“Peace, Love and Misunderstanding” is an enjoyable comedy if
you don’t expect too much and don’t look too deeply at the plot. Jane Fonda has
her juiciest part in years as Grace, an aging hippie, a free-loving sculptor,
painter and pot dealer in Woodstock, NY.
Grace introduces weed to her grandchildren, Zoe (Elizabeth Olsen) and
Jake (Nat Wolf) then tells them not to tell their mom, Diane (Catherine
Keener), an uptight lawyer who has brought the kids to Woodstock to meet her
long-estranged mother after her marriage implodes. Diane is still angry at
Grace’s promiscuity while she was growing up and that Grace sold pot to Diane’s
friends at Diane’s wedding. There are predictable mother-daughter clashes, but
Grace helps Diane loosen up by fixing her up with a local carpenter/singer
(Jeffrey Dean Morgan).
There isn’t anything we haven’t seen before in the script by
first-timers Christina Mengert and Joseph Muszynski, including the documentary
Jake is making with his camcorder and all of the hippie clichés (wind chimes,
demonstrations for peace and an ancient VW bus). And Grace easily overcomes all
of the problems Diane and the kids have. Nonetheless, everything works because
of the excellent cast, guided by veteran director Bruce Beresford. Keener adds depth and complexity to her
tough, cynical character and Fonda, still beautiful, plays her character with enthusiasm
tinged with a little self-parody. “Peace,
Love and Misunderstanding” is full of superficial fun, but not much more. 6/8/12
1 comment:
I rather enjoyed this off-beat film, lots of laughs and good old 70s and 80s music. Perfect role for Jane Fonda in this modern day Woodstock movie.
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