Moving On (2022)

Moving On review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Moving On is another entry in the off-beat genre of old people finding closure and cuteness in their twilight years. You can only judge these types of films by how sincere and absurd the actors can get with the material. I aired more on the positive side of this picture, considering it goes as hard as having characters being open about their taboo-poisoned sexuality and as bizarre as someone trying to kill their rival with a flare gun.

The premise centers around Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda playing estranged friends Evelyn and Claire. They’re only reunited in their older years by the funeral of one of their mutual friends. The funeral is not good, considering they both have a history with their friend’s abusive husband, Howard (Malcolm McDowell). Evelyn and Claire look at this widowed man and can only view him as the robber of a life denied. They know the truth about their late friend, which doesn’t seem all that appropriate to bring up at a funeral.

So, what are the two women to do? Their current lives are less fulfilling, and having their dying friend get her history rewritten doesn’t feel right. Well, for Claire, she decides that she’s going to kill Howard and get revenge. It’s not an empty threat. She fully intends to find some way of acquiring a gun and shooting him. This dark dose of comedy leads to many aside from finding the weapon, ranging from forming a new romance with the kind Ralph (Richard Roundtree) to sneaking bacon into a nursing home. Meanwhile, Evelyn tries to make up for lost time by befriending a cross-dressing young boy, aiming to be the grandmother she never was with her cynical lifestyle.

This film is a rollercoaster of clashing tones that proceeds so quickly from one path to another that you’re bound to get whiplash. McDowell plays his character straight as a man trying to cover up his abuse history, only to become more of a snarling villain by the third act. Tomlin has moments of being a bitter drunk and champion for the underdogs, but her rudeness seems to have dulled with age, and Tomlin mainly falls back on playing herself. Ditto for Fonda, a woman who navigates her way easily through a film where she’s required to be emotional, fearful, bashful, and even sexual. Unlike their appearance in 80 For Brady, here they feel at ease, and they work well with this messy material.

Moving On seems like it has higher stakes, with characters planning murder and their motive for revenge being brutal enough to make it into a murder mystery novel. It never becomes enduring as a drama or absurd enough to be a dry elder comedy. Instead, it finds those small moments of charms that these films usually evoke and draws them out with a certain dignity. Such accomplished actors like Tomlin, Fonda, and McDowell do their best to make this film work well enough as a diversion instead of just being another paycheck for these aged actors. There are glimpses of their brilliance that still shine through this movie that struggles to stay on track.