Elsa & Fred

This is a remake of a 2005 Argentinian movie of the same name in Spanish. I found it on Netflix streaming movies. Shirley MacLaine is Elsa Hayes, a mid-70s widow living in a condo at 2801 St Charles Avenue in New Orleans. This is a single 3-story building with several condos about 700 to 800 square feet each. A freshly widowed 80-isn man, Christopher Plummer as Fred Barcroft, is moving into the adjacent condo. He seems to just be waiting for life to end, he spends lots of time just lying in his bed, with no interest in getting out of his living space. Elsa, on the other hand, seems full of life and right away she greets Fred and tries to get him to do things. When his caregiver is absent and his kitchen faucet starts to spray water everywhere, in desperation he gets Elsa to help him and she does. It becomes the catalyst for her to take a greater interest in him. This is a very nice movie, character studies of two people in the twilight time of their lives. They have issues with adult children, and she has to go to the dialysis clinic weekly. She doesn't seem to have much time left, but they begin to fall in love with each other. It isn't the kind of movie that can attract decent audiences at theaters against mega-buck blockbusters, but it is a very nice smaller movie with some of the best actors of their times.

Maybe parts for older actors are a bit more difficult to come by, but why two great performers like Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer agreed to appear in such dross is beyond me. Clearly, given this currently has a rating of 6.5 on IMDb, not everyone agrees with me, now I am not the biggest rom-com fan around, so this starts at a bit of a disadvantage, but give me a descent one and I am more than happy to watch it and give a higher rating if merited. For a start it's listed as a comedy, one little snigger is all I found throughout. The music is just awful, the story is very predictable, it's pretty bad all round. The stars do, at least, try to give it a go but even the true romantics out there may find it hard to find anything to shout about here.

What a bizarre experience this movie was -- and not in a good way! It began kind of cute, sweet and innocent and showing many signs it would be a meaningful movie well worth watching. However, Elsa has a lying problem. That is, she lies. A lot. And the one person she lies the most to is Fred. Not a good sign. This movie portrays an old woman who is a pathological liar as if it were both cute and romantic. Being an older woman myself, I can tell you that the older I get the more I realize that lying is neither cute nor romantic, and this kind of message in a film really irks me big-time. Then when she tells Fred about her ex (who she had previously said died but who really didn't die, and she got caught in that lie) she told her "sob story" of how he cheated on her and so she went to another country to pay for a handsome young male prostitute, then came home and told her ex about it, saying that if he could cheat on her then she could cheat on him. The punch line was that he said it was okay for him because he was a man. I guess this is the point where we are supposed to say, "Oh good, she is just being a feminist." Ugh. I don't really care to cover anymore of the story except to say that I felt cheated myself -- of an hour or two of my time -- for having watched this ludicrous film which seems to give a moral to the story of it's okay to lie, and oh look, it's even kind of cute and romantic and whimsical and totally okay. Not!

Review: This is a very sweet movie about a elderly couple who fall in love after bumping into each other in there apartment block.The man, played by Christopher Plummer, is quite a stubborn fellow who moans about any and everything. The woman, played by Shirley MacLaine, is a happy go lucky lady who gets the most out of life and lives in the fantasy world of film. When Plummer moves into her apartment building, she tries her utmost to get his attention but his difficult ways makes the task a uphill struggle. When they both finally admit there feeling for each other, the movie switches into a beautiful love story which is played extremely well by these two veteran actors. It was great to see George Segal back on the big screen alongside James Brolin who hasn't been on the big screen for some time. I've always been a fan of Shirley MaClaine because of her acting style, which is natural and realistic. It does take some time to get going because of Plummers refusal to get out of bed but it's an emotional movie which made me laugh in parts. Watchable! Round-Up: These Veteran actors really do put these young and upcoming actors to shame! Shirley MaClaine, who still can pull out a great performance at the age of 81, is brilliant at mixing comedy with emotional drama and it's good to see her back on the big screen. Christopher Plummer is also doing well at the age of 85 and after winning the Best Supporting award at the Oscars in 2012, he's finally earning the respect that he truly does deserve. The director, who also made Beginners and Thumbsucker, has only made 10 movies in his career but he has to be the man whose responsible for bringing Christopher Plummer back the mainstream. He done a great job with this film and he definitely got the most out of the actors but the ending could have done with a rewrite. Budget: $10million Worldwide Gross: N/A I recommend this movie to people who are into their drama/love stories about an elderly couple who fall in love with each other after meeting up in there apartment block. 4/10

If you are of a certain age and still hopeful about life and love, you will love this movie. Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer are perfectly cast and give wonderful performances, especially Shirley. I will not go into the plot or reveal any spoilers but suffice it say that this is the perfect lazy, glass of wine with cheese and fruit Saturday afternoon movie for those of guys of a certain age.

I enjoy films that show old people still having a life of fun, laughter and romance, and this one does just that. Shirley Maclaine and Christopher Plummer are great in this and make a believable couple as the depressed and grumpy Fred and his kooky, fun-loving neighbour Elsa. They are ably supported by a great cast, including the brilliant George Segal. Oh and wow, James Brolin looks really handsome in a small role here, I think he'd have been about 74 when he made this! The music is lovely, and Elsa's obsession with the movie La Dolce Vita provides a wonderful, poignant scene towards the end. A film to make you smile and feel that, even if you are old, you can still live a good life if you're lucky enough to have someone special.

Remake (again) of a much better (latinamerican) movie. Argentinian cinema is (one of) the best industries in LatinAmerica, with some quality movies who have made their way in numerous festivals and even foreign category in the US-Hollywood backed Oscars. From time to time, US-cinema copies the movies, as we saw previously in K-Pax (remake/copy of "Man looking Southeast", which is the worst of these examples. Again, in this case, the US copy has stripped all of the good quality dialogues, and change the sarcastic humor for a more basic low standard jokes, including that translating sarcastic intelligent jokes from Spanish to English is not easy task. Not all is bad, as the good choice of cast with big names make it up for the effort as they do their best to try and save this simplistic version. Getting the latinamerican version with English subtitles is not that difficult, and if not, it's always worth it to learn Spanish, to better catch the many more humorist moments.

I really like Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer. So, I was pretty surprised to find them starring in "Elsa & Fred". After all, Netflix Streaming lists the two stars as (Gasp!) Marcia Gay Harden and James Brolin. Hello Netflix! James Brolin appears in only TWO scenes. I guess whoever listed "Elsa and Fred" are either Gen X or Gen Y. Otherwise, he or she would realized BOTH Shirley MacLaine AND Christopher Plummer have won Oscars! Well, yes, so has Marcia Gay Harden; but JAMES BROLIN? Anyway, the ignorance of those responsible for Netflix Streaming is the LEAST of the problems with "Elsa & Fred". I do not care if Michael Radford DID win an audience award. Radford's direction is listless; and nearly the entire first half of "Elsa & Fred" plays out almost as a series of unconnected scenes. Despite the great efforts of MacLaine and Plummer, there is simply NO chemistry between them during the first half. However, once Plummer's character "comes out of his shell," the chemistry between him and Shirley MacLaine is quite touching. Unfortunately, by then, it is too late. The narrative builds no tension, even with the cliché "character in jeopardy" subplot. More engaging music would certainly have helped. If you really want to see this type of movie done right, watch "Still Mine," with James Cromwell and Genevieve Bujold. Now, THAT is a "geriatric love story" worth seeing. Oh, I must point out, when MacClaine dresses as "Anita Ekberg," MacClaine proves she is STILL hot at 80. Sadly, I must ALSO point out that James Brolin, at 74, looks WAY too young to be convincing as MacLaine's estranged husband. I give "Elsa & Fred" a "4".

I didn't expect too much of this but came away pleasantly surprised. Maclaine and Plummer had good chemistry and it was a good reminder that life and feelings don't stop with the first grey hair. I thought the relationships between parents and children were realistic as it's almost a role reversal and the children start treating the parents like children. It was a change watching a love story that didn't involve a handsome young man and a beautiful young woman and showed that love is love no matter what age you are when you find it. Although the plot was predictable, it was a nice ride and one I would recommend for a Sunday afternoon.

I was so looking forward to this movie, but halfway through it, I actually considered turning it off. In general, I really like the "old folks get a second chance at love" movies, but this one really fell flat. A lonely widower and a kooky, slightly older vivacious woman hit it off. Newly Oscar-ed Christopher Plummer and an always delightful Shirley MacLaine—what could go wrong? The bad news: the plot went wrong. The good news: there was nothing wrong with the veteran actors' performances. If you're a hopeless fan of either actor, you'll probably end up seeing this one. After all, I did. But it's really not very good. Christopher Plummer's character just doesn't make any sense; he's cranky, he's hopeful, he's lusting after his maid, he's in love with Shirley MacLaine, he couldn't care less about Shirley MacLaine, he's capable, he's getting senile—See what I mean? And Shirley MacLaine's character is one feather shy of a loon. She's grandiose and full of life, and for absolutely no fathomable reason other than "new blood" she pursues her neighbor. She recreates the classic fountain scene from La Dolce Vita and expects the fuddy-duddy to break free of his shell and join in her eccentric behavior, when he's made it perfectly clear he has no such intention. I struggled to understand her character as well, and let me tell you, when you're battling confusion from both leads and boredom from the plot, it's not very fun.