Split Decision: Jan loved this gentle dramedy about a widow who allows life to enter her well-ordered schedule twenty years after the death of her husband. Rich found it “sweet,” but no more. (JLH: 4/5. RBM: 3/5.)
When we first meet “Carol Petersen” (Blythe Danner) she is living a well-order life in a comfortable home, amply provided for by a husband who died almost twenty years before. She has several friends at a nearby retirement community, but she’s not ready to relocate there yet.
Then Hazel dies, and the loss of the dog who has been Carol’s faithful companion for over a decade throws her into a bit of a funk. Loosening up for the first time in years, she develops tentative relationships with two new men. The first is a 30ish musician (Martin Starr) who thinks maybe his musical career was never meant to be. The second is a 60ish newcomer to the retirement community (Sam Elliott).
Directed by Brett Haley. Screenplay by Haley and Marc Basch.
