Unlikely pals learn to live life to the full
BIRDS of a greying feather squawk together in this gently effervescent road movie that reimagines Thelma & Louise 30 years later with dodgy hips, walking sticks and nagging regrets.
Modest in its dramatic ambitions, and largely achieving them, The Time Of Their Lives is a bittersweet tale of female friendship seen through the eyes of the elderly.
The portrait of sisterhood in its twilight years isn’t in the same league as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel or The Lady In The Van, but there are moments in the script and the performances of lead actresses Joan Collins and Pauline Collins that prove there is life after pensions.
Unassuming housewife Priscilla’s (Pauline Collins) attempts to quietly marks the anniversary of her son’s death are ruined by embittered husband Frank (Ronald Pickup).
At the local supermarket, Priscilla temporarily escapes her misery to help another customer, the waspish Helen Shelley (Joan Collins), with her bags as she boards a coach. Unexpectedly, the doors close and Priscilla finds herself Helen’s companion on a trip to the seaside for residents of a nearby retirement home.
Priscilla learns Helen is a faded 1960s Hollywood actress who intends to gatecrash the funeral of Jerry Standing, director of her breakthrough hit.
Helen is penniless and implores Priscilla to join her on the glamoursoaked trip to Ile-de-Re off the coast of France. En route, the mismatched pair encounter a reclusive Italian artist (Franco Nero) and Jerry’s daughter (Joely Richardson). Meanwhile, Frank and Priscilla’s daughter Sarah (Sian Reeves) give chase.
The Time Of Their Lives is a sweet tale of reminiscence and reconciliation, which lets the leads play to crowd-pleasing type. Joan Collins pouts, preens and tosses verbal grenades with glee, while Pauline Collins embraces her role as a mother hen who has been worn down by years of grief.
Sadly, a messy final act undoes some of their solid work, marring positive messages of female independence with sticky sentimentality.