Tomlin, Fonda and Moreno crowd-pleasing – The Hollywood Reporter

If 80 for Brady It lures a cohort of 55+ people into the multiplex from your living room flatscreen, but it doesn’t turn into a bromide of friendship. The film’s appeal lies in its strong quartet chemistry and comical spark potential, and at the forefront of it, the star-like swarm of Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field make it happen. .

They played the Patriots, led by longtime friends, especially Tom Brady, who found a love for football in their later years, and in 2017 they trekked from Massachusetts to Texas to see the team at the Super Bowl. You know that was not a normal year for the sport. The rest of us will be enlightened. With Brady producing and playing himself (with plenty of charm) and the NFL providing dynamic footage of the game, there’s no question of the ballpark’s authenticity.

The story itself, most of which isn’t set in a stadium, is a varied, gritty, sweet and silly mixture of everyday reality, sitcom banter, and pure adoration fantasy. Scripted by Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins. Second Act of Carol When book smartdirected by indie producer Kyle Marvin (the climb) at the helm of his first film, 80 for Brady Lay out all your plays on the surface, sometimes frantically. It’s when Marvin steps back and unleashes his star that the film finds traction.

Each central figure is given a cross. Her recently widowed Maura of Moreno has put her life on hold in a posh retirement community called Calm Gardens. Field’s Betty claims that she is a retired MIT mathematics professor who brings the logician’s analysis to the group’s pranks, but she is long married and in need of a snobbish husband (Bob the Balaban). I have been suffering for a long time.Fonda, candy pink lipstick and assorted dynasty– Worthy Wigs plays Trish, a serial monogamist, a former TV commercial mascot who writes soccer-themed romance novels and has a knack for falling for the wrong guy. As Lou, the group’s so-called quarterback, Tomlin is a cancer survivor with a worried daughter (Sara Gilbert). She’s also the reason women are so devoted to Brady and Pat. Their grit on the field proved inspiring when she was undergoing chemotherapy.

The script grasps how superstitions control rational people in the name of dedication to a sports team. Every time they get together to watch a Patriots game, Lou and his buddies go so far as to recreate what they were doing in the living room during Pat’s decisive victory. Local sportscasters Nat and Pat, Alex Moffat and Rob Corddry further capture the fandom’s emotional extremes (and give the ever-problematic Bay State accent a credible shot. The only other cast member here is Tomlin, who has a modest slant in her vowels). and there).

With a ticket giveaway contest and a series of events jumbled up for intrigue, but also unnecessarily confusing, the four friends travel to Houston to watch the Patriots play the Atlanta Falcons. For reasons Lou never reveals to her peers, this Super Bowl has become so important to her. Hiding concerns about her health, she thinks she should go as perhaps one last shot at seeing Brady play, 39.

With “80 for Brady” on their jerseys — although Betty keeps reminding them she’s only 75 — the women headed to the NFL Experience theme park for the game. explore. A high stakes poker game where Guy Fieri and Maura face off against heavy hitters played by his Billy Porter, Patton Oswalt and Retta. Trish tries to resist the cheating of a former NFL champion (Harry Hamlin is probably the most debonair soccer player in the world). To precious dance moves by Tomlin and Field. Another dance sequence with Moreno on board allows for an easy bid for victory in a spectacular scene.

The script by Halpern and Haskins, at its sharpest, gives the cast some terrifyingly drawl dialogue. But even if not, these four effortlessly elevate the material with effortless readings and off-hand spins, especially her Tomlin. She manages to put up with the script’s most brusque passages, including Lou’s psychic connection to Brady, who addresses her with words of encouragement from her TV screen and her billboard.

It’s more fun to watch the quartet outwit a Calm Gardens employee (Jimmy O. Yang) and later a stadium facilities manager (Ron Funches). Considering how witty the central performance is, it’s a shame the writers and Marvin didn’t push the absurd element further. You don’t have to supplement the comic framework with comforting affirmations when you bring them to their roles. They instill interest from the beginning. This, more than anything else, is the point of this cinematic Valentine.

To that end, cinematography by John Toll, production design by Wyn Thomas, and John Debney’s score all provide unobtrusive performances, while Alison B. Fanger’s colorful costumes stage the characters. Confronting a truly odds-defying comeback, 80 for Brady He’s not a scorer for his age, but he scores goals when it counts.