Queen Bees

Super cute movie, while not realistic when it comes to senior care homes, wish it was but, (that's what movies are supposed to do, give us hope). All the main characters both men and women were Hilarious and I love Burstyn's attitude toward life and people (cause I'm the same way, I don't own a Welcome Mat, but I have a sign on my door that says, "Be Nice or LEAVE!!") I refuse to suffer FOOLS and love that about Burstyn's character. Jane Curtin is a wonderful kind of NASTY GIRL, and Loretta Devine and Ann Margaret were just Lovely. Caan and Lloyd were both just Charming. Fun movie, worth a watch. We should be so lucky to be in that good of shape in our mid and late 80's. ;o.

Queen Bees is a new one starring Ellen Burstyn (pushing 90) as a woman who's forced to move into a snazzy retirement facility after she burns down her kitchen. She does not want to go but she has no options. Once there, she runs into a clique of "mean girls" as though no one ever left high school. There's also a tepid romance that's not what it seems.

Enjoyable but rather pale. Story takes place in a world where no one worries about money and although health issues are mentioned, they don't stop anyone from doing anything. Maybe minus the romance this might have been more effective and more humorous. Burstyn is good (as always) as the no-nonsense ex-teacher who succumbs to romance. James Caan is startlingly decrepit looking as the swain. The mean girls are played by Ann-Marget, Loretta Devine, and Jane Curtin. There's also Eric Mapa as a physical therapist and French Stewart as the snarky administrator. Curtin comes off best among the co-stars as the ultra-mean "leader of the pack." Everyone has issues but they're all easily cleared up (or forgotten) by the end of the show.

This is not a "great film" in the filmic sense, but I loved it all the same.

First, it is great to see films like this getting made at all! The last time I saw something comparable with a mature cast was "The Leisure Seeker" and that was a few years ago. This gets extra marks because it is so good to see!

Second, what a cast! Seeing Burstyn performing at such an incredible level at almost 90 is so inspiring. The cast is uniformly excellent, imbuing the characters with so much more than what is merely delivered thru dialogue. There is a great scene of conflict between Burstyn and Curtin that doesn't even include any dialogue - it is all in their body language and expressions, so wonderfully unstated.

It's fairly light fare compared to Burstyn and Caan's body of work, but it is very well crafted, and is a joy to watch as a result. So nice to see a character driven film featuring older characters, reminding us that character development doesn't end!

I would recommend this to all but the most cynical.

On the one hand, it's interesting to see a movie where the protagonists are elderly women. That's the last thing that you expect to see amid Hollywood's rampant sexism and ageism, least of all in an era when they want to churn out nothing but superhero movies. On the other hand, Michael Lembeck's "Queen Bees" is too treacly in some parts to be a completely enjoyable movie. Maybe it couldn't be anything else; would we take seriously a movie in which elderly women go around kicking ass?

If nothing else, it's tolerable for its short run. With a cast that includes Ellen Burstyn, James Caan (in his final role during his lifetime), Ann-Margret, Jane Curtin and Christopher Lloyd, we can say that the movie stars the possessed girl's mom, Sonny Corleone, Tommy's mom, Prymaat Conehead and Doc Brown/Judge Doom/Uncle Fester.

In this day when you can rarely find a movie not full of the F*bomb, GD, nudity, etc..., this was a lighthearted, fun time. The actors in the movie are all part of the all-time greats! Burstyn, Margaret, Curtain, Caan (RIP), Lloyd and the quirky, Loretta Devine (The Preacher's Wife), round this out for a sweet and fun good time.

We're all going to get old eventually and we might as well accept that. The parallel to high school drama was spot on. Those same cliques, cliches, "queen B's" are present throughout our lives. We first find this out when we finish school and join the workforce. And everyone deserves to find love regardless of his/her age.

So, if you are in the mood for a short respite from the daily grind with a cast of acting legends, this will check the box.