MOVIE: I'll See You in My Dreams

I’ll See You in My Dreams: an adult film about the importance of having a dog in your life.  Blythe Danner plays the lead character, Carol, who has been a widow for 20 years.  In the opening scenes, Carol’s dog of 14 years has to be put to sleep.  Shortly afterwards, she has her first date since her husband’s passing.  We learn more and more about Carol as the story unfolds.  Prior to getting married, she’d been a performer with a band in NYC.  After her marriage, her life was focused on being a spouse and a teacher.  Part of what we learn of Carol is through a relationship she develops with her pool cleaner, Lloyd, played by Martin Starr, who gives an excellent performance as a young male adrift seeking some intelligent conversation.  On screen for far too short a time is Carol’s daughter, Katherine (Malin Akerman).  Carol spends a lot of time with three female friends who reside at a senior assisted living facility.  They play bridge and sip chardonnay.  Carol is not an alcoholic and this film is not a story about drinking buddies.  She does, however, have a remarkable capacity for alcohol.  The three friends are played by Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place and June Squibb.  The four ladies play off each other with humor and intelligence.  All appear to be in good health and, it’s implied, their financial comfort stems from having significant life insurance proceeds.  In Carol’s case, insurance money as the funding source is expressly stated.   As to what gives this film its true charm is the interaction between Carol and Bill, played excellently by Sam Elliot.  Bill is a retiree with no family, who has moved from Texas to Southern California with the singular task of enjoying life and spending his retirement money.  The adult exchanges between Carol and Bill are too rarely seen in today’s film offerings.  Brett Haley co-wrote and directed this excellent 95 minute film.  Although the movie gets a bit wordy at times, it addresses an important question: what do you do with your life after you retire?  This is a movie worth seeing.