80 for Brady – Film Review

Despite the fact that the four lead stars of Kyle Marvin‘s 80 for Brady are all elderly ladies, the film completely radiates a sense of childlike wonder that I’ve been craving at the cinema this year up. Is this movie a game-changing comedy that will make you laugh every other minute? No. But I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t have a fun time with this goofy slapstick comedy.

A lot of this movie’s enjoyment rides on whether or not you’re able to suspend disbelief because nearly every single scene in the film is totally ridiculous and would never happen in real life. This movie was based on a true story, but screenwriters Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpern obviously included a ton of stuff that didn’t happen.

My favorite kinds of comedies are the ones that are outrageous in nature while also feeling like they could mostly happen in real life. This is one of the many reasons why National Lampoon’s Vacation stands out to me and is one of my favorite comedies. Yes, Clark Griswold’s antics are hilariously dumb, but the road-trip mishaps in the film are things that us viewers can relate to.

Easily the best part about this whole movie is the chemistry present between the four lead actresses – Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field. You can tell that these incredibly talented women had an absolute blast working on this film. At times, it’s almost like you’re simply watching these four goof around and be silly with one another. It’s one of the cutest things I’ve seen in a movie in quite some time.

Sadly, the movie does suffer from some jokes that simply miss the mark completely and it also doesn’t have the best dialogue out there, that’s for sure. There’s also an incredibly long scene fairly early on where we watch one of the ladies participate in a hot dog eating contest that was painfully unfunny and felt like it was added in the film just to showcase Guy Fieri in a strange cameo that felt out of left field.

To be completely honest with you, I miss the days when studios would release a star-studded, high-budget comedy in theatres because we really don’t get movies like this anymore. 80 for Brady certainly isn’t going to be one of the best comedies of the year by the time December rolls around, but it certainly reminded me a lot of the glory days when studios actually had confidence in a good old-fashioned comedy.

80 for Brady may not be the most hilarious comedy, but it’s still a highly entertaining film with excellent chemistry between its lead stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field.