Year Released: 2012
Directed by: Rob Reiner
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Emma Fuhrmann, Virginia Madsen
(PG, 109 min.)

Morgan Freeman lends gravitas to a film that could be sappy in any else’s hands. Of course, the elite critics didn’t like it; inspiration and happy endings are not cool anymore, but the movie going public, becoming more and more reliable as they become less so, certainly did.

And you will, too. Especially if you are tired of so many current films devoted to serial killers and brutal crime, haunting your dreams and tainting your psyche. Wash out that bitter taste with this fine film.

He plays Monte Wildhorn, a famous Western novelist whose passion for writing hits an impasse. He takes a lakeside cabin for the summer in picturesque Belle Isle, befriending the family next door–an attractive single mom (Virginia Madsen) and her young daughters–who help him find inspiration again.

Bob Reiner, who also directed When Harry Met Sally, The Bucket List, and A Few Good Men, to name a few, delivers.

The script has insight and wit, something that also seems out of fashion today. Freeman’s Monte Wildhorn keeps it real with his sardonic comments on life. He is especially adept at mocking himself and his current predilection for whiskey:

“Drinking is a very demanding profession, and I can’t hold down two jobs at once” is how he explains his 6-year-long writer’s block.

The self mockery extends to others, too, including the special needs neighbor who hops like a bunny. “Get rid of the hop,” he commands in a way that only Freeman could deliver as helpful. And Actually, the kid does, in a heartbeat.

Monte also keeps it real with the completely lazy and unresponsive old lab he is dog sitting for. The dog refuses to fetch; it even refuses to get up.

“One thing I admire is consistency,” he observes.

Finn, the nine-year-old neighbor, is still young enough to ask questions other are too polite to ask.

She even persuades the washed up writer to become her mentor, and he reluctantly agrees, even accepting the $34.18 she forces on him as payment for his tutelage.

His lessons aren’t easy, either. Look down the road, he tells her, and tell me what you don’t see. This stumps her for several days.

“Never stop looking for what’s not there,” he reminds her.

A few others provide prompts for his tentative steps toward living again. One is another who won’t take no for an answer, and this time he is an adult, actually the town mayor. His admiration for the writer propels him to invite Monte to attend the funeral of a dearly loved neighbor who has passed away suddenly. A neighbor whom Monte has never met. (Of course, it’s the free beer that really is the best invitation.)

He even talks Monte into reading his eulogy for him.

Its simple eloquence impresses the confirmed cynic, Monte, who says he wouldn’t change a word.

Some of you might be seeing Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino here, although this film is not quite in that iconic territory. Morgan Freeman graces it with his eloquence. Yes, some have said that Freeman, like Anthony Hopkins, could read the telephone book and we would be impressed. Perhaps that is so, but we shouldn’t overlook the film just because the star elevates it from Hallmark territory.

And finally, the hint of romance. Just a whiff, but it is so sweet and innocent. I think we may have almost forgotten what that is right now.

So, again, forget those cynical critics who cannot stand Monte’s self-imposed cynicism being beaten back into retreat, and help yourself to this tasty dessert just in time for spring.

*****

The fictional Belle Isle is supposed to be near Savannah, Georgia, so here is a link to a delicious Georgia meal, Peachy Baby Back Ribs .

You might also like to try a Southern Fried BLT.

Finally, we have a special after dinner “drink.” In reality, though, it should be an after film “drink,” because it definitely contains spoilers, Big Time