’80 for Brady’ | Movie Review | Republic-Times

Having always enjoyed the work of Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Sally Field and Rita Moreno, I had high expectations for “80 for Brady”. The film, from screenwriters Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpern (“Booksmart”) is directed by Kyle Marvin (“The Climb”) and is produced by the film’s namesake.

Very loosely based on the friendship of four older ladies from North Attleborough, Mass., brought together by a mutual infatuation with Tom Brady, the film tells the story of Lou (Tomlin), Trish (Fonda), Betty (Field) and Maura (Moreno) and their desire to go to the 2017 Super Bowl to see their idol play.

Fans of the four legendary stars will support me when I say these ladies always do a great job. In film and TV roles and even guest appearances or talk show talks, all of these seasoned veterans show us why they’re still viable icons. They’re equally hilarious, have great timing, and obviously have years of training and experience.

When you see one of these, you are reminded why they are fan favorites. Tomlin and Fonda in their hysterical “Grace and Frankie” series, Field’s impeccable comedic timing in movies like “Mrs. Doubtfire” and the underrated “Hello, My Name is Doris,” and really, Moreno’s appearances n anywhere; all defend themselves, even rise well above the others in matters of comedy. We won’t even mention their masterful talents in numerous dramatic and award-winning roles.

However, even though they do their best to exude professionalism and charm, the writer relegates the ladies to one-note characterizations and not even their expertise can pump up this slow, contrived snoozefest. There are times in the film where the audience will most likely wonder, “What was that about?” – from cheesy dialogue to a hot wing-eating contest to an awkward dance sequence, as well as the shameless branching of Microsoft products and the NFL Experience theme park.

Of course, there were fun times and pleasures to be had, and if you’re going to see this film to rejoice in seeing these four ladies, they deliver. Still, hopefully that’s not the kind of stuff that will be offered to these pros from now on. They still have enough in them to be offered good fleshy things.

Heck, maybe the four of them just said “Sounds like fun. Let’s do it.” I mean, after all, it’s obvious they all had a great time. I also wonder if the writing staff, director, and producers just said, “It’s going to be a party. Let’s do this, and that, and that. Oh, and add this.

There were still things that I liked in the film. It was good to see all four ladies, of course, plus good times from a few actors, cameos, and supporting cast members. I loved seeing Fonda literally letting her hair down and accepting to appear as an octogenarian, especially in a vulnerable scene with Tomlin. It was also nice to see the crazy, great Sally Kirkland, even though she was underutilized and her talent was wasted.

The same, unfortunately, can be said about four stars.

Don’t go to this movie with high expectations. While I’d love to see people go back to the movies and back to the days when we “went to the movies”, I can’t in good faith ask you to spend money on a ticket and a junior popcorn/ $22 soda. . If you must, watch this one on a streaming service, or better yet, wait until it’s offered for free somewhere. You won’t miss much and you can make your own popcorn.

I regret to say that my rating for this one is a very generous C-, only going above a failing grade due to the A+ rating stars, which still made it enjoyable.

“80 for Brady” opens tomorrow and is rated PG-13 for drug use, suggestive dialogue and profanity. The operating time is 1 hour and 38 minutes.