The Meddler (2016)

Too much of everything

That was an excellent one.

Pretty Good

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It might just have been the right moment, the right mood in which I watched the movie. But I really enjoyed watching it and thought it was funny as well. Thought Marnie was a great character. Just a nice "house, garden and kitchen" (a.k.a every day life) movie, as we would say in Holland.

Not sure why all the bad reviews. I mean it's not Oscar worthy, but a sweet simple story of a mom and adult daughter's relationship... really it's more about the mother, trying to rediscover herself after becoming a widow. This charming movie will have you laughing and crying. The pace is slow and simple as we follow along with Marnie as she navigates her new life moving from Jersey to Los Angeles to be closer to her daughter Lori. Lori has her own life problems and is busy with her job, so Marnie begins "meddling" in not only her daughter's life, but friends and even stranger's lives too... but in a really helpful kind way. It's the perfect portrayal of how a mom's unselfishness can seem selfish and annoying till you take a step back and see it from another point of view... if that makes sense. Marnie befriends all kinds of people, helping them out and keeping herself busy, while still mourning her husband who passed a few years earlier. She's like a mom to everyone she meets, while her daughter kind of pushes her away. Marnie just wants to figure out where she belongs and how she fits into this new life. It really made me think about how sometimes we take our mom's for granite and forget to appreciate their unconditional love and think of their sacrifices and feelings too. Sarandon brought an endearing quality to Marnie and I was touched by her warmth and kindheartedness. I think this is a good movie for moms and adult daughters, especially mom's of adult kids/empty-nesters (not so much for the man who doesn't appreciate a chick flick.) Oh, and the reviewers who saw it as tons of product placement/an Apple commercial, I never thought of it as that. I saw it as a newly independent elderly woman trying to figure out the high-tech world we now live in... for those of us who didn't grow up with iPhones and internet, etc. it's a whole new world to explore. 7 stars in My Humble Opinion 4/2017

'The Meddler', a 2015 film starring Susan Sarandon and Rose Byrne is a sweet, feel-good film. Marnie (Sarandon), is a mother who can't come to grips with losing her husband of several decades, and initially directs all of her attention into her daughter Lori's (Byrne) life. When Lori rebuffs her mother's VERY overwhelming involvement in her affairs, Marnie starts getting involved with anyone who makes her feel needed. Refreshingly, none of these people take advantage of her kindness and extreme generosity. Admittedly, there were quite a few flaws with this movie. The character of Mark (Michael McKeon) was completely unnecessary and added nothing to the film. Jason Ritter played Jacob, Lori's ex-love, and she spent the entire movie grieving the loss of her relationship with him. Ritter was woefully miscast in this part, as there was zero chemistry between him and Byrne. And, the product placement was WAY overdone. I can't believe how many references there were to iPads, iPhones, etc. Obvious and annoying.Beautifully cast, however, was Oscar winner J.K. Simmons as Zipper, a potential romantic interest for Marnie. The sweet scenes they shared in his chicken coop were delightful.All in all, this was a feel-good flick. Predictable, yet pleasant. But due to its many issues could only give 6* out of 10.

I had read a brief summary of this film elsewhere... recent widow, interferes in daughters life, interferes in everyone's life, and I expected just another variation on the Bad Mama, Bad Neighbour, Bad anyone-you-can-care to mention theme. Not a bit, though.Sure it seems to start that way, and Marnie (Susan Sarandon) is irritating at first, but as the film went on I warmed to her. It is easy to knock someone who needs to fill their lives maybe with their perceived needs of others, but Marnie is a genuine character. She is no saint, but nor is she unlikeable. She's kind, frustrating, generous, fragile, sensitive, insensitive; in fact she's human.I found it a believable performance by Susan Sarandon. Slightly unsure on the accent, but for all I know the rest could actually just be Susan Sarandon.JK Simmons is always worth watching, and whilst his character may be a bit too flawless, he still ticks all the boxes.Spoiler: I also expected the film to cop-out with the ending: Mother gets what she wants for her daughter, but there's no happy ending for Lori, and in a way that's refreshing.Finally, loved the lighting quality. Everywhere, (plane trips, East Coast, outdoors) was bright, and it made me feel uplifted.