All Of Me - Lily Tomlin and Steve Martin

Rating: 10 Arthritic Fingers Up

 All of Me (1000)Check Price

Although Mom is no longer with me to rate this movie, I can still hear her chuckling in my mind at this comedy film; this would definitely have been one of her favorite movies of all time.

The laughter starts when millionaire Edwina Cutwater (Lily Tomlin) finds out she's dying - no, that doesn't sound so funny but what is funny is when she agrees to have her soul (for a whole bunch of money) transferred to the young, beautiful female body of Terri Hoskins (played by Victoria Tennant).

But, the plan goes awry when the shaman who is doing the soul transferring accidentally transfer her soul into the body of Roger Cobb (Steve Martin), her lawyer. She takes over the right side of his body. See, in this movie at least, money can buy you everything - even if it is you soul inhabiting the wrong body.

Each actress and actor in All of Me puts on very funny performances. This is a great movie to watch with an elderly loved one!

If you liked All of Me, you might also like:

 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)Check Price The Incredible Shrinking WomanCheck Price Steve Martin: The Television StuffCheck Price Movie Marathon Collection: Steve Martin (Bowfinger / Parenthood / Housesitter / Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid / The Lonely Guy) (1982)Check Price

Lucy - The Story of Lucille Ball's Life

Rating: 6 Arthritic Fingers Up.


Note: Amazon doesn't sell this movie so if you have a senior loved one who needs a bit of entertaining, you'll have to find it on Netflix. Sorry. But, I've kindly added a link to the full series of the hit show 'I love Lucy.' No need to thank me. Now, onto the review of 'Lucy.'

While in bed with a torn calf muscle (ouch), I was flipping through Netflix and settled on 'Lucy' with a whole bunch of actors and actresses I don't know including:

Rachel York as Lucy (looks nothing like her)
Danny Pino as Desi Arnaz (looks nothing like him).

The movie was benign enough and just interesting enough as it went into details of Lucy and Desi's sort of tumultuous relationship. He was, predictably, a male chauvinist, cheating man, who had been raised in the lap of luxury until a revolution caused his upper class family to flee his home country. And, equally as predictably, Lucille Ball was a tough, strong woman.

The underlying love story really is a love story though. Through their ups and downs, and even after divorce, they still kept in touch.

I think my Mom would have liked this movie but probably not have loved it. It's a bit slow and some of the language is a bit rough (not that she would have cared about that - we didn't call her 'Dirty Gertie' for nothing.

If you like Lucille Ball, you might also like:

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:

Calendar Girls with Helen Miren and Julie Walters

Rating: 8 Arthritic Fingers Up

Calendar Girls is a very funny british comedy about a group of 50 something women who come up with the idea to make a nude calendar of themselves in order to raise money for a new sofa in a hospital waiting room. The movie is filled with beautiful scenes filmed in England so it really is a work of art on top of being funny. The only reason Mom would have given it 8 arthritic fingers up as the rating is because I doubt she would have been able to understand some of the thicker British accents. But, if you're from England, you can't go wrong with Calendar Girls.

As an aside, the nude scenes are not really all that nude so even prudish elderly women and men will think this movie is funny. Pick it up today - makes a great Christmas stocking stuffer also as it's not very expensive.

If you liked Calendar Girls, you might also want to check out:

The Long, Long Trailer with Lucy Ball and Desi Arnaz

Rating: 5 arthritic fingers up.

Produced in 1954, this old movie is pretty amusing if you consider the age of the thing. You won't see any great special effects, although, the one scene where Lucy gets blown out of the camper is pretty funny. The premise of this movie (and the reason I watched it as we just bought a travel trailer) is that this young married couple decide to buy a travel trailer so that they can be together as Desi starts his music career on the road.

As can be expected, travels and travails occur, including getting the car (a cadillac is pulling this very long, long trailer!) and trailer stuck in mud up to the axles. Lucy, in typical Lucille Ball fashion, is a daffy housewife who insists on collecting rocks on their trip around the US. Of course, this adds to the weight of the travel trailer and to Desi's despair.

Amusing as this short film is, as a younger person, you might not like it, but watch it with an older person and you'll like it more. I'm sorry that my Mom is no longer with me to have watched it, but I know she would have laughed at the antics in this movie.

If you liked the Long Long Trailer, you might also consider watching Lucy and Desi's 2 other movies:

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:

An apology to my readers...

I'll start by apologizing to those who have wandered upon my GoodMoviesForSeniorCitizens blogspot - I've been inactive since December 2011 due to increasing needs to be with and care for my Mom, Gertie. Quite sadly, but not tragically, Mom died peacefully in her sleep at 7:11am on  February 15, 2012. She lived a wonderful 95 years. She was surrounded by my brother, Mike, my friend, Sharyn, our excellent caregiver, Elizabeth and myself as she took her last breath.

The time of Mom's death, 7:11, was fitting as we are all gamblers. Before my Dad died in 2005 at the age of 89, I flew out every 6 weeks to pick up the folks, pile them in my brother's van (which he gracefully loaned me every time I asked) and drive them to Laughlin, Nevada for a quick gambling fix. Dad and I would usually belly up to the craps table where hearing Yo 'Leve as an 11 appeared on the dice would send up peals of laughter from us. Mom usually stuck to blackjack or, occasionally, she'd sit between us on a special stool the pit boss brought over so that all 4'10" of her could see over the table.

Our trips were only over the weekend as I was working full time back then and had little vacation to spare. So, for Mom's soul to depart this earth at 7:11am was fitting indeed. I see that time as a nod to good times to come.

So, this blog has layed dormant for 6 months now and it's time to pick up the pieces of Good Movies for Senior Citizens and move on. Since I'm 54, I suppose I technically am just a year away from being a senior citizen in my own right but I will take over the "Arthritic Fingers Up" ratings. After all, I knew Mom the best and know what she'd still call a movie worth watching.

So, dear readers, let's go! I'll try to post a review shortly to get this thing back on the road. That's what Mom would have wanted.

If you happen to find a movie you think is good for senior citizens, kindly leave me a comment and I will try to review it.

Lori