People are voting emotionally.

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Absolutely Fantastic

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

A Jew. A Jew? Yep, an honest to goodness Jewish doctor. She is Katharine Hepburn, the WASP of all WASPS, and he is Harold Gould, aka Rhoda's father, aka Betty White's boyfriend on Golden Girls. Hepburn is very naive, obviously never having seen Fiddler on the Roof since she first know what Lacheim means. Her family and socially elite neighbors are taken aback by all this, and it is obvious that his kids have some trepidation as well. Being courted at her age surprises her, more because she likes it. Perhaps recovering from a heart attack brings out long suppressed romantic feelings, and in Gould's case, he is worth it. Will wedding bells bring the family together or tear them apart because of their prejudices?Her children range from stuffy to eternally drunk to free-spirited while his are far more open minded but still unsure of a mixed marriage. In reference to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, neighbor Denholm Elliott brings up a local rich girl who brought home a black fiancée to shock her family. Hepburn's liberal response? He's too good for her! So comparisons are inevitable while this also tries somewhat successfully to also update Abie's Irish Rose with an aging theme to bring the controlling natures and prejudices of the younger generation. When not wanting to slap the adult children of Hepburn and to a lesser extent, Gould, you just want to hug them because they are both so likable and noble. Elliott and Brenda Forbes are just as manipulative as the children, both snooty and prejudice. A few on each side are more supportive and this makes for an easy conflict to resolve. So while there are no surprises in the witty and often tender script by James Prideaux isn't as complex as it could have been. The two lovers become as start crossed as Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue so the results are sweet and satisfying if not anything you don't expect.

Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry offers some enjoyable humor. But it's marred by an unbelievable attempt to contrast wealthy WASP characters with Jewish characters. It seems like the director and scriptwriter were not familiar with either side, and were confused as to how best to hammer home their heavy-handed themes of Love Conquers All Even When You're Old and Religious Prejudice is Bad. The Jewish side says L'Chaim several times, makes Manischevitz jokes--there's no depth of characterization here. Mrs. Delafield is rich and upper-class because several characters tell us so--again, there is no depth of characterization here.But the film can't quite get it right. Harold Gould's character is supposed to be a successful Jewish doctor and head physician at a major hospital. Yet he and his adult children are given lower to middle middle-class accents, housing, cars, politics, etc. As for Mrs. Delafield, the movie's production values are so low that Mrs. Delafield's home and furnishings are middle-class at best. The film would have been much better if Harold Gould's character was a successful doctor with the home, lifestyle and children to match.There are two exceptionally bad moments in the film: At one point, David Ogden Stiers as Hepburn's adult son finally says the word "Jew" out loud as in "Not if you're going to marry a Jew." So Hepburn slaps him across the face. Well, that's the way to teach religious tolerance. It makes me wonder how often she slapped her children when they were young.In the same scene, there's an insanely stupid bit near the end when David Ogden Stiers as the stuffy son asks something like "Well, what about the religious differences?" Hepburn says something like "I asked Marvin if he believed in (points up to heaven), and he said yes. He asked me if I believe. I said yes. We have no religious differences." I think that's one of the dumbest moments in television. Of course, they have religious differences--there are HUGE differences in their religious beliefs. If they think they can overcome them or choose not to make a big deal of them, that's great. But let's not minimize the difficulty of blending two different faith beliefs.There's nothing worse than a preachy, self-righteous TV movie.

This made-for-CBS film is a tailor-made TV vehicle for the great Kate. Her chemistry with Harold Gould is warm in a prickly way -- perfect for both leads. Denholm Elliott lends marvelous supporting work -- as per usual -- moving things along nicely. The normally feckless Charles Frank is surprisingly compelling as the lone child more interested in Kate's happiness than improving his own financial situation. The rest of the professional cast, led by Kathryn Walker and David Ogden Stiers, snipe and snicker capably enough but add nothing particularly new to the proceedings. But, the opportunity to see Katherine Hepburn in one of her final leading performances as a spunky octogenarian who still considers herself worthy of love is the main reason to watch this audience-pleaser.

It would be easy to say that this film is just one for those who are fans of Kate Hepburn- and certainly Kate's fans will be in for a treat- but it's a lovely film as a whole, topped off by two beautiful performances in Kate Hepburn and Harold Gould.To be perfectly honest, the script lacks in parts, and the supporting characters are very cliched, with the acting mostly stereotyped. But then, there's Kate. Kate makes the picture worth seeing. Her performance is simply beautiful- she portrays the helplessness of old age with such tenderness, and fills us with joy at her desire to live out her last years to the best of her ability, and to find some joy late in life. She portrays Margaret Delafield, a woman of a certain age, who, after a near- death experience falls in love with the doctor that brings her back to health. Much to the objections of both their families, they decide to marry anyway, because, as Margaret says, "I won't live in sin!" It's witty and lovely and Kate simply lights up the screen. She manages to lose none of the tough on- screen persona that dominated so many of her great roles, but at the same time, she brings a real tenderness to the performance, a tenderness that sometimes was missing from her earlier movies. In one scene she describes to her neighbour a late- night kiss from her doctor, and her eyes light up as she talks of how wonderful it was- it's a really beautiful moment. For a brief minute, we forget we are watching a 79 year old woman- she could be 15, if we were just judging the pure innocent happiness shining through in her eyes.If you're a fan of Kate, then you mustn't miss this. If you don't know much about her, see it anyway- it's just a really lovely performance. And Harold Gould is great, too! But it's all about Kate- it's her film, and she carries it brilliantly.