NY Observer fi
lm critic Rex Reed wrote about the new movie, Hope Springs: “In an age of idiotic garbage overpopulated with alternate realities and toxic avengers in Halloween costumes, I cannot tell you how touching, restorative and vitamin-enriching it is to see a gentle, tender and intelligent film with A-list stars playing real people dealing with real problems in the everyday world…I think everything about the movie is too subtle and real to appeal to the Batman demographic, but for mature audiences who have forgotten how to smile, it takes up where The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel left off.”
Ladies, I hope all of you will go see this movie this weekend. Take your friends, family members and even your chick-flick-hating husbands. It is an intelligent, well-crafted film that was made with you and me in mind.
Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep are always good. In Hope Springs, they are beyond awesome. So are the Corgis (I have two, but in this movie, and for Queen Elizabeth II, “three’s the limit”).
With that in mind, I just may go see it twice.
michelle,i have done many cosmetic procedures, but i needed to do them for my own self esteem, and to help maintain my self-image, or for my work. i could not stand to look at my face in the mirror and always see sagging or hollowness . it was done f
I have to admit…I saw it and was disappointed. All the good scenes are actually shown in the promos on TV. While the talent of these two outstanding actors is in full display, I just didn’t find it that good of a movie. It was woefully missing something. It wasnt quite a comedy; it wasnt quite a drama; it was however quite one note.
I enjoyed Marigold tremendously; Hope Springs…not so much.
@Dallas Lady – I think you and I must be opposites, LOL. I loved Hope Springs and was disappointed in Marigold. But hey, I’m still glad there are some intelligent movies for Boomers and seniors coming out now. My husband and I were intrigued by some of the trailers for similar movies coming out, especially one that had a baseball theme and stars Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams (as his daughter). He likes baseball. I like chick flicks.
One of the things we enjoyed about Hope Springs was the very end, which I won’t mention here. But it reminded us of how we had to reinvent our own marriage. That’s when I decided to embrace NASCAR and he chose to embrace romantic comedies at the theater and on TV. It’s been fabulous and now I know all about NASCAR and he laughs at movies like Marigold and Hope Springs!
Happy times!
I haven’t seen “Hope Springs” yet, but now I’m motivated to go. I absolutely LOVED “Marigold Hotel.” It made me reflect and look forward at the same time. After the movie, I thought about it for a long time. That’s unusual these days. All the shoot-em-up and special effects are over when they’re over. They certainly don’t elicit thoughtful contemplation after the movie ends. So something more heart-provoking and thought-provoking and reflective sounds extremely appealing. I think I’ll go see Hope Springs this evening.
@Victoria…let us know what you thought of “Hope Springs!” I’m pretty sick of shoot-em-up’s too…
i loved Marigold Hotel – Having said that – I want to say Hope Springs was one of the most honest movies I’ve seen in a long time and Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones two of the most believable characters I’ve seen in a long time ….. maybe ever. Perhaps because the movie so humorously and painfully paralleled my own life – the scene in the movie theater broke my heart and tickled my funny bone all at the same time – that could have been me ….. the words, the facial expressions, the conflict, the frustration, the misunderstanding of each other – it was real life – Two good people and yet …….. Unfortunately, it was real life understood only by those of us who’ve reached a “certain age” and totally misunderstood and unappreciated by those who can’t imagine what life will be like at that “certain age.” I’ve read some very negative reviews – wonder the age of the reviewers. I heard a 30 something couple leaving the theater commiserating about what a horrible movie it was. Later that evening i watched my daughter, son-in-law and young adult grandson grimace at the thought of Meryl Streep doing a sex scene —- oh dear, forgive them for they know not what they say. For me …. I’ll be thinking about this movie for a long time. Marigold Hotel and Hope Springs will be a treasured part of my personal dvd library.
@CheriRae…I think it’s just the old generation gap that causes the younger kids to diss movies that show older folks like us having fun, including sex. While at Starbucks last weekend, I heard a 20-something woman say to her friend, “I am really sick of movies that show geezers like Meryl Streep having sex…” and then lots of laughter. I remember having a similar reaction when Ingrid Bergman, playing a wealthy widow, kissed Omar Sharif in “The Yellow Rolls Royce” many years ago. Times change. I just love it that we “of a certain age” as you gently put it, are getting some great movies like Marigold and Springs to enjoy at the theater! Thanks for your great comment!
@Shannon Ingram …. LOL …. we all see from our own perspective. Am curious about what other “geezer” movies that young woman has seen …. Think I’d like to watch them.
While I thought the acting was superb, I have to agree with Dallas Lady that the movie itself lacked something. Yes, it was honest, and realistic (mostly). But even TV “reality shows” have learned that they have to script some things to make everyday life a little more interesting to viewers.
“It’s Complicated” was a great movie, and it showed “older” people dealing with relatonship problems. Sure, the characters had alot more money and looked better in “It’s Complicated”, but I don’t think that was the main difference between that movie and “Hope Springs”. I just don’t think “Hope Springs” was that well thought out, as a whole, to appeal to audiences as a movie should. We don’t go to a movie to see a realistic slice of life. We go for fantasy and escape, whether through adventure or laughter or romance, or a combination of the three. There just was not enough laughter or romance in this movie to make it a winner. “It’s Complicated” worked for audiences of almost all ages because it DID have enough laughter and romance.
Again, I thought the acting in “Hope Springs” was wonderful. I love Meryl Streep in anything she does, ever since Kramer vs. Kramer. But Tommy Lee Jones may have even surpassed Ms. Streep in this movie. There were times that I got tears in my eyes just listening to the emotion of his character. Ultimately, however,, although my 65 year old husband and I, 51, thought the acting was great, we both only stayed in the theater because of the acting, because the movie itself dragged so much that it was hard to sit through the whole thing.
Svegas wrote:
“We don’t go to a movie to see a realistic slice of life. We go for fantasy and escape, whether through adventure or laughter or romance, or a combination of the three.”
Not necessarily. My husband and I watch slice of life movies all the time, some gritty, some not. There is definitely a place for ‘realistic’ movies, some with actors/actresses who do not meet the ludicrious Hollywood standards of beauty. Example–almost every movie by the great English director Mike Leigh. which feature some of the most outstanding character actors in the UK. The vast majority of the people he casts look like regular people. I find that comforting.
Good acting and great, relevant message and hopeful conclusion in the movie, but why does something so personal like sex need to be front and center. It’s bad enough that the sacred is so denigrated through pornography but to me it is just as bad to put it on screen in our faces like that in an otherwise intelligent and meaningful movie. I felt it was way too personal and that the story would have been way better served by a more developed story line where both lead actors could have really taken us on a journey of reality and discovery and hope. Placing the emphasis on such graphic sexual information didn’t do it for me.
Agree with Dallas Lady … Have seen Marigold several times. LOVE it. Wouldn’t see Hope Springs again, and will definitely NOT recommend the new movie with Jane Fonda “And if we all Lived Together” (French with subtitles). Unremarkable acting, morbid, and totally depressing …
Lovin all this dialog, ladies! Great interpretations and viewpoints, all worthwhile! It’s just so nice that we are going to see movies made with a more mature audience in mind because, if we don’t go see films like “Marigold” and “Hope Springs,” Hollywood will stop making or even distributing them if they are from Europe or other international production companies. I absolutely LOVE movies – all kinds – and feel blessed to have some new ones featuring mature actors.
Thanks for all your posts here!!!
I haven’t seen Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, but I saw Hope Springs this weekend. I found it too close to home, being a two-time loser at marriage.
I think it was very realistic, and showed both sides of why a marriage gets taken for granted. I also thought it was very slow, and not sure about the drama/comedy balance. I thought the timing was off, probably direction rather than the acting.
My cousin who was with me was offended by the sex (we’re both 60something) but I thought it was tastefully done. My mom (79) thought it was hilarious–but she never considered leaving either of her husbands.
It is good to portray older actors as normal humans, with similar issues as humans of younger ages. I’ve said for years that there are no stories for people over 30. I do like a good blow-em-up rather than a tear-jerker, however.
I finally saw “Hope Springs.” Frankly, I was disappointed. Not in the acting, which was superb, but in the character development, or rather lack thereof. I wanted to see Meryl Streep’s character get stronger so she had the nerve to speak up more (she did a bit in the doc’s office, but not enough in my book). And I wanted to see Tommy Lee Jones open his eyes and realize what a great wife he had. I did enjoy parts, especially in the doc’s office, but found it rather slow in the middle. Leaving the theater, I thought, if the wife had stood up for herself, maybe the husband would have respected her more and the relationship would somehow change. OK, so he came to her room. Did anything else change in the relationship? I don’t think so. What did I miss? I much preferred “Marigold Hotel,” from an entertainment and character development perspective.
Very good question Victoria. We don’t know what changed. I guess I didn’t go beyond the struggle and that I could definitely relate with. But, you’re right … coming to her room changed nothing and it would have been good to see her grow stronger and take action for her life that wasn’t totally dependent on what he did – or didn’t – do.
I’m glad for this discussion today. I saw Hope Springs over the weekend, and found it a little to close to my past life, the time when I was hoping to save/re-invent my own marriage with couples therapy. Much of the dialogue could’ve been taken from my therapy sessions. My former spouse was as reluctant and scoffing as Tommy Lee Jones’ character. I was more like Meryl’s character, hoping yet grasping at straws. As you can tell, I did pack my suitcase as Meryl’s character did, and, no, there was not any last minute significant gesture that made all the difference.
Somehow, I suspected there would be a Hollywood ending. Life does not imitate art.
I won’t be recommending the movie, and will describe it as “predictable”.
My husband and I went to see Hope Springs this past weekend. About 20 minutes into the movie I thought “Yikes this is our marriage.” It was uncanny, Meryl Streep was expressing exactly what I felt and had been trying to communicate unsuccessfully for years. I daren’t look at my husband as having your marriage exposed like this is frankly, pretty scary and sobering at the same time.
During the scene in the Inn with were Tommy Lee is trying to rekindle their marriage my husband reached over and held my hand. Thankfully the theatre was dark as the tears streamed down my cheeks. Later when we went for coffee, he said he hoped he hadn’t been quite as insensitive as Tommy Lee. This movie opened a whole new conversation about how we want to spend the rest of our lives. Perhaps we’ll be lucky and get that Hollywood ending!
Ah Lindaloo, your comment just made me teary! What a great, candid story. I hope you can continue that conversation that opened up and share some of your discoveries with our VN community. Awesome! And somehow I think your experience of the movie is what the director hoped to evoke in couples who could relate! Bravo!
Hi Anonymous,
Perhaps it was a wake up call to both of us. Life takes it’s toll on marriage, kids, lost love ones, difficult jobs and then retirement. Sometimes, we are so busy with the day to day stuff, we take each other for granted and neglect our love for each other.
We made a point of going out for breakfast this morning and drove over to the next town where we stumbled upon ‘The Water Buffalo Food Festival’. who knew? It was fun, trying new food and browsing the stores. The main thing is it got us doing something positive together. Making the effort to do things together – small things but it’s a start. I think my husband really wants this to work and it’s not just coming from me. We rented a cottage on the Maine coast and leave next Friday. I am hoping the solitude of the ocean will help us hear each other more honestly.
While I was disappointed in Hope Springs, if seeing the movie can help anyone trapped in that kind of marriage see how bad it is, and want to change it before it is too late, then Bravo! I, too, became teary reading Lindaloo’s posts, and hope that she and her husband are not the only ones who will benefit from this movie. Lindaloo, I wish you and your husband well. Sounds like a great new beginning.