photography. On the hike she is helped by a lot of people for no good reason.
Possibly the main helpers are alternate futures she might have had; one a woodworking widower who runs a store (what if her husband had lived?), another a hardworking barkeep who puts up with the annoying woman even when she abuses her dog (what if she had worked for a living?). (If anyone did that to my dog, I would kick them out, not cover them with quilts.) Throughout the movie the main character remains self-absorbed and thinks everyone has to care about her and help her without ever giving anything back. There is no development, no growth. She is a user. In the end she manages to interrupt the wedding she was "boycotting" until she was no longer invited.
Further annoying was that at her age she should have known to walk on the left shoulder of a road with oncoming traffic. Instead she endangers a trucker and others with her carelessness and stays on the right. Then (because in her self-important opinion "cats like her") she antagonizes a lion. She is given a fishing pole, although she clearly has no license, no idea how to fish, or clean one. If a protein meal were needed, give her a pack of jerky or slim jims. Her barfly behavior and drunken exploits show beyond a doubt how she spent her life; why her son is so supporting and concerned about his useless mother that he mobilizes a whole search and rescue operation escapes me. Only once she encounters a dangerous situation; I admit I was hoping that the movie would end there, with her collecting her comeuppance, but no such luck.
This isn't one of those 'feisty senior does things her way' movies that make you cheer on the intrepid heroine.