calvinnme
... written and directed by Blake Edwards. Jack Lemmon stars as a man having a late mid-life crisis of sorts, while his stoic wife, played by Julie Andrews, waits for the results of a biopsy. The whole film takes place over one fraught weekend as their grown children come to visit for Lemmon's impending birthday celebration.Jack Lemmon really grated on my nerves in this one, with all of his late-career mannerisms and vocal inflections ratcheted up to the top. Andrews is good in a thankless role, although I kept hoping she would kick Lemmon in the face. Upper-class malaise and fear of mortality are decent subjects better explored in other films. Lemmon himself even seems to be repeating his earlier turn in Save the Tiger, although this time with less restraint. There are a couple of humorous touches, but few enough to leave comedy off of the film's description.This is the only Jack Lemmon movie I can think of that I have not enjoyed, and that is quite a feat.
Camoo
what on earth is this derelict excuse for a movie? Lemmon is usually such a great actor, but this movie brings out his worst. i saw this in the video store, saw it was directed by the guy who made 'breakfast at tiffany's' and 'the pink panther' and thought, hey, okay, let's try this out. but then i failed to remember the same guy made all the other pink panther movies as well. I gave the box to the guy at the counter and he gave me a tape in return. I would have had more fun bringing the empty box home and staring at that for an hour and a half. what a waste of two bucks fifty. I should have put down a hundred at Wal Mart for a Remington and shot myself after this movie finished. grumpy old men was better than this, and nothing is worse than grumpy old men except grumpier old men and out to sea. i was expecting an amazing team up here from two classic great actors and a classic director but they should have shared the price of a Remington and a box of cartridges and done themselves in. I'm flogging a dead horse. i just have nothing positive to say about this, except i like Lemmon usually but here he should have been called 'jack lemon'. ha ha. funny right. my joke was as funny as this movie was good.
emisue02
There are some movies you just get a good feeling about, and this (for me) is one of them. In every comment I've read here, though, no one mentioned the scene between Julie Andrews and Emma Walton, who are mother and daughter in real life and in the movie. Emma's character has just broken up with her boyfriend, and she spends the whole weekend in a bad mood until she finally breaks down crying and must be comforted by Julie's character. Lifetime channel, take note: sappy mother-daughter scenes work out best when you: 1-get real-life mother-daughter pairs and 2-let the mother (regardless of whether #1 is true or not) just speak from her heart. That's what Blake Edwards had enough sense to do, and it makes for one of the most touching mother-daughter scenes ever. Granted, Blake Edwards actually lived with these two people, so he may have had a better knowledge of their relationship and what would work, but most older actresses are mothers and could probably be capable of something similar. The rest of the film is great as well, with great performances all around, and a hilarious rambling from Jack at the beginning while he describes to Julie how his day at work went. This is the first movie that made my laugh and cry simultaniously (when Jack says he wanted to "bicycle himself to death"), and for that and the scene between Julie and Emma, watch this movie. It's way better than the box office will lead you to believe.
jrs-8
Don't be surprised if you have never heard of "That's Life." It came and went quickly in 1988.Jack Lemmon stars as a hypochondriac who is turning 60 and believes death is just around the corner. Of course nothing could be further from the truth. His wife is Julie Andrews as a singer who awaits the results of a test to see if she has cancer. But Lemmon is so wrapped up with his troubles his fails to realize his wife may be the one actually sick.I know the description makes the film sound down and depressing. Nothing can be further from the truth!! As directed by Blake ("10," "Pink Panther") Edwards, the film is laced with comedy to relieve the tension for the audience as well as Julie Andrews.This is a film for adults. It tackles real issues in real ways. The performances are all terrific and the mixture of comedy and drama are just right. It makes the film a qualified success.
AD
