PEACE, LOVE, & MISUNDERSTANDING – The Review

How can people living ( and growing up ) in the same household turn out so differently? That’s a question pop culture has explored many times with films such as JOE and TV shows like ” Family Ties “. The new film PEACE, LOVE,  & MISUNDERSTANDING is ” Family Ties ” stretched out over three generations. In this dramedy, Granny’s a liberal ( a throwback to the 60’s ), Mom’s conservative ( a lawyer too ), and her kids are lean more towards modern liberalism ( with more than a touch of political correctness ). So once the fireworks finish and they quit butting heads, will they begin to understand each other and maybe learn a little something ?

Here’s the set-up. Out of the blue, upscale Manhattan attorney Diane ( Catherine Keener ) is told by her husband ( also an attorney ) Mark ( Kyle MacLachlan ) that he wants a divorce. The stunned Diane loads up their college age vegan poet daughter Zoe ( Elizabeth Olsen ) and obsessive videographer high schooler son Jake ( Nat Wolff )  and drives to Woodstock NY ( uh, yup! ) to visit her estranged hippie mom Grace ( Jane Fonda ), who’s never met her grandkids! While the cultures clash, Grace introduces them to her aging flower children pals and plays cupid.   With her encouragement, Jake engages in a  faltering, sweet first romance with another filmfan teen Tara ( Marrisa O’ Donnell ) and Zoe has an opposites attract dalliance with a dreamy local butcher ( horrors! ) at the local organic meat shop, Cole ( Chase Crawford ). Even Diane dips her toe into the local dating pool with Grace’s scruffy, hunky musician bud Jude ( Jeffrey Dean Morgan ). Can this fractured family find happiness in this 1969 version of Brigadoon?

The comparison to ” Family Ties ” seems apt as much the film plays out like the first season of a TV sitcom with a title like ” Our Hippie Grandma “. Director Bruce Beresford ( DRIVING MISS DAISY ) tries to kep things moving, but he gets sidetracked often by shots of the oh-so-cute middle-aged ( and senior citizen ) flower children ( although it’s great to see the always gorgeous Rosanna Arquette as part of the gang ). The cast is game for some of the wild antics at this town out of time. Keener seems a bit too prickly as the uptight lawyer, so we sometimes wonder about laid-back Jude’s pursuit of her. Olsen is one of our most interesting young actors with her recent indie work. Here her clashes with Keener cause more sparks than her longing looks at the James Dean-channeling Crawford who sports hipster facial fuzz. Wolff seems to be lobbying to take on the Jesse Eisenberg/ Michael Cera mantle as the cute, stammering nerdy nice guy who, as many movie teens, seem to have a camcorder sewn into one hand. Perhaps the main reason for interest in this film is a rare appearance from screen icon Jane Fonda. She’s radiant in her long dresses, tie-dyed tops, and flowing grayed hair riffing on her public protesting past as the ultimate Earth-mother. She still sparkles on-screen even during a questionable scene introducing her grandkids to herbal delights. Although her many monologues about previous musician lovers get a tad tiresome and her role as the free spirit that instills life energy into the cold city dwellers is more than a little obvious, she’s still an engaging film personality. Fonda’s the element that makes this fluffy little family flick worth checking out. Or as her pals might say, ” She makes the scene, man ! ”

Overall Rating : 3 Out of 5 Stars