Boynton Beach Club (2005)

Simply A Masterpiece

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Absolutely the worst movie.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

I saw this movie recently, And Just truly enjoyed the heck out of it. I recommend this fine flick to any baby boomer.......and I"m looking forward to purchasing it when it comes out on DVD......The comedy is true to life, the situations of aging baby boomer's living in Florida is just hilarious........ Diane Canon looks great for her age.........and puts on wonderful performance....................... and Michael Nouri....last time I saw him was in Flash Dance ......all those years ago............ His performance was just wonderful I highly recommend that you catch this fun movie you will leave the theater with a smile..........

"Old age is not a disease—it is strength and survivorship, triumph over all kinds of vicissitudes and disappointments, trials and illnesses." Maggie KuhnOur perception of seniors in the media has recently been formed by Jerry Seinfeld's parents in a Florida retirement community. They and their aging friends are unrelentingly argumentative, early-bird dining Jewish retirees who look and act old. Susan Seidelman's Boynton Beach Club, however, will have none of that old stereotyping.As if they were older siblings of the emerging boomer solipsists, these seniors are generally vital, best exemplified by Dyan Cannon's lithesome body but suspiciously tight face, Sally Kellerman's lean and sensual mien, and Brenda Vaccaro's vulnerable enthusiasm. All have reason to be down, for they have lost their spouses but are gaining friends to share their grief with and possibly their lives. Enter the objects of their search for companionship, among others, Joe Bologna's Harry and Len Cariou's Jack, the former a self-proclaimed ladies' man, the latter a shy recent widow lacking skills to cope with mature women.Unlike the seniors in Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, Manna from Heaven, In her Shoes, and Golden Girls, the principals in Boynton Beach only occasionally resort to jokes about their age or ailments and prescription drugs, the ties that bind elderly everywhere but here are minimized by one reference to Viagra and one to old men who are not even ogling women when they drool. Here the seniors are actively living and loving, something the rest of the world does as well. This dramedy is as satisfying as an afternoon drink on the veranda with a favorite granddaughter, at which happy occasion there is cause to celebrate being alive and connected between generations with nary a nod to senility.

We must confess, right at the start, we went to see this movie reluctantly. Judging by the trailers we saw prior to going to watch it, we didn't have much expectation, but we can categorically say we had a marvelous time watching, and laughing out loud, at this wonderful Susan Seidelman's picture that really deserves to be seen by a wider audience.We are taken to that senior's paradise that is Florida. Unfortunately, the most careful planning doesn't include death, something that is a sad reality a few of the principals in the movie have to deal with. Most of the people that transfer to that state after their retirement buy all these fabulous places after being in the Northern parts of the country, running away from the cold and the harsh winters.Marilyn, a happily married woman, experiences the horror of her husband being killed by a careless selfish neighbor, who obviously has no remorse, other than tell her problems to her shrink. Marilyn has to start to learn how to live alone, something she has not counted on. We see her walking to the Bereavement Center by herself, since she has no license to drive, while perhaps a lot of her neighbors, in her possibly "gated community" zip by in their cars.Then there is Jack, a recent widower. He is a pathetic man who has relied on his wife Phyllis for everything. Without her, he is condemned to eating at the ubiquitous diners all over the place where seniors get discounts before a certain hour, perhaps before 5pm! When he meets the bold Sandy, he is doubtful he will ever again find love with another woman.Harry, on the other hand, is a party animal. In spite of thinking he is a sophisticated man, he falls for a woman he meets on line that turns out too good to be true. Lois, a youthful looking woman, is knocked out of her "boots" by the hunky Donald, a man that is not all he appears to be, but in the end, turns out to be the right man for Lois, and vice versa.Susan Seidelman supposedly based this film on personal experiences of relatives living in that environment. She adapted the material Florence Seidelman and David Cramer told her out of their own experiences into a film that bites deep into what how loneliness works when long time married people have to face an uncertain future. Even though it's a funny comedy, "Boynton Beach Bereavement Club" reveals under its glossy surface how hard it is to live in all these professionally decorated dream houses when a wife, or a husband is not around anymore. The surviving spouse must face that solitude head on.The director got excellent acting from her ensemble players. All do a marvelous job. Brenda Vaccaro, who has not been seen a lot lately, gets a great opportunity as Marilyn. As her friend, and confidant, Dyan Cannon is wonderful. Sally Kellerman, has a couple of great moments as Sandy, the woman who has not come clean to the new man in her life. Len Cariou, who appears as Jack, makes an impression, as does Joseph Bologna, the party animal. Michael Nouri is Donald, the man who is not who Lois thinks he is. Renee Taylor appears briefly in the film.Ms. Seidelman ought to be congratulated in the way she created all these characters that are real and reflect a section of the population that went through so much in their lives and when they thought the golden years were here to stay, must make a tremendous adjustment and learn to live again on their own.

OK, now that I've got your attention. This is actually a very touching movie, in the "In Her Shoes" genre. The screen goddesses I've worshiped have either gotten fat (Brenda Vaccaro, Renee Taylor) or undergo mega plastic surgery (Dyan Cannon). Somehow I just can't turn away but not because it's like a car accident. It's appealing in an honest sort of way. For example, recently widowed Len Cariou brings club vamp Sally Kellerman to an early bird all-you-can-eat buffet on their first date (because that's where he and his wife used to eat). Who hasn't made that mistake trying to impress someone. And Sally Kellerman reprises her topless scene from MASH forty years later (sag and all)...that's got to be forth the price of admission.Between the hilarious moments in the movie, I couldn't help but think "Didn't Michael Douglas date an older woman Brenda Vaccaro back in the 70s?" or "Didn't Frank Sinatra marry a young Dyan Cannon once?" NOTE: This movie probably won't make any money at the box office but mark my words, it'll probably become a cult classic a decade down the line, like "Office Space".