Peace, Love & Misunderstanding (2011)

Awesome Movie

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The movie reminded me of a cartoon about a well-dressed Yuppie walking from his disappointed hippie parents' home. Indeed, that is actually the premise of the movie, about a woman lawyer finding her husband wanting to divorce her, so she takes her teenage children for the weekend to Woodstock, New York to see her mother, a hippie whom she hasn't seen in 20 years. The reunion is less awkward than expected, but there are still unresolved issues between mother and daughter, and the kids include a son who uses a video camera to fulfill his dream of being a movie maker a la Warner Herzog, as well as a stuck-up intellectual vegetarian daughter.Once you see the hippie culture still alive in Woodstock, the rest of the movie is basically a dysfunctional family story, how mother, grandmother, and the teenage kids still conflict, and how they all deal with the quirky locals of Woodstock, not all of whom are hippies. The movie philosophizes but has no deep meaning or surprises, but is still mildly entertaining.

Three talented actresses (Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener and Elizabeth Olsen) provided the drive for this over-simplistic view of intergenerational differences and the search for happiness. While clichés abound, the plots twists can be seen miles away but yet occur in the blink-of-an-eye without any rationalization, and the characters border on being one- dimensional, this movie is a guilty pleasure. I would probably credit the ability to overcome this movie's weaknesses to the acting skills and the on-screen charisma of Ms. Fonda and Ms. Keener.The male characters are even more one-dimensional than the female leads. The only person to get less to do than the abandoning husband (Kyle MacLachlan) is the talented Patricia Arquette who may have only 1 or 2 lines in the movie which require a double take to confirm her presence. I suspect that post-production was not kind to whatever other dialog must have been originally written for her.While the movie has many weaknesses, the stellar soundtrack and magnificent cinematography are not among them.Clocking in at barely over 90 minutes, I would recommend this movie to those who do not mind a little fluff every now and then. To see other of my movie reviews, please visit: https://nomorewastedmovienights.wordpress.com

Towards the end, Jane Fonda reads excerpts of poetry that tied the film together and left me inspired to watch the ending over and over again.Song of Myself, Walt Whitman (from Leaves of Grass, first published in the 1855 edition)And I know that the hand of God is the promise of my own, And I know that the spirit of God is the brother of my own; And that all the men ever born are also my brothers, and the women my sisters and lovers; And that a kelson of the creation is love; [5]It may be if I had known them I would have loved them, It may be you are from old people, or from offspring taken soon out of their mothers'laps, And here you are the mothers' laps. [6]It is not chaos or death—it is form, union, plan—it is eternal life—it is HAPPINESS. [50]

As they say in the film "Clueless," a lesson in tolerance is always good, even when it comes out of nowhere. If for no other reason, that's why I like this movie, which stars Jane Fonda as a hippie mother, who acts like she's still in the 1960s and 1970s, and Catherine Keener as her conservative daughter, who comes home with her daughter, as she and her husband are in the midst of a divorce. In trying to relate with each other and trying to find out why they drifted apart, Jane and Catherine learn things about themselves and in the process become better people...hopefully. Sounds like a hallmark movie, right? Well, this does have kind of an attitude and a sense of humor about it, with a hippie guy that Jane used to sleep with and who befriends Catherine. With the granddaughter finding a hot guy to keep her attentions, there's love and romance in the air for all. Despite the fact this film has earned somewhat of a lame reputation, I thoroughly appreciated its laid-back approach to being yourself and learning to accept the eccentricities of others. No one's perfect. The movie's charm and good performances manage to overcome any clichés it may have and you leave the film upbeat with a positive outlook on life and seeing the best of those around you. At least I did. I hope you will too.