How About You

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How About You

56% Liked It
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How About You

Brenda Fricker, Elizabeth Moynihan, Hayley Atwell, Imelda Staunton, Joan O'Hara

Ellie is left in charge of an elderly residential home, and while most of the residents have left to spend Christmas with their families, four residents known as 'The Hard Core' remain. The Hard Core ...( read more  read more... )have become impossible to live with. In fact, their rude and objectionable behavior is so terrible that the home faces closure as potential new residents are put off by the Hard Core's appalling antics. Ellie would appear to be no match for them, but when she is pushed to the very limits she decides to take them on. She succeeds in beating them at their own game and manages to show them the error of their ways. But Ellie soon realizes that the Hard Core have changed her too in quite an unexpected way.

Id: 10966050

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Recent Reviews

How About You Recent Reviews
  • irisheyes686
    August 23, 2009
    irisheyes686
    Cute movie :) Adorable story and the cast worked well together.
  • her69eyes
    May 6, 2009
    her69eyes
    Aren't old people just the most adorable thing?

    In How About You, a sentimental Christmas film adapted from a short story by Maeve Binchy, The Duchess' Hayley Atwell transforms a bunch of old grouches into fun-loving saps. It's one of those movies where the cure for misanthropy ...( read more)is snowball fights, some weed, and a good scolding by an adventure-seeking youngster. Surely a film where old people learn to love life again hasn't been done before!

    Kate (Orla Brady) runs a home for the elderly in Ireland. She is the "good" sibling - mature, discipline, and dependable. Her sister Elie (Hayley Atwell), on the other hand, is the out-of-work indulgent screw up that is certainly not reliable enough to look after the home by herself. But when Kate is called away on a family emergency, Elie must do just that. Soon she learns why every other resident but four have left - the remaining occupants are ill-tempered psychopaths.

    The four elderly tenants are - Georgia (Vanessa Redgrave), a retired actress who still craves the spotlight; Donald (Joss Ackland), a retired judge who now battles with alcohol; and two sisters, Hazel (Imelda Staunton) and Heather (Brenda Fricker), spinster pool sharks who are in a constant state of bickering. It is Christmas, however, and the five remaining occupants of the home must learn to be a family. Before you know it, they're dancing, singing, and smoking pot together.

    There is a place for films like this one. It's very slight and sentimental, but ultimately it is (or should be) endearing. But this one offers literally nothing new. If you're going to use a plot that has been done a thousand times, the least you can do is give us some depth to the characters. Instead, however, it's easy to assume that even the screenwriter couldn't give you more than a short paragraph of analysis on each character.

    I saw the film not knowing anything about it other than it's cast. On paper, it certainly has quite the line up, and for the most part they don't disappoint. Imelda Staunton in particular, who was so great in Mike Leigh's "Vera Drake", seems to have a blast chewing the scenery. For a film this melodramatic, such over-the-top performances are acceptable and expected.

    "How About You" is a film we've seen over and over, and for that I can only recommend it if the veteran actresses on the cast appeal to you. If you're looking for an engaging and insightful story on aging, however, skip this one.
  • Fragglefreak
    August 6, 2009
    Fragglefreak
    This movie was pretty simple but quite enjoyable. I love old people that misbehave.
  • FlyingSolo2009
    December 9, 2009
    FlyingSolo2009
    A little slow, a little strange, and a lot British. At least everyone was happy in the end.
  • jjnxn
    September 26, 2009
    jjnxn
    Some really great actors and beautiful locations but the film is just a trifle, nothing more.
  • angelfalls
    September 9, 2009
    angelfalls
    A well directed drama of people in their dying days in an old home. The cast put up a good performance.
  • eclectickimmer
    August 7, 2009
    eclectickimmer
    I am a fan of English ensemble films. I was digging around searching for something with feeling and heart. I found it in this lovely movie. Perfectly casted for REAL actors, I enjoyed each of their performances individually almost as much as their ensemble work. Choices. It's all...( read more) about choices. Most male viewers would categorize this as a chick movie. I'd like to think there are still men out there that will give this film a shot. I have to mention that I am reminded what a great actress Imelda Staunton is with her portrayal of Hazel Nightingale. WHAT a contrast from the egomaniacal Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix!
  • xxxcli213xxx
    December 15, 2008
    xxxcli213xxx
    no thanks not my thing
  • sumal87
    December 7, 2008
    sumal87
    wanna to see it...hope suprised me....
  • jenn1984106
    December 4, 2008
    jenn1984106
    Well acted, heart warming story.
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