And So It Goes (3/10): And down it goes

“You have a beautiful voice, particularly when you make it all the way through a song.”

Rob Reiner has directed some fantastic films over the years, but he has also delivered some terrible ones as well, and “And So It Goes” might just be his worst yet. Reiner is still a director I admire for his fantastic work in When Harry Met Sally, one of my favorite romantic comedies, and Misery an engaging thriller starring a phenomenal Kathy Bates. His most beloved films however are The Princess Bride, Stand By Me, and This is Spinal Tap. His filmography proves that he has directed a wide variety of genres successfully. Unfortunately it has been almost two decades since he has directed a decent film and he has lost a lot of his credibility. It’s as if he really doesn’t care anymore about directing creatively unique films and only goes for generic commercial films. Over the past few decades he’s directed Alex & Emma, Rumor Has It, Flipped, and the Magic of Belle Isle. The Bucket List was the last from him that I actually enjoyed, but I’m on the minority with that one, so you’d have to go all the way back to the 90’s to recall his latest success. Considering how much I enjoyed his earlier films, I still have hope he will give us another masterpiece. 

For the time being, Rob Reiner seems to be enjoying his retirement by making generic films aimed towards specific target audiences. In his latest film, And So it Goes, he targets the senior adults, which is somewhat an ignored target. I found it to be a very bland and generic film, but most senior adults in my family enjoyed it so I guess he accomplished his goal. It is basically a chick flick for senior adults because it follows the same predictable premise. I found the story rather dull and formulaic. Michael Douglas plays his usual grouchy self. He’s a widower and self centered realtor who doesn’t care about what others think about him. All he wants is to sell his last house and retire to a quiet place. His life changes however when his estranged son leaves his daughter in his care while he serves his prison sentence. Diane Keaton place the loving and sweet neighbor who helps take care of the granddaughter. She also plays her usual lovable self smiling and crying a lot on screen. I love Diane Keaton and she was my favorite thing about this film. Without doing anything unique the chemistry between the two lead roles is what works best in a very predictable and silly script. Mark Andrus’s screenplay is probably my least favorite thing about And So it Goes. The way the story is told never makes much sense as to how these two characters would fall for one another. The film doesn’t really go anywhere and the sentimentality is forced upon the audience in a cheap way. Reiner even has a small role in this film making the film look more awkward than it already was. Sterling Jerins plays the beautiful young girl that is left in Micheal Douglas’s care, and despite being very cute she doesn’t really act too well. The narrative felt offbeat at times as well, and despite some few funny scenes and a strong chemistry from the lead roles, the pacing was a bit tedious.