Purely Joyful Movie!

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Maybe parts for older actors are a bit more difficult to come by, but why two great performers like Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer agreed to appear in such dross is beyond me. Clearly, given this currently has a rating of 6.5 on IMDb, not everyone agrees with me, now I am not the biggest rom-com fan around, so this starts at a bit of a disadvantage, but give me a descent one and I am more than happy to watch it and give a higher rating if merited.For a start it's listed as a comedy, one little snigger is all I found throughout. The music is just awful, the story is very predictable, it's pretty bad all round.The stars do, at least, try to give it a go but even the true romantics out there may find it hard to find anything to shout about here.

What can I say? I adored it. Anyone that dislikes sentimentality in movies will hate this - therefore I loved it! The scene in Rome is remarkably beautiful - as are many other moments in this wonderful movie. You kiddies out there who think that Shirley MacLain looks too old and her part should have been recast - screw you. She is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. She has been a heartthrob for me since we were both young. It's great to see her still beautiful (in my eyes anyway) and her terrific acting talents are on display here as well. Christopher Plummer is another huge PLUS in this movie. To watch these great stars on the screen, in parts befitting their, well..advanced ages - and not "younged down" for general audiences who don't understand what getting...mature - is all about - well, I really appreciated it from start to finish. Great supporting cast as well. If you're, let's say, under 50 (I'm well over), and get uncomfortable or bored watching it, put it away for a decade (or two or three) or so and then break it out again. You won't get it now, but you will someday. For those who recognize the names of the stars, who have watched them age through the years, and who have a sense of history in their own lives because you've lived through a lot of stages in your life - you will love this movie. I guarantee it!

I got around to watching another movie I've had in my queue at Netflix for some time yesterday- "Elsa and Fred" is apparently an English- language remake of the 2005 Argentinian film of the same name. Oscar winners, Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer play our titular characters in a December-December romantic comedy surrounding Elsa's obsession with "the sweet life in Rome", as experienced by Anita Ekberg in the 1961 film "La Dolce Vita". I kept thinking something about this seemed very "deja-vu"-ee to me, then realized MacLaine had actually co-starred with the star of that film, the late Marcello Mastroianni, in the 1993 comedy, "Used People". I've read some user comments that MacLaine may have been a little miscast as Elsa, and I never had any issues with that. Overall, I liked the cast and the feel of the movie, just thought it dragged it's feet a bit-?? And one thing- James Brolin as Scott Bakula's father-??? Eh...neh.... LOL Chris Noth, Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden, and George Segal round out the cast.

This is a remake of a 2005 Argentinian movie of the same name in Spanish. I found it on Netflix streaming movies.Shirley MacLaine is Elsa Hayes, a mid-70s widow living in a condo at 2801 St Charles Avenue in New Orleans. This is a single 3-story building with several condos about 700 to 800 square feet each. A freshly widowed 80-isn man, Christopher Plummer as Fred Barcroft, is moving into the adjacent condo. He seems to just be waiting for life to end, he spends lots of time just lying in his bed, with no interest in getting out of his living space.Elsa, on the other hand, seems full of life and right away she greets Fred and tries to get him to do things. When his caregiver is absent and his kitchen faucet starts to spray water everywhere, in desperation he gets Elsa to help him and she does. It becomes the catalyst for her to take a greater interest in him.This is a very nice movie, character studies of two people in the twilight time of their lives. They have issues with adult children, and she has to go to the dialysis clinic weekly. She doesn't seem to have much time left, but they begin to fall in love with each other. It isn't the kind of movie that can attract decent audiences at theaters against mega-buck blockbusters, but it is a very nice smaller movie with some of the best actors of their times.