Wild Oats

I just adored Wild Oats. MacLaine and Jessica are so electric when on screen together, their chemistry works so well and it is so heartwarming to see these two veteran legendary screen icons interact and be so close. Demi Moore is good here too, her supporting performance is focused and it just hits the spots that are necessary. There are so many funny lines of dialogue in this film and I loved hearing them come from the actors on screen, because they were just the right people for them, I'm glad Demi replaced SJP too, I mean I like SJP, but Demi is better in this particular role. The plot may seem trite and formulaic, and in some ways, it is, but I suggest that you actually sit down and watch this movie, it may surprise you. It was much more emotional and touching then I expected it to be, especially towards the ending. Also, it teaches great messages, it teaches messages of long term true friendship, love, coping with loss, and that you are never too old to let loose and have a little fun, age is but a number folks. 8/10 for Wild Oats, go enjoy it, it won't let ya down! Also, like the second to last scene of the movie is just sooo sweet and touching and it almost made me cry!

MacLaine and Lange are terrific together. It wouldn't seem so given their individual careers and past performances. The movie itself is very nice. There are contrivances. But, a lot of movies do these days. The two lead actresses have great chemistry together. I would hope that more people will find the movie, and enjoy it. I was a little ahead of the story at one point, and hoping my thoughts would not come true. But, they did. Still, by that point, I'd bought into the movie. In other reviews, they talk about the script. The other characters could have been better written and fleshed out. So, I agree somewhat with the negative reviews. I would recommend the movie as something nice to watch on an afternoon.

Shirley MacLaine, a recently-widowed retired schoolteacher, and Jessica Lange, her best friend of 40 years who was recently dumped by her husband, decide to take advantage of an insurance agency's error and deposit MacLaine's check for $50,000,000 that should have been made out for $50,000; Howard Hesseman, the agency's oldest employee, is selected as the patsy who must get the company's money back or be fired. Geriatric travelogue takes the ladies to Gran Canaria, a picturesque island in Spain, where Shirley is taken in by con-artist Billy Connolly, who prays on wealthy widowed tourists. With so much plot packed into its 86-minute running time, it's no wonder that director Andy Tennant wasn't able to keep it all together. The opening scenes, with MacLaine behaving addle-brained and Lange acting much older than she actually is, are funny and silly but tolerable; second-half in Spain becomes a squashy narrative mess, with lots of 'cute' asides between the gals, who banter in a casual low-key, gamble, meet men, end their sex droughts, and never miss a chance to hug or cry. It's a little old lady's wish-fulfillment fantasy done up like a TV sitcom. ** from ****

Eva Fenton (Shirley MacLaine) buries her husband as her best friend Maddie Reynolds (Jessica Lange) hysterically cries at the funeral. She's alone except for her daughter Crystal (Demi Moore) who is looking to sell her home. She is shocked when her husband's $50k life insurance arrives with an erroneous $5 million payout. Maddie's husband ran off with his young secretary and she's sick. Eva decides to take Maddie on a vacation to the Canary Islands where Eva falls for Chandler (Billy Connolly). Meanwhile, insurance investigator Alvin Vespucci (Howard Hesseman) and Crystal chase them to retrieve the money.

Andy Tennant may not be a top level director but the flaws here are mostly due to the writing. MacLaine and Lange try their best but they can't overcome the weak writing. It has some bad sitcom writing. When it tries to be broad, it doesn't know how to do it right. The only saving grace is the legendary actors on the screen. I stayed with this for them but I was not rewarded.

This film offers two good performances amidst a terrible screenplay and annoying characters. Shirley MacLaine and Jessica Lange play longtime friends who hightail it to the Canary Islands (where the entire film was shot) after MacLaine receives an erroneous insurance check for $5M. They get makeovers and meet up with a vague and really annoying man (Billy Connolly) who squires the ladies to a casino where MacLaine wins a bundle. In the meantime an insurance investigator (Howard Hesseman) drags MacLaine's daughter (a dour Demi Moore) along as he chases them down. MacLaine and Lange keep things afloat up to this point, but the already-bad screenplay takes another bad turn and becomes ludicrous. The two Oscar-winning stars are great fun, but the other characters as written are too annoying for the actors to salvage them. This film was in development for years and has a long list of actors attached to various roles. Could have been a lot of fun.