Pretty Good

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

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

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

I struggled with how to rate this. The acting was good and the story was good, but the idea that someone can be so controlling, selfish and mean her whole life, and at the end of that life when she is all alone because of that behavior, have her actions suddenly transformed into, to paraphrase, "making people be all they can be" is bull. Like I said, she was a mean, selfish and controlling person who no one liked, and never even attempts to make any redemption for that.

My wife and I watched this at home on BluRay from our public library. We both enjoyed it as a great character study with a few life lessons.I have long been a Shirley MacLaine fan, now in her 80s she delivers a spot-on performance as Harriet, formerly successful businesswoman and now very wealthy in Southern California. She has a very controlling personality, probably obsessive-compulsive, and one day while reading some obituaries she decides she doesn't want to leave hers to chance so she looks up the local newspaper reporter who writes them.Harriet has long been a well-funded advertiser and is important to the newspaper so she has no difficulty convincing the editor to honor her wishes. The obituary writer is Amanda Seyfried as Anne. She has many of Harriet's characteristics but is not yet confident enough to write the stories that she really wants to write.Harriet has analyzed obituaries and decided that there are 4 key elements and she is missing one, the unexpected feat for the obit's intro. So she decides she will bridge that gap by finding a disadvantaged "at risk" child to mentor. She finds AnnJewel Lee Dixon as the charming but foul-mouthed Brenda. She too has many of Harriet's characteristics.So, as the stories move forward it centers on this rag-tag trio who seem to have nothing in common but end up helping each other realize some changes that each needs to make. And, as Harriet is diagnosed with congestive heart failure the writing of her obituary takes on fresh importance.

Many of the reviewers of this movie take it on face value. The theme, characters played by.. and how they did. All of what they was said was true.I think these reviews missed the depth of it.It was about moms, dads, and how they are affects us and how we affect them.It was about a women who takes risks for what she wanted and spoke her mind, and in the end found what truly mattered to her. Love, from some very unexpected people and situations.It's about how each person views themselves, and how they find out that their vision is typical in that their peripheral view is not showing them all sides to themselves.True Harriet is controlling, but if you look closer, she is brilliant and teaches sometimes glaringly and sometimes unwittingly many people. Many people missed that she doubted much of what she did and felt regret on several things that she did.Though many people hated her, more admired her for being a strong and willful person who went after what she wanted, and didn't deserve what happens to her.Many reviewers miss that this is not only educational for the people on the screen but also to many of the viewers. Do these reviewers belief they take risks to get what they want or are bold enough to walk into a place where they want something and prove to someone they are worthy of what they are requesting? How many of these people are strong enough to risk falling spectacularly on their faces. These people did not take the deeper motivational meaning behind the story.Many people today watch movies with their minds and not their hearts and do not try to find information that might be pertinent to their own lives or those of others in their lives.To the writer:This writing is so relevant in today's society, many people who are older wonder if they accomplished what they set out to, or have many regrets regarding their dreams they did not take risks to reach, and they do not get the opportunity to have fun and be happy near the end. The young people of today need inspiration to reach for the stars and take risks, not only does that message come through, but it also shows how to do it.Bravo on a script extremely well written.

Growing old and dying... Something we all will do. Individual definitions of "old" may differ, but we are all in the same boat. This movie presents the viewer with a poignant yet humorous map of how we can get from here to there. It makes you think and smile while dealing with a subject that is somewhere between uncomfortable and terrifying for most of us. My thanks to all involved! It was entertaining and educational at the same time - a rare feat!