Scottsdale International Film Festival 2008

Even at their best, those who run retirement homes need infinite patience and kindness. What happens, then, if four of your residents are so crotchety and unmanageable that they have driven away all the other residents? In HOW ABOUT YOU, the solution is to go on Christmas break and leave the home in the hands of your younger, inexperienced sister. “The hardcore four” are played by Vanessa Redgrave, Brenda Fricker, Imelda Staunton, and Joss Ackland. The glorious cast of great British film performers handles the acting chores with aplomb and brio. Oscar winners Fricker and Redgrave are brilliant, but no more so than Staunton (Vera Drake) and Ackland. It’s a dream cast able to walk a fine line between bathos and pathos. But HOW ABOUT YOU, based on a short story by Maeve Binchy, does not compromise the material. Yes, some wacky things happen, but screenwriter Jean Pasley never lets you forget that ageing is often horrific. The result is laughter through your tears. ~ Nick Salerno