There is nothing serious about Just Getting Started, not even its filmmaking. A jaw-dropping scene depicting a coyote biting Suzie’s small pet dog Romeo was seen instead with a stuffed toy dog in its mouth. Shelton’s intent for the film is questionable and to a certain extent redundant (it might be more entertaining to purchase a principle-assured retirement plan and watch it grow over time).
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Featuring quite a handful of past Oscar winners and nominee in a feature film doesn’t equate to excellence as a given. This is what Ron Shelton’s Just Getting Started strongly reminded its audience consistently throughout the entire 91 minutes.
Together with Shelton who was an Oscar nominee for his screenplay excellence in 1988’s Bull Durham, we have Oscar winners Morgan Freeman (playing Duke) and Tommy Lee Jones (playing Leo) fronting the film as vivacious retirees at a retiring village (Villa Capri). Leo is a past FBI agent while Duke is a mob lawyer who is trying to ensure his survival (while enjoying life anonymously) for testifying against his employer.
The film is however not about how their pasts catch up with their retirement. Viewers get to see both characters along with similarly decorated cast members like Rene Russo (BAFTA winner) and Jane Seymour (Golden Globes winner) letting (whatever is left of) their hair down for a good time.
No one pays to watch these actors play golf or Santa Claus during their leisure time. This gets worse when Shelton doesn’t add much story and depth within his screenplay. Not even when the plot is supposed to thicken with corporate representative Suzie (played by Russo) coming down to audit Villa Capri. The audit wasn’t never taken seriously and is instead overshadowed by Duke and Leo’s rivalry that is realised in the form of childish challenges with golf games, table tennis matches and even limbo dancing.
There is nothing serious about Just Getting Started, not even its filmmaking. A jaw-dropping scene depicting a coyote biting Suzie’s small pet dog Romeo was seen instead with a stuffed toy dog in its mouth. Shelton’s intent for the film is questionable and to a certain extent redundant (it might be more entertaining to purchase a principle-assured retirement plan and watch it grow over time).
Objectively speaking, it is always a pleasure to see Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones on the silver screen. They are seasoned actors who are familiar with how to conduct themselves in front of the camera to instill presence. Their chemistry with other cast members are also lovely to watch although nothing memorable given the film material.
Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones would find more meaningful retirement elsewhere, for instance by spending time at the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel or clearing The Bucket List.
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