Moving On

When it comes to comedies, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda are a magical combination. Whether it be the uproarious "Nine to Five" '81 or even more recently this year's "80 for Brady", their ability to practically finish each other's sentences is set in stone. However, with "Moving On", I don't believe it was their lack of presence in the film than it was a bit in the writing that caused this film to be needing more.

Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin star as estranged friends Claire and Evelyn respectively, who reunite at a good friends' funeral with Claire bent on revenge of the petulant widower, Howard (Malcolm McDowell). Meanwhile, as Claire is at the wake, she runs into Ralph (Richard Roundtree) whom she was married to years prior and has since divorced. As Claire and Ralph start to reunite, both Evelyn and Claire learn to make peace with the past and each other. Can any peace really happen with such dysfunctional people attempting to be civil for the funeral's sake?

Others to round out the cast are Catherine Dent as Molly, Sarah Buns as Allie, Howard's daughter, Marcel Nahapetian as James, Santina Muha as James' mom and Eddie Martinez as James' dad.

This was effortlessly directed by veteran Paul Weitz ("American Pie" '99, "Down to Earth" '01, "About a Boy" '02, "In Good Company" '04, "American Dreamz" '06, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant" '09, "Little Fockers" '10, "Being Flynn" '12, "Admission" '13, "Grandma" '15, "Bel Canto" '18, "Fatherhood" '21) plus TV. This filmmaker is one of those stables in Hollywood, yet a constant staple in today's filmdom. With all compliments, Weitz is the quintessential director that any audience can depend on in giving them solid performances by his actors. Just take a peek at his resume and you'll see what I mean. It was executed fairly also by writer Paul Weitz ("Antz" '98, "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" 2000, "About a Boy"'02, "In Good Company" '04, "American Dreamz" '06, "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant" '09, "Being Flynn" '12, "Grandma" '15, "Bel Canto" '18, "Fatherhood" '21) plus TV and a short. Even though Weitz has been a screenwriter longer than a director, this simply carried a bit too many places of slowness and places that one wondered why they were even in the film. I think it would've been funnier and more effective if rhese rwo lead characters were attempting to con or even blackmail Howard instead of trying to simply kill him. The latter just doesn't seem as funny as the former. Mind you, where parts of the premise lacked, the banter between Claire and Evelyn was first rate. This was more of a comedy/drama instead of just a comedy, and I felt that since it was only a comedy, I realized that I was a bit disappointed since it did get a bit more dramatic, but after a point, the story did pick up and became the film we were all looking for. 

Certainly if you're a Fonda/Tomlin fan, you'll love this since they are consummate pros. It's a film that reunites the likes of these two very talented actors and that was all I needed to get me into the multiplex. Paul Weitz is a talented filmmaker, but even pros have their off days. 

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                          Rated: R                                           85mins.