Move Over, Darling with Doris Day and James Garner

Rating: 8 Arthritic Fingers Up

Move Over, Darling is a really cute movie featuring a very young Doris Day and James Garner. Declared dead after, presumably, being lost at sea after a plane crash, Ellen (Doris Day) is rescued from a deserted island and reintroduced to her old life. And, her timing is impeccable as she appears back on the scene the very day her husband, Nicky (James Garner) has her declared legally dead and remarries a new wife - and takes off on his honeymoon where a very coiffed and stylishly dress Ellen also shows up. When Nicky sees Ellen standing in the lobby, the antics start!

Produced in 1963, Move Over, Darling is sure to delight any elderly person who liked movies back then. Doris Day's innocent face is sure to stir memories of the good old days when phone calls were $0.10 and movie tickets weren't much more. It's also fun to watch the supporting cast of characters when they were younger such as Don Knotts, Thelma Ritter, Edgar Buchanan, John Astin, and Pat Harrington.

And, if your senior citizen loved one loves Doris Day as much as I do, you might want to check out the below good movies for senior citizens:

When Harry Met Sally with Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan

Rating: 9 arthritic fingers up



Mom would have rated this "10 arthritic thumbs up" if she was still here with me but, since I'm taking over the rating now, I gave it a slight downgrade to "9 arthritic fingers up" due to the very fun scene where Meg Ryan (Sally) fakes an orgasm - I'm just not sure that every elderly person is as progressive as "Dirty Gertie" was.

Regardless, When Harry Met Sally, is a wonderful movie about two friends (Harry <Billy Crystal> and Sally <Meg Ryan> - go figure) meet in New York. The film follows them through a close friendship, to love, to hate, and back to love so the ending is very sweet. Elderly people will also love the real life couples who are featured in small vignettes throughout the movie - people who have been together for many many years and still love each other - just the way it should be.

Some of the best scenes are the first time Harry and Sally land in bed. The camera first focuses on Sally - hair amuss, smile on lips, eyes closed in contentment and then the camera pans to Harry whose eyes show the shock and panic he feels. Both Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan are wonderful in this movie. I'm certain your elderly loved one will really enjoy this film.

If you liked When Harry Met Sally, you might also like:

Birdcage with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane

Rating: 10 arthritic fingers up! (for open minded senior citizens).

Ok, Birdcage the movie hits it out of the park. Enchanting, funny, and very easy to follow, this movie had my Mom laughing out loud. The one caveat I would put upon the rating is that the movies characters are homosexuals and, although Mom and I don't care, some seniors may be more sensitive. It's just how they were raised, folks.

Birdcage opens with a drag show in a club owned by Armand (Robin Williams) in Florida. Armand and his companion, Albert, the star of the drag show (Nathan Lane), live in a grand home above the club. Tended to by gay housekeeper Agador (Hank Azaria), Albert is quite the drama queen in more sense than one.

Armand's son, Val, the product of a one night stand some 20 years ago, is getting married to the daughter (Calista Flockhart) of a very conservative politician played by Gene Hackman and asks that "Auntie Albert" not be present during the meeting between Armand and his fiance's family. This is where the fun begins.

There's many laugh out loud parts of the movie Birdcage. Our favorites were:

• "Sparticus" trying to walk in shoes. Hank Azaria is hilarious as a slapstick actor.
• Watching Albert, in his pink striped suit glory try to walk like John Wayne

The movie is totally enchanting and has some great one liners in it that are easy to follow. Although Nathan Lane is truly the star of the show, Hank Azaria's housekeeper character takes the cake as far as Mom and I were concerned.

This is a GREAT movie for a senior citizen or anyone, imho.

If you liked Birdcage, you'll love:

   

The American President with Michael Douglas and Annette Bennings

Rating: 10 Arthritic Fingers Up!

 Talk about just the sweetest love story ever and super sexy too (gives the caregiver something to watch at the same time...), The American President is one of our favorite movies ever. What starts off as an adversarial relationship between a lobbyist on The Hill (Sydney Allen Wade played by Benning) turns into a true love story when The President (President Andrew Shepherd played by Douglas) develops feelings for this tough lady.

Recently widowed, the President is running the country with a group of great advisors (including Michael J. Fox) and trying to raise his teenage daughter, Lucy, at the same time. Douglas is a nice guy all around but no nicer than when he takes dating advice from his daughter.

As a mixture of humor and love, one of our favorite parts was when the President tries to buy the lobbyist flowers on his own. Yes, he does own a rose garden but has quite a hard time buying a bouquet of flowers.

This movie is fast enough paced to keep Mom's attention yet was still easy to follow. We both highly recommend it!

If you liked The American President, you might also like:

  

Finding Nemo with Ellen Degeneres and Albert Brooks

Rating - 10 arthritic fingers up!

 "A boat? I saw a boat!"

Now, if you're a caregiver of the elderly, you might well identify your charge with Dory the fish (Ellen Degeneres) - a fish of very short term memory. This character about put me down for good with laughter! I just dropped and rolled. Mom was also amused - albeit, not nearly as much as I was.

Finding Nemo is clearly a winner when looking for a fun, light movie needed to entertain about anyone in the world, including a 94 year old.

The story starts with Nemo, a clownfish with a bum wing (um...fin) and an overprotective father starting off to school on his own. Little did he realize the perils of not listening to good old dad. Poor Nemo gets trapped in a net and ends up in a dentist's office in an aquarium in Sydney, Australia.

The story line is delightfully whimsical and easy to follow. Honestly: everyone will love this movie - if not, just press ESC-APE (pronounced Esc-CA-pe...) on your DVD and dial up something else!

If you liked Finding Nemo, you'll also like:

    

Rainman with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman

 Rating: 10 arthritic fingers up!

Rainman is a delightful story of a mentally-challenged man (Raymond Babbitt) played by Dustin Hoffman and his very selfish younger brother (Charlie Babbitt) played by Tom Cruise.

After their father dies, Charlie Babbitt discovers that his dad's vast fortune (3 million) was left to Raymond while Charlie was left only a rose bush and an antique car which Charlie had stolen from his father when he was young. As a result of the theft, his Dad had reported the car as stolen and Charlie spent a few days in jail which just burned him up and caused an estrangement between Charlie and his dad.

So, Charlie realizes that to get to the money, he has to get to his mentally-challenged brother, which he does. As the two impart upon a cross country journey, Charlie starts to see his brother in a new light.

Our favorite scene of all is when the two men are coming down the escalator in Las Vegas in beautiful suits. This scene alone is worth watching the movie!

There's the prerequisite love story also between Charlie and his girlfriend who takes a liking to Raymond. It's through her eyes that Charlie further sees his brother as a man - not just someone who is dependent upon others.

Rainman is a wonderful movie which held Mom's attention throughout. Have a few hankies around though - Mom wasn't the only one crying...

If you liked Rainman, you might also like:

     

The Sister Act with Whoopi Goldberg

Rating: 10 arthritic fingers up.

Could The Sister Act be any funnier?! Whoopi Goldberg stands out as a comedian  when she goes undercover as a nun (Deloris) to avoid being, shall we say, annihilated by an ex-boyfriend (of the married variety).

The Mother at the convent is not a fan of Delores' and resists her attempts to interact with the tough neighborhood residents or create a bit more of a social environment inside the convict. Lots of good music and feel good scenes occur as the nuns clean up the area around their convent and create their own type of hipness and the tough guys in the neighborhood crumble.

During The Sister Act, Sister Mary Clarence realizes that the nuns may be good at praying but they suck as a choir. This is one choir that needs HELP and Dolores, with her vast musical background (an ex-lounge singer in Remo), takes over whipping the other sisters into shape, musically.

The Sister Act is an easy movie to follow and Mom chuckled all the way through it. With no sex (there is, of course, a vow of chastity....) or drugs but a lot of rock and roll, there are some great songs from the 70s which are recognizable to almost everyone. A particularly nice musical number is My Guy (performed as My God by the nuns). The finale can't be missed - "I will follow him" takes on a whole new meaning when it's sung by a group of nuns and not a bunch of teenagers crying about lost love.

So, grab your favorite senior citizen, pop some popcorn, and belly up to the sofa for The Sister Act.

If you liked The Sister Act, you might also like:

    

Driving Miss Daisy - Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman

Rating: 10 arthritic fingers up (but, with a caveat).

 Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy really bring this gem of a movie to life. As an old fashioned elderly white woman born and raised in the South, Miss Daisy (Jessica Tandy) is fully against the idea of having a chauffeur - enter Morgan Freeman as the wonderful character "Hoke."

Driving Miss Daisy follows these two central characters from the 1940's until the 1970's. The story encompasses some Civil Rights movement issues and handles them very well. Throughout the 30 years, we see Miss Daisy and Hoke become, not just boss and driver, but true friends of the heart.

Caveat: The ending of this wonderful movie might be difficult if your senior loved one is becoming 'memory challenged.'

If you liked Driving Miss Daisy, you might like:
  

City Slickers - Billy Crystal

Rating: 9 arthritic fingers up

I'll admit it - I'm a Billy Crystal fan. To me, he's like a Robin Williams without the drugs. I love his ad libs in City Slickers - like when his horse starts walking backward and he calls it the 'moon walk.'

City Slickers is a very fun, very easy to follow movie about three friends who are each in their own throes of a mid-life crisis. So, for vacation, they decide to go to a dude ranch and drive cattle. The most powerful thing either of these men have driven is a car...

The movie follows them as they drive cattle across the New Mexico and their antics and conversation as they work through their individual women problems is just delightful.

The jokes come very fast but they're not very obscure which should help your favorite senior citizen follow the dialogue.

If you liked City Slickers, you might like:

  

Doc Hollywood with Michael J. Fox

Rating: 10 arthritic fingers up!

Both Gert and I loved Doc Hollywood, but, then again, we're big Michael J. Fox fans!

Doc Hollywood starts off with a cross country trip to Hollywood, California for a young doctor, Dr. Benjamin Stone, played by Michael J. Fox. In his impatience (and arrogance) to avoid traffic, he ends up taking country roads in the race to his new plastic surgery job in LA. Along the way, he swerves to avoid some cows in the road and takes out a white picket fence in the small town of Grady. And the fun begins.

Sentenced to perform community service and awaiting parts for his fancy sports car, Dr. Stone works in the only hospital alongside the ambulance driver, a woman named 'Lou.' I won't divulge much more of the story but it involves love and a pig - not necessarily in that order and there is no bestiality involved!

Doc Hollywood is well deserved of its 10 arthritic fingers up and is great for any viewing audience.

If you liked Doc Hollywood, you might enjoy:

 

Big - Tom Hanks

10 arthritic fingers up!

The movie "Big" was the best of the bunch of good movies for senior citizens we've reviewed as of this point. Tom Hanks plays Josh, an 11 year old who awakens one day in his bunk bed at home but has been transformed overnight into a 20-something year old man's body after making a wish at a carnival (I knew there was a reason I've always been scared of those creepy fortune teller machines at traveling carnivals). He takes off in disbelief to try and find the carnival machine which has been packed up and ostensibly shipped off to terrorize another young boy somewhere.

He returns home but his mother understandably freaks out when he appears as a full grown man in the living room and chases him off.

Josh's friend who was with him at the carnival is the only person he can turn to who can possibly understand his situation and offer any solace. So he  heads off to find little Billy and eventually convinces him that he really is Josh.

Through many trials and tribulations, John gets a job and is wildly successful working for a toy developer. The requisite love affair (almost) starts when a woman falls in love with the child inside - little does she know he really is an 11 year old inside.

Our favorite scene in the movie "Big" by far was, of course, the piano scene when John sees his boss at a toy store and the two do a duet on the big piano mat. This scene is a classic in every sense of the word. And, Tom Hanks, the consummate actor that he is, has once again become a BIG winner by taking on this movie.

Mom and I both loved the movie "Big" and recommend it to any senior citizen (and their caregiver friends!).

If you like the movie BIG, you'll love:

  

A League Of Their Own - Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell

Rating: Ten arthritic fingers up.

A League Of Their Own contains a terrific all star cast which brings this movie to life. Loosely based on a true life story, A League Of Their Own follows one of the very first all-women's softball leagues which was created when all of the men went to war in the 1940's. Complete with all the elements of a great feel-good movie (including a sister rivalry and the obligatory husband returning from war scene), A League of their Own is a very heartwarming tale.

Tom Hands plays a has-been baseball player who is basically forced to coach and build a cohesive team of baseball players from a group of women who, although maybe not quite talented, have heart. Geena Davis, Madonna, and Rosie O'Donnell all give very enchanting, fun performances.

One of the best parts of the movie for mom and me was the famous Tom Hank's uttering the incredulous 'There's no crying in baseball!' Funny moment.

We think that any senior citizen would enjoy A League Of Their Own.

Of interesting note is that the actual softball teams were The Rockford Peaches and The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, Many of the original players from The All-American Girls Professional Baseball Leauge appear in the last scene of the movie when they're reunited at the Baseball Hall of Fame and take their rightful places in history.

If you like A League of Their Own, you might like the below items:

Frank Sinatra: Singing With Friends

Rating: 9 arthritic fingers up.

Frank Sinatra. Who wouldn't love him? This wonderful collection of Frank Sinatra opens with him crooning 'Together' with Bing Crosby and Dean Martin (who, btw, was the BEST looking of the crooners of old). Their comic antics really kept both Mom and me in stitches, especially the 'dance numbers.'

Although the video and audio quality is not all that good, the sentiments and songs are wonderful. Songs covered in this wonderful review are the following artists accompanying those golden pipes of Frank's:

• Ella Fitzgerald - 'Can't we be friends'
• Louie Armstrong - 'Birth of the blues' - man, that Louie could groove!
• Dean Martin and Bing Crosby - a medley of 'Good old song,' 'Old gray mare' which made us both laugh, 'That old feeling' and 'Old man river').
• Ella Fitzgerald and Ethel Merman - 'You're the top'
• Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby - a nice medley including a bit of 'Would you like to swing on a star' and 'I've got you under my skin' which, btw, curls my toes....'I get a kick out of you' was another favorite. We got a kick out of the whole thing as Rosemary Clooney flits back and forth between Bing and Frank. 
• Lena Horne - Another medley of 'It's only a paper moon,' 'One for my baby', 'Accentuate the positive,' 'Stormy Weather,' 'Get happy', 'Between the Devil and the deep blue sea.'
• Dean Martin, Jimmy Durante, Bing Crosby and Mitzy Gayner - 'Inka Dinka Doo'
• The Rat Pack - 'Birth of the blues'
• Steve Blackwood - 'Frank's Tune'

I'd suggest this for any senior citizen regardless of their mindset. It's sure to make them smile as it did my Mom and me too. Mom even was singing along with a few of the show tunes. Cute.

If you like Frank Sinatra, try these other crooners:
    

The Money Pit with Tom Hanks and Shelly Long

Rating: 10 arthritic fingers up....

Ok, this movie delighted both Mom and me as we're, well, we're living in The Money Pit ourselves. The movie starts with a young couple (Hanks and Long) picking up a mansion for a song after the woman of the manse has to get money for 'blood sucking laywers'. Turns out her husband was Hitler's pool man and has been extradited.

And so, the Money Pit is born. Almost immediately, the facade crumbles (as it did to me in real life). All kinds of mishaps befall the young couple who barely make it out alive from the mansion that seemingly is evil; even the doorbell conspires against him!

 Now, in real life, my house is 157 years old and Gert and I never know whether we're going to have heat or water in the morning so The Money Pit was particularly appropriate viewing for both of us. Many chuckles and some real laughing outbursts were had. We really loved the scene where the gorgeous stairwell collapses upon itself. Too funny!

And, of course, there's the obligatory love triangle with an ex-husband and, in the end...well, you'll have to watch to see what happens.

This movie is recommended for any senior citizen who likes to laugh.

Have you seen The Money Pit or have any other suggestions for movies for us to try? If so, I'd love you to leave a comment below.

If you like The Money Pit, you might like these other movies: