For retired high school teacher and new widow Shirley MacLaine, dealing with the excessive condolences and overly worried children (including daughter Demi Moore) has driven her nutty. They are trying to get her to agree to sell the house, even bringing a real estate agent to the funeral. Outspoken friend Jessica Lange keeps the vultures at bay, and when by mistake MacLaine ends up with a huge insurance settlement by mistake, they decide to pick up and leave for someplace exotic (the Canary Islands), unaware that an insurance company executive has been assigned to get the money back.
The highlight of the film for me was a sequence when McLane and Lang are trying to get through to the insurance company and keep having issues with the automated teller, having me laughing hysterically, having been in that same predicament many times in this modern world. I've screamed at the phone just as MacLaine and Lange do here.
There's a charming old European businessman (Billy Connolly) as well as a sexy con-man (Santiago Segura) thrown into the mix. It's nice to see MacLaine getting away from her grumpy old lady routine, playing someone who's actually quite nice and full of life. It's Lange who gets to be the "Ouiser", bluntly rude to guests at the funeral who overstay their welcome or keep repeating the same trite showing of condolences. At some points, MacLaine is an older version of Mame Dennis while Lange is definitely closer to Vera Charles. Very pleasant and entertaining with MacLaine obviously enjoying being a bit closer to the type of role she played back in the 60's.
The highlight of the film for me was a sequence when McLane and Lang are trying to get through to the insurance company and keep having issues with the automated teller, having me laughing hysterically, having been in that same predicament many times in this modern world. I've screamed at the phone just as MacLaine and Lange do here.
There's a charming old European businessman (Billy Connolly) as well as a sexy con-man (Santiago Segura) thrown into the mix. It's nice to see MacLaine getting away from her grumpy old lady routine, playing someone who's actually quite nice and full of life. It's Lange who gets to be the "Ouiser", bluntly rude to guests at the funeral who overstay their welcome or keep repeating the same trite showing of condolences. At some points, MacLaine is an older version of Mame Dennis while Lange is definitely closer to Vera Charles. Very pleasant and entertaining with MacLaine obviously enjoying being a bit closer to the type of role she played back in the 60's.