An Upbeat Look at Getting Older
By Skip Sheffield
Afraid of old age? Let “Land Ho” ease those fears.
“Land Ho” is a comedy with purpose, directed by two young
directors (Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens) and starring two older guys you
probably have never heard of.
They are Mitch (Earl Lynn Nelson), a good ol’ boy medical
doctor from New Orleans and Colin (Paul Eenhoorn), an immigrant from Australia.
The two men were connected by marriage by each marrying a
sister. Now they are both divorced. Colin is retired and Mitch is soon to be,
as we learn later.
Mitch is an impulsive, outgoing guy who bangs on Colin’s
door and announces, “I bought us two tickets to Iceland.”
“You didn’t ask me,” Colin protests. “I would have said no.”
“Why can’t I spend money on my favorite brother-in-law,”
Mitch counters, settling the case.
And so the elderly chums are off for adventure in icy, rocky
Iceland. As if to flaunt their status as ugly Americans, they rent one of its
least politically-correct vehicles, a Hummer.
Little by little we learn about the two men. Mitch’s real
name is Leslie, and he is not still practicing medicine. He was forced out.
Along the way they pick up a couple young girls- which is
not what it sounds like. Ellen (Karrie Crouse) is a young cousin of Mitch’s.
Ellen (Elizabeth McKee) is her friend.
The old men clearly enjoy being with a couple of babes, and
Mitch lavishes them with food, drinks and new clothes. The girls in turn
accompany the men to a disco. There is no hanky-panky and the girls go on their
merry way.
Toward the end the chance of romance with a more
age-appropriate woman comes when the man encounter a Canadian photographer
named Nadine (Alice Olivia Clarke) at a hot springs park.
“Land Ho” is deliberately fashioned along the lines of a
1980s road trip movie, only with senior citizens rather than actors in their
20s and 30s. It is in fact endorsed by AARP, but the two stars don’t like to
dwell on that.
“It’s also endorsed by the National Board of Review,” Early
Lynn Nelson points out. “I don’t feel old.”
“This is not for retirement parties,” Paul Eenhoorn chimes
in. “We’ve been getting a hell of a response from kids in their 20s at movie
festivals.”
Nelson and Eenhooron have been on the road with the “Earl
and Paul Show” since the movie made its acclaimed debut at Sundance Film
Festival. The men admit the location shooting was difficult and challenging,
but the two entirely different men have become fast friends, just as in the
film. Nelson, 72, is a real-life ocular surgeon in Kentucky who still
practices. Eehorn, 65, is a lifelong, Australian-born actor.
“We hope the film will appeal to the same audience that
enjoyed Marigold Hotel,” says Nelson. “Although I think it might also appeal to
the Pineapple Express gang.”
“They are talking about a sequel,” reveals Eenhoorn. “Maybe
we could tour Australia.”
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