It’s Never Too Late For Love.
By Skip Sheffield
Yes, it sounds like a cliché. A number of songs have been written
based on that very sentiment.
“I’ll See You in My Dreams” is a movie based on a similar
theme, but it is no cliché. It is written and directed by Brett Haley, a man
nowhere near his golden years (he’s still in his 30s). Haley had the good sense
to cast two of the best-looking post-65 actors and a potent supporting cast to
prove love in the autumn of life can be every bit as moving as first love.
Carol Peterson (Blythe Danner) is a 70-something widow
living alone in Southern California. One morning when she awakes she notices
her beloved dog Hazel is not well. A trip to the veterinarian brings bad news:
the dog is terminally ill and should be put down.
Carol is practical enough to recognize the inevitable, but
still she can’t help feeling blue about losing the closest friend since her husband died in a plane crash some 20 years ago.
Carol gets some solace from her chatty, supportive friends,
all whom live in a senior facility called Royal Oaks (which is a real-life
55-up California facility). She also makes a new friend in Lloyd (Martin
Starr), her pool boy and a perennial college student who doesn’t quite know
what he wants from life.
One day when visiting her friends at Royal Oaks after they
encouraged her to make a comic but disastrous attempt at speed-dating, Carol
makes eye contact with a handsome white-haired stranger. Her friends are impressed.
They know who Bill is: the resident dream boat.
Bill (Sam Elliott) is a carefree, wealthy, divorced man who
has moved from Dallas to Los Angeles to enjoy life a bit more. He does not beat
around the bush. He likes Carol and she likes him. After a trip on his motor
yacht the two septuagenarians get quite cozy.
Enough of the plot. Supporting players Rhea Perlman, Mary
Kay Place and June Squibb provide reliable laughs. Malin Akerman adds a touch
of drama as Carol’s estranged daughter reunited. Martin Starr contributes
surprising chemistry in an unlikely relationship.
Blythe Danner is best known these days as Gwyneth Paltrow’s mom.
It is good to see her on the big screen showing off where her Academy
Award-winning daughter got her chops.
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