Pluskylang
Great Film overall
Roman Sampson
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
dbrayshaw
Although I was alive during the hippie invasion, at that time, I was in survival mode due to various events. Therefore, the flower child culture did not penetrate my thinking. Only as much as the Vietnam Era was brought to me via the media was I conscious of that lifestyle.In '69, I dropped out of school, enlisted in the military, and ended up in the Middle East. It was there that I got a sampling of a weed induced head, but mixed with the tunes I most loved, within traditional country music and jazz, the psychedelic lifestyle still didn't emerge.In '72, I experienced an amazing conversion to Christianity through which I learned to love the absolute truths found in Scripture. That love challenged me to be obedient to a godly moral code. Despite how nice something may feel, it still can be immoral behavior.Grace's pot smoking, I have no trouble with as I am a proponent of its use, especially for health reasons, Also after having performed for decades as a bass player/singer in countless country bars, I view alcohol as being more potentially life threatening.Within this film exists a kind of coming-of-age theme, as well as one that insists that peace and love are the products of sex, the latter being the message that is, to me, off putting. Another theme, one that best resonates with me, is the release of burden, a birth of freedom through a refusal to hold onto hurts. It is about our responsibility to forgive those who trespass against us.However, freedom must have mixed with it, in order to be genuine, godly virtue, not some whimsical identification with nature that is self-defining, as Grace's unspecified spiritual connection to whomever or whatever. To love oneself, one must know how to die to oneself, to set aside every weight that is so easily besetting and to build into one's life a truly stabilizing foundation based on righteous principles.In this film, the laying aside of a former bad relationship to replace it with "free love" is a call to disenchantment and disillusionment. Okay, so Grace seems free, but she endorses sex whenever, with whomever, and encourages it without hesitation.There is nothing mentioned about what God says regarding fornication, or how our lives ought to be centered around a love for Jesus that helps us to strive against unrighteousness. Instead, we are called to let go of all restraint. A bad mistake.
jeyvars
This is a charming movie and could have been much better. Jane Fonda, of course, made it fabulous, both from an acting standpoint and just her very presence. She is amazing. Jeffery Dean Morgan stole every scene he was in, a really intelligent, kind actor. Catherine Keener is so perfectly cast, understated and vulnerable. Their relationship should have gotten more screen time and have been much more developed. Marissa O'Donnell and Nat Wolff are both adorable here and their relationship together is very believable. I did not like the role of Elizabeth Olsen. She is an interesting actress, but her dialogue and life experience seemed too mature for her and her relationship with the butcher felt beyond them. Their scenes together did not work and I found myself fast-forwarding through them the second time I watched it.
john32935
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. To see other of my movie reviews, please visit: https://nomorewastedmovienights.wordpress.com
Raul Faust
Well, I'm much aware that small movie productions usually have a lack of an entertaining plot, and fortunately, "Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding" isn't the case. From the get go, the plot is really fast paced, with plausible situations happening for most of the time. However, I may be a little suspicious to talk about it; I'm about to finish law school and I've always enjoyed the hippie culture, so I obviously liked both characters-- the hippie herself and the lawyer. This film is inspiring, and sometimes effectively causes to remember us how connected we are with nature and how we should consider it as our primal home. The scene in which the grandma states she doesn't name animals because they're not her children, but nature's, is really well thought and provocative for a reflection. The acting isn't THAT professional-- with exception of Jane Fonda's--, but it helps bringing reality to the flick. It's a good option for a family reunion, mainly if your family is one of those that fight for no reason and have a hard time on recognizing each other's qualities. Beautiful movie anyways.
