80 for Brady
80 for Brady
Starring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field
Directed by Kyle Marvin
Starring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field
Directed by Kyle Marvin
There's a stigma in Hollywood that anyone over the age of 35 is considered too old and therefore are relegated to certain typecast roles: the stiff parent, the cancer patient, the eccentric aunt/uncle, or the character living with past regrets - and those are just roles for dramatic films. For comedies they're the clueless parent, the quirky retiree, or the "say anything because that's just old man/old woman [insert character name here]" role. While they can still earn award nominations for their dramatic typecast performances, their comedic roles are oftentimes discarded and demeaned due to the paper-thin storyline. Films like "Poms" (about a group of elderly women forming a cheerleading squad), "Going in Style" (about three retirees planning a bank heist), "Last Vegas" (a "Hangover" style film featuring older actors enjoying one last Vegas vacation), and last year's "Mack & Rita" (about a woman who transforms into an older woman to learn the values of being old) were all met with resounding sighs and eye-rolling due to their generic geriatric nature, and their lackluster storylines. "80 for Brady" follows that pattern, featuring four outstanding actresses who should be better stuff than this, but unlike the others this one actually has a poignant storyline and a fun, smile-infectious feel that - while nowhere near the caliber these leading ladies are used to - still manage to keep your attention and not have you sinking in your seats with sympathy cringe pain.
Lifelong friends Lou (Lily Tomlin), Trish (Jane Fonda), Maura (Rita Moreno) and Betty (Sally Field) have gathered together for the last sixteen years to watch their favorite football quarterback - Tom Brady - play for the New England Patriots. During the 2017 Super Bowl, there is a contest offering tickets for anyone who has the best story, and Lou's story of how they gathered together for the first game leads to her winning the tickets, and the girls fly off to Houston to see their beloved Brady and the Pats play against the Atlanta Falcons. Before the game begins the girls participate in the Super Bowl experience and find themselves in trouble, but also have the time of their lives as they share their love of Brady and each other through the good times and the bad, proving that you're never too old to have a good time.
Films like "80 for Brady" could've fallen for the generic pitfalls of elder comedies, but thanks to a sharp script co-written by "Booksmart" duo Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins, the film moves at a breakneck speed where you're not lingering on one outrageous moment for too long, thus not allowing you to feel the cringe that's felt in other films of this particular subgenre. The bread and butter for films like this lie in its somewhat elder abuse it shows both intentionally and unintentionally, but none of these moments are the mainstay of the film - it's all about these girls, their undying relationships, and how they stick together through thick and thin. Many films like this like to make you point your fingers and laugh at them for being too old to understand (such as when they take drug-laced gummies, or learning how to flirt), but here you don't feel the cringe but rather the heart of the women, crafting them as smarter than the average octogenarian even when other, lesser writers would have you laughing at their stupidity. The set pieces come and go with ease, whether it be a hot wing eating contest, the aforementioned drug-gummy-fueled party, or the Super Bowl itself, there's so much to laugh with along these actresses who still deliver their all despite the low-brow theme.
That might be a bit harsh, because the film is based on five real-life women who always gathered together to watch Tom Brady play football (but, sadly, never attended a Super Bowl themselves), and the film does an excellent job at giving these women real emotions and more than just caricatures of elderly people who need younger people to help them understand things like these newfangled cell phones. They're smart, independent, strong, and multi-layered in ways that aren't written for elder actors in this subgenre, and their combined decades of talent is in full display to be appreciated and valued.
Lily Tomlin plays Lou, and is given the most dramatic storyline of the four. Sixteen years earlier she was diagnosed with cancer, which led to the girls starting their love for everything Brady. Now she wants to go to the Super Bowl more than anyone else because she's worried that the cancer has returned because she hasn't opened the letter from the doctor, and this could've been an overly dramatic portion of the film, but it's not focused on so much that it becomes melodramatic or melancholy, but just enough to showcase Tomlin's unparalleled talent.
Jane Fonda plays Trish, and her role could've been easily typecast as the "Golden Girls" Blanche Devereaux character. She's the most physically beautiful of the women and is a well-known author who writes erotic fan fiction centering around Rob Gronkowski (leading to a hilarious moment between the character and the Gronk himself) and who can't keep a relationship to save her life. While in Houston she meets former two-time Super Bowl champion Dan (played by Harry Hamlin), but instead of screwing like elderly rabbits, she is more cautious and reserved about the possible relationship because she knows she falls in love too quickly and doesn't want it to just be another fling. She also cares about her friends, unlike the typecast character who only focuses on her own vanity.
Rita Moreno plays Maura, who lost the love of her life a year earlier and is still struggling with the loss, but also hasn't lost her zeal for life. She is impulsive and reckless in the most wonderful way, such as stumbling into a charity poker game and plays against the likes of great cameo actors Billy Porter, Patton Oswalt, and Retta. She doesn't want to be confined in an old folks home but wants to return to the home she built with her husband, and she also manages to let loose and let fly, resulting in some of the most hilarious moments of the film.
Sally Field plays Betty, the former MIT professor who still has a love for numbers but is feeling erased by her husband (a perfectly placed Bob Balaban) who constantly just uses her for her math prowess. A character like this is in danger of being typecast as the responsible one (even though she's labeled as such in the film, left in charge of the tickets), but there's more to Betty than meets the eye, and Field has her own moments to shine - most notably in a spicy wing eating contest hosted by Guy Fieri, who plays a wonderful offbeat version of himself. She might not know how to flirt anymore, but Betty steals the hearts of the audience with impeccable ease.
Is "80 for Brady" an Oscar-worthy film? Not by any means, but it's a film that's sorely needed today: a unique, fun, and simple story about four lifelong friends experiencing the most amazing adventure of their lives together. They prove that age is nothing but a number, and even though they encounter the typical ageist prejudices they never let that get to them, but become the stars of the show in every scene they're in. Whether they're cutting loose on the dance floor at a party or hilariously dancing for a bouncer to "prove" that they're backup dancers for the halftime show, your heart is with these women and their unbridled passion to see Tom Brady play in person - and Brady himself offers a heartfelt and also hilarious cameo. It's better than most elder actor comedy films, and by the end you'll have an infectious smile on your face and a newfound hope for a future beyond an old folks home with the friends you've made along the way.
The Score: C
Lifelong friends Lou (Lily Tomlin), Trish (Jane Fonda), Maura (Rita Moreno) and Betty (Sally Field) have gathered together for the last sixteen years to watch their favorite football quarterback - Tom Brady - play for the New England Patriots. During the 2017 Super Bowl, there is a contest offering tickets for anyone who has the best story, and Lou's story of how they gathered together for the first game leads to her winning the tickets, and the girls fly off to Houston to see their beloved Brady and the Pats play against the Atlanta Falcons. Before the game begins the girls participate in the Super Bowl experience and find themselves in trouble, but also have the time of their lives as they share their love of Brady and each other through the good times and the bad, proving that you're never too old to have a good time.
Films like "80 for Brady" could've fallen for the generic pitfalls of elder comedies, but thanks to a sharp script co-written by "Booksmart" duo Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins, the film moves at a breakneck speed where you're not lingering on one outrageous moment for too long, thus not allowing you to feel the cringe that's felt in other films of this particular subgenre. The bread and butter for films like this lie in its somewhat elder abuse it shows both intentionally and unintentionally, but none of these moments are the mainstay of the film - it's all about these girls, their undying relationships, and how they stick together through thick and thin. Many films like this like to make you point your fingers and laugh at them for being too old to understand (such as when they take drug-laced gummies, or learning how to flirt), but here you don't feel the cringe but rather the heart of the women, crafting them as smarter than the average octogenarian even when other, lesser writers would have you laughing at their stupidity. The set pieces come and go with ease, whether it be a hot wing eating contest, the aforementioned drug-gummy-fueled party, or the Super Bowl itself, there's so much to laugh with along these actresses who still deliver their all despite the low-brow theme.
That might be a bit harsh, because the film is based on five real-life women who always gathered together to watch Tom Brady play football (but, sadly, never attended a Super Bowl themselves), and the film does an excellent job at giving these women real emotions and more than just caricatures of elderly people who need younger people to help them understand things like these newfangled cell phones. They're smart, independent, strong, and multi-layered in ways that aren't written for elder actors in this subgenre, and their combined decades of talent is in full display to be appreciated and valued.
Lily Tomlin plays Lou, and is given the most dramatic storyline of the four. Sixteen years earlier she was diagnosed with cancer, which led to the girls starting their love for everything Brady. Now she wants to go to the Super Bowl more than anyone else because she's worried that the cancer has returned because she hasn't opened the letter from the doctor, and this could've been an overly dramatic portion of the film, but it's not focused on so much that it becomes melodramatic or melancholy, but just enough to showcase Tomlin's unparalleled talent.
Jane Fonda plays Trish, and her role could've been easily typecast as the "Golden Girls" Blanche Devereaux character. She's the most physically beautiful of the women and is a well-known author who writes erotic fan fiction centering around Rob Gronkowski (leading to a hilarious moment between the character and the Gronk himself) and who can't keep a relationship to save her life. While in Houston she meets former two-time Super Bowl champion Dan (played by Harry Hamlin), but instead of screwing like elderly rabbits, she is more cautious and reserved about the possible relationship because she knows she falls in love too quickly and doesn't want it to just be another fling. She also cares about her friends, unlike the typecast character who only focuses on her own vanity.
Rita Moreno plays Maura, who lost the love of her life a year earlier and is still struggling with the loss, but also hasn't lost her zeal for life. She is impulsive and reckless in the most wonderful way, such as stumbling into a charity poker game and plays against the likes of great cameo actors Billy Porter, Patton Oswalt, and Retta. She doesn't want to be confined in an old folks home but wants to return to the home she built with her husband, and she also manages to let loose and let fly, resulting in some of the most hilarious moments of the film.
Sally Field plays Betty, the former MIT professor who still has a love for numbers but is feeling erased by her husband (a perfectly placed Bob Balaban) who constantly just uses her for her math prowess. A character like this is in danger of being typecast as the responsible one (even though she's labeled as such in the film, left in charge of the tickets), but there's more to Betty than meets the eye, and Field has her own moments to shine - most notably in a spicy wing eating contest hosted by Guy Fieri, who plays a wonderful offbeat version of himself. She might not know how to flirt anymore, but Betty steals the hearts of the audience with impeccable ease.
Is "80 for Brady" an Oscar-worthy film? Not by any means, but it's a film that's sorely needed today: a unique, fun, and simple story about four lifelong friends experiencing the most amazing adventure of their lives together. They prove that age is nothing but a number, and even though they encounter the typical ageist prejudices they never let that get to them, but become the stars of the show in every scene they're in. Whether they're cutting loose on the dance floor at a party or hilariously dancing for a bouncer to "prove" that they're backup dancers for the halftime show, your heart is with these women and their unbridled passion to see Tom Brady play in person - and Brady himself offers a heartfelt and also hilarious cameo. It's better than most elder actor comedy films, and by the end you'll have an infectious smile on your face and a newfound hope for a future beyond an old folks home with the friends you've made along the way.
The Score: C
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