User reviews

Director/co-screenwriter Susan Seidelman is to be congratulated for a movie based on a generation just about totally forgotten in the movies today: seniors. "Old age is not for sissies" says one of the Tshirts in the movie which mainly takes place at a retirement centre in Florida.

Unfortunately it is pretty formulaic with a few truly poignant moments scattered throughout - enough to engage this viewer and hope for more.

Sadly, they remained just a few. Striking performance by Brenda Vaccaro, what a delight, Len Cariou in one of his best performances and Joseph Bologna showing vulnerability. The rest of the cast are more notable for their surgical procedures which border on truly grotesque in the cases of Sally Kellerman and Dyan Cannon.

Maybe one of these days there will be a movie made showing seniors as they really are, with a truly good plot not centred around snaring a man or woman to make them feel complete. And without the distracting trout pouts favoured by far too many.

Not likely, I know.

6 out of 10 for daring to be different.

Give director/co-screenwriter Susan Seidelman credit for focusing on a segment sadly neglected in current cinema, single sixty-somethings facing lives without their lifetime partners. There is a gentle, loping quality to this seriocomic 2006 character-driven comedy, but it also doesn't feel quite substantial enough to provide genuine insight into their difficult situations. The various story lines rarely feel more complex than an episode of "The Golden Girls", but the principal actors - some rarely seen outside of guest appearances on reruns of "Murder, She Wrote" - compensate to a great degree.

There are three plot threads that intertwine over the course of the movie. Long-married Marilyn faces an unexpected tragedy when her exercise-obsessed husband is killed by a thoughtless woman backing her car out of a driveway. She decides to join the Boynton Beach Bereavement Club (the movie's original title) upon the prodding of Lois, a still-sexy, flirtatious interior decorator who is the unofficial social leader of the club. As Marilyn faces her anger and loneliness, Lois finds herself drawn to Donald, a younger man whom she believes is a real estate tycoon. Also in the club is Harry, who fancies himself a ladies' man and wants to help Jack, newly widowed and prime bait for the widows in the retirement community. Jack isn't ready to date until he meets Sandy, a very interested woman who isn't quite what she claims. Harry, on the other hand, tries online dating, but he finds trouble with the woman who seems like the ideal match for him.

It's nice to see actors who gained prominence in the late 1960's and early 1970's receive substantive roles in their autumnal years. Brenda Vaccaro ("Midnight Cowboy") as Marilyn and Len Cariou ("The Four Seasons") as Jack deliver the strongest performances because their characters undergo the grief and recovery of losing a loved one. Vaccaro has two particularly compelling scenes – the first where Marilyn introduces herself to the club and cannot conceal the rage over her husband's death, the second when Marilyn finally faces the woman who ran her husband over. Dyan Cannon ("Bob, Carol, Ted & Alice") as Lois and Joseph Bologna as Harry ("My Favorite Year") primarily provide comic relief. Both are as likable as ever, though it's rather disheartening to see Cannon so surgically altered. The same is true of Sally Kellerman ("M*A*S*H") who has to play the concealed Sandy close to the vest. As Donald, Michael Nouri ("Flashdance") plays a character with secrets of his own as he pursues Lois. Seidelman's thoughtful commentary is the only extra on the 2007 DVD.

"Old age is not a disease—it is strength and survivorship, triumph over all kinds of vicissitudes and disappointments, trials and illnesses." Maggie Kuhn

Our 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.

Greetings again from the darkness. Director Susan Seidelman ("Desperately Seeking Susan" and "Sex and the City") has collaborated with her mother's real life experiences to create a surface look at life in an Active Adult Community.

The Boynton Beach Bereavment Club exists in theory to assist with grieving and handling the loss of a loved one. In reality, it is more of a social club for elderly lonely hearts still looking for some action.

I can't place my finger on exactly what is missing here, but despite the touching and humorous situations, the film has no real heart and soul. It plays out almost as a series of vignettes. Of course there is no plot as it is much more an observation on the lifestyle.

The film is pretty well cast although I challenge you to not be a tad freaked out by the plastic surgery results of Dyan Cannon, Sally Kellerman and a couple of others. The best performances are from Len Cariou and especially Brenda Vaccaro. Joseph Bologna plays the same role he always plays and Michael Nouri (everyone remembers him from "Flashdance") plays Cannon's love interest with a ridiculous secret.

There are some dark moments and some pretty funny ones as well. Vaccaro's performance is excellent and the film is definitely worth seeing despite it's overall lack of ambition at making any real statement. One last thing, excepting Eartha Kitt's classic vocals on "Santa Baby", this film may very well have the worst soundtrack in Hollywoood history.

You have a great cast with stars like Brenda Vaccaro, Joseph Bologna, Len Cariou, Dyan Cannon, Sally Kellerman, Renee Taylor and Michael Nouri. Brenda's Marilyn is mourning her husband Marty's death. They all live in Boynton Beach,, Florida. I live in New Jersey where I know many have second homes there. They join a bereavement group. The movie is a combination of golden girls and boys. You can tell that these actors and actresses have experience which helps make them believable. Hollywood writers and directors should write for them. Renee's character should have had a name rather than just lady with phone.

A wonderful film for everyone but how satisfying to see one made for, with and by the over 50 set. Boynton Beach Club adeptly deals with the major life themes of love and loss, the awkwardness of starting over and the resilience of the human spirit at any age. The stellar ensemble cast brought honesty, humor and empathetic discomfort to the real world dilemma's that come with internet dating and single's groups or that anxious first date feeling that is the same whether you are 16 or 60. Sudden widowhood not only forced the spouse to see themselves in new roles but confronted their children with looking at them as people, perhaps for the first time, rather than the role of mom or dad that they had been locked into for decades. Some very refreshing role reversal too. This is an all too rare opportunity to see a fine group of thespian's in roles that are worthy of them and of the audience. I hope this is the first of many to come. If a movie can make the boomer's a little less apprehensive about the impending golden years this is the one. If a movie can make the next generation look at boomer's and seniors more like vibrant people than relics this is the one. You will laugh and sigh and maybe cry when you see this movie. But more importantly you will vote with the only thing Hollywood understands these days, your dollars. Let them know we want more movies like this, we will pay to see them and we have more time and money to spend at the movies than the 20 year old's they seem to exclusively cater to. I will see this movie again and this time I'm taking the kids!

I'm only 23 but I know a good deal about movies. How could someone sit down and write this screenplay? I'd be so ashamed of myself. I don't know where they found these actors either. I thought this was a parody or something when I watched it. I almost felt bad for the people who helped make this movie. I can't believe someone would put their name on the credits. And why is this rated R? I watched it on encore, I don't think they swear or anything.

This is truly one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I wouldn't recommend this cheesy movie to anybody. DON"T WATCH IT!

• BriStanley

I saw this movie last evening at the Philadelphia Film Festival. It is that rare unusual movie made for adults. The film takes place in an active adult community in Florida. It shows members of a bereavement group as they regain their lives. The film is mature and well done. Don't go it you want the usual geriatric old people jokes. It treats death and new love with great sensibility.

There were opportunities to poke fun at the elderly but this film takes the high rode and shows them as real people. The scenes of finding love the second time were tender and well done. The audience responded in kind and responded well to the filmabout the film

It is rare to see this sensibility in a film were all the actors are over 60. It is well worth seeing.

Most of the reviewers here have rightfully stated that this is perhaps the ONLY movie made in the last 30 years about senior citizens in which they are not lampooned. That's true, to its credit. None of them so far though has called out the singular achievement of the film, and that is its very realistic and romantic treatment of Sally Kellerman and Len Cariou's night of passion. American audiences are extremely prejudiced against showing sexuality among its older population, as if it didn't exist. It does, and it does in this movie. Oh,and by the way: Sally Kellerman, at 68 years old, does nudity in the film, thus making her the most senior American actress ever to have done so. Brava, Sally!

I saw this movie, shown to a packed house and introduced by the director, Susan Seidleman, at the Philadelphia Film Festival. The audience, including me, loved it. It's funny and touching. It's so rare that a movie portrays the lives and especially loves of the older generations with anything approaching this level of authenticity and charm. Wonderful performances by people you love and don't see enough of. The movie used music to excellent effect as well. A bit of trivia -- the director's mother, who lives in the real Boynton Beach development for "active seniors," suggested the story and actually wrote the first draft of the screenplay as well as produced the movie.

This is a movie the allows an older person to still believe there is a future. Romance can come to the over 40 set and be wonderful. Len Cariou is great and believable as is the ensemble cast. Great movie. The story is the human strain and the cast lets you into the human feeling of the senior community of Florida. However, the story is universal.

I recommend this to anyone over the age that they think it's "all over" when you age. This is a forever young movie. I laughed and cried.

My only regret is that it is in limited distribution. It should be shown in the large multiplexes and get a wider audience.

A very enjoyable movie, although if you live in southeast Florida, you may be able to relate to these characters better. The one thing that really got to me was that you were observing characters whose best years were behind them, which were being portrayed by actors whose best years are also behind them, and who you remember thirty years ago. When you see the character portrayed by Dyan Cannon and you remember what Dyan Cannon looked like thirty years ago, you can relate to the character's life situation with even more sympathy and compassion; it's like you really knew what this this character was like many years ago when she was hot and vital and young.

I saw this movie in Deerfield Beach, Fla. on the same day I visited relatives in Boynton Beach, two towns and about 10 miles north. It was highly recommended by these relatives. The story centers around a bereavement group consisting of seniors most of whom (about 8 out of 9) are females. The movie concerns the problems of dating and (what else?) sex, and it handles this pretty well, following three principal characters through their struggles and doubts. It tackles the problems of getting back on ones feet after the demise of a spouse, and perhaps starting a new relationship. The movie addresses the problems of both the men and the women, and does so thoughtfully and sympathetically. I thought there were a few false moments, contrived for effect, but on the whole it was an honest movie which held your attention throughout. The acting was fine, and I would single out Brenda Vaccaro for her fine acting. I rate the picture as a eight (very good), though I am tempted to add more points because it refrains from demeaning older folks and their problems.

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".

I think many of the comments about the inappropriateness of Sally Kellerman's nude scene are unfair and frankly petty. Yes, she is a 70 year old woman, but ask yourself, how many women her age would agree to baring their breasts in a movie? The answer is only one who is so committed to the role that she is willing to take enormous chances, and possibly risk ridicule in the process. Her character is a wounded warrior in the relationship game and is clearly very vulnerable. And yet in spite of that, she puts that same vulnerability right out there for her new male friend to see, risking rejection in the process. Frankly, I'm happy to see an actress of integrity and commitment willing to put it all up there on the screen for those of us who enjoyed this movie. She deserves praise, not ridicule.

It was refreshing to see older actors revealed as they really look. The acting was excellent, and the story entertaining though poignant. It was thoroughly enjoyed by three over-50 women. Brenda Vacarro is now a heavy-set woman. Dyan Cannon's face-lift is less than perfect, although her genuine sweetness shines through. Sally Kellerman bravely disrobes in front of the camera. Renee Taylor looks every bit her age. I would say the scenery is a good selling point for those seniors looking for a beautiful area in which to live, with activities a cut above the normal senior activities in most areas. It was not at all depressing, but a rather positive take on what life might be like for those over 60, with a good retirement package. There were plenty of laughs as well.

I love finding these little treasures, surprise movies that somehow slip by unnoticed, most undeservedly. What I thought was going to be a background noise movie randomly selected on a movie channel fast became totally absorbing, humorous and touching at the same time. As we are dealing with an older generation, empathy comes not from relating to age, but the social situations presented from a common bond, and never forces the viewer to judge. It's not a lengthy journey in concept, the time of life the characters (and cast) was the keystone to the story of course, but it was not necessary to set up a background for each character, as they instantly became recognizable. I relished every scene with Brenda Vocarro and Dyan Cannon, movie magic together, but never lost interest for the rest of the ensemble. This film is endearing, funny, never beyond the realms of reality. Although I noticed other comments mentioning moments that were either not necessary or empty, these were mere interludes for me which helped build the anticipation of what will happen next. I think a viewers age is totally irrelevant towards this also. Well done cast, well done Susan. I would dearly love to see a sequel or new movie with the same cast. P.S. Dyan you look great, keep making more movies honey.

This movie is a love story and a comedy, but it is much, much more than that. It had a wonderful mix of personalities. It is about the reality of losing someone and coming through it a better person with a lot more of life to live.

Not just for Over-60s, but it may help to be to really appreciate this film. I felt like I knew all these people...in fact, I felt like I was one of them.

There was a very good write-up in AARP Magazine about the making of Boynton Beach...very interesting.

Go see it...You'll laugh and cry at the same time.

I'm not sure anyone under the age of sixty will like this movie very much, but since I do not fall into that category, I really enjoyed it. The viewer is treated to some insight into the lives of active seniors living out their golden years in a fairy tale-like Florida community. Those of you who have never seen such a community in person may think that the filmmaker has pulled a Tim Burton and digitally created a Disney-like set for this film, but having lived in that area of Florida, I can assure you that there are beautiful places such as the community featured in which every color seems to be enhanced in some magical way.

The movie stars a number of actors who have been in film most of their lives - some being sex symbols of the past. They show us through their considerable acting skills that they "still have it." Brenda Vaccaro plays the happy wife of a man who is killed by a careless driver at the very beginning of the film. The driver is played by Renée Taylor using her best yenta-like character - this one bronzed to extreme by the Florida sun. Taylor's character, at first, seems too comically over the top, but later in the film we get to see an example of her true acting talent. Vaccaro's character is shattered by the loss of her husband and is at loose ends because she never took part in any of the business affairs of their life. At first, I thought that this aspect was overdone because I doubted a woman of my age (sixty-one at this writing) would have been so unaware of the everyday business of a family. When I looked up Vaccaro, I found that she is actually sixty-seven - and looks damn good, I might add. Considering the society in which we grew up, those six years between us could have made for that difference in the role a wife might take in a family.

Vaccaro's character is invited to join a bereavement group by a gregarious woman played by Dyan Cannon. Cannon, who just turned seventy in real life, is thin and energetic with - in my opinion - way too much face work. None-the-less, she creates a great character with a big heart. Her "take no prisoners" attitude toward life helps Vaccaro's character spring from her shell.

Joseph Bologna plays the "lady killer" of the group who mentors recently widowed man thoughtfully played by Len Cariou. Cariou's character is a man who, apparently, has never cooked an egg, washed a dish, done a load of laundry. He is totally at loose ends. The art director managed to create another character for the film in Cariou's house. It is pink, pink, pink with touches of numerous other pastels. It is somewhat heartbreaking seeing this man who is definitely not a pastel sitting in this house created and run by his late wife. The picture shows us how lost and at loose ends he is.

But never fear for, in the end, this is a feel-good movie, and Cariou's character is saved when the "good time girl" of the group (Sally Kellerman) takes a liking to him. Kellerman infuses her character with all the disappointment and hope possessed by a woman of her age, and is not afraid to expose her breasts to the camera, now sagging with age.

One of my favorite parts in the film is when Bologna's character is telling Cariou's character about his experiences with women he has met. He says that he still thinks of himself as a young man, but eventually the reality occurs that he is an old man in bed with an old woman. He doesn't mourn this but just considers it a natural aspect of life - a life he is determined to live to its fullest until the end.

I stated earlier that I consider this a feel-good movie. Some might disagree, because it concerns getting old and eventually dying, but for someone of my age, this film is a great shot of hope.

A poignant, touching, semi-realistic look at the lives of seniors, with a great sense of humor. Joe Bologna was a perfect choice for the role he played. The rest of the cast was fine and provided a great, nostalgic discussion topic of other roles and films they have in which they've appeared. This film goes on a short list of movies that my sister-in-law recommended that I've enjoyed. The plot twists kept interest high throughout. Very glad to see it played well in Philadelphia. We wondered how it would do outside of Boynton Beach... As an aside, is the soundtrack available? Would have sung along but the theater was packed.