Peace, Love & Misunderstanding

Three talented actresses (Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener and Elizabeth Olsen) provided the drive for this over-simplistic view of intergenerational differences and the search for happiness. While clichés abound, the plots twists can be seen miles away but yet occur in the blink-of-an-eye without any rationalization, and the characters border on being one- dimensional, this movie is a guilty pleasure. I would probably credit the ability to overcome this movie's weaknesses to the acting skills and the on-screen charisma of Ms. Fonda and Ms. Keener.

The male characters are even more one-dimensional than the female leads. The only person to get less to do than the abandoning husband (Kyle MacLachlan) is the talented Patricia Arquette who may have only 1 or 2 lines in the movie which require a double take to confirm her presence. I suspect that post-production was not kind to whatever other dialog must have been originally written for her.

While the movie has many weaknesses, the stellar soundtrack and magnificent cinematography are not among them.

Clocking in at barely over 90 minutes, I would recommend this movie to those who do not mind a little fluff every now and then.

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If you lack motivation or simply are looking for relaxation, you'll like Peace, Love & Misunderstanding. There is nothing groundbreaking in it, nevertheless, the cast delivers an excellent performance. It goes to the extent that even the actors that might annoy you don't bother you throughout the movie.

There is a lot of stereotyping here, but i didn't expect anything else from a romantic comedy involving hippies in Woodstock in the year 2011. Jane Fonda looks like a grandma every teenager would love to have, adorable despite all the escapades. She was the only reason i saw Peace, Love & Misunderstanding and i liked the way Barbarella had aged...

Funny comment in the last user review. The bus in the movie was not a prop. It just happened to be there on the property where they were filming already. If you go to Woodstock, indeed in many towns in the Hudson Valley, you will still see quite a few psychedelic painted vehicles. Many of the extras used in the film live in the area. They all just dressed and acted normally. Woodstock is Woodstock! The writing and acting may have seemed exaggerated, but if anything, it was downplayed. Check out the motorcycle gang - they are really members of the local motorcycle club. I viewed the movie at the Woodstock film festival and it was fun to watch everyone that was in the film enjoy seeing themselves on the big screen.

Kudos to Bruce Beresford for making a really great film with heart and soul. All the cast are amazing - especially Jane Fonda as the grandmother, she really pops in this one. Chase Crawford is hot and homegrown, as is the Javier Bardem - look a like - Jeffrey Dean Morgan. We'd like to see more of him. Catherine Keener is believable as the uptight attorney. I felt a little cheated that Patricia Arquette was not in more scenes, one can only surmise she hit the cutting room floor. Loved seeing the Woodstock locals and the location used as characters. I was in the story for the complete ride. Timeless story. A must see. Why is it only in one theater here in New York?

This movie is splendid! I had forgotten that Jane Fonda is an excellent actress. The scenery, with the landscape and vintage "props", is a wonderful reminder of the years that birthed care for the earth, inclusivity, and questioning the status quo. The story profiles the inevitable misunderstandings between generations, and the life lessons we can teach one another. Perhaps this is a movie enjoyed more by women, but many young men participated in the hippie culture, and many of today's women and men were conceived in fields of wildflowers. Although the film profiles a narrow 10-to-15-year span in our history, it provides an intimate glimpse into that era, to be enjoyed by multiple generations. I hope to see it again soon, because there was simply too much to "take in" in one viewing.