Hope Springs

source: Hope Springs

I was so excited to watch this 'seemingly' entertaining movie. All the good stuff was shown in the preview and the rest is garbage. Don't bother. Meryl Streep was, well, Meryl Streep. I find she has one role that she is capable of acting and they write movies to fit her in as the actress. I like Tommy Lee Jones as an actor, but THIS is definitely not the role for him. I was very disappointed in this movie and how they portrayed it to be something better/different in the previews. It was not all that entertaining - in fact it was uncomfortable to watch at times. There was no connection between Streep and Jones - which was possibly the biggest disappointment of all. Carrell, on the other hand, was outstanding in his role - and as always, did not disappoint. He didn't have much to work with, so he made up for where the script lacked. And it lacked A LOT!

Considering the word "funny" appeared on the box twice, you might expect a bit of humor. And you would be disappointed. I made the mistake of watching this with my wife on our anniversary, and it is seriously depressing. A "feel good romantic comedy"? To consider this a comedy, I would have to delight in the suffering of others, because that's all you get. I'm not expecting slapstick, but I was expecting some wit and gentle humor. Instead, all this film does is give a slice of life as to the struggles of a couple who have grown apart. Had this been presented as a drama, or even a "dramedy," I might be a bit more patient with it. But it is presented as a comedy and it fails... our moods were actually worse by the time the credits rolled.

I saw it the first time 10 years ago when it came out, and I was 16. It was the first time ever I saw or heard people over 50 in combination with sex. Because of that, this movie was a big deal to me. It's also warm, genuine and striking, touching. I watched it again today and yeah, it's an important movie I think. I genuinely thought retirees didn't have sex. Sure a kiss on the cheek and a touch on the arm when passing each other, maybe cuddling before sleep. But I thought that when you became older for most people the lust and desire just vanished, like, physically. Just want to say, this movie deserves a higher score than the 6.3 it currently has, and it, well, it springs hope.