Elsa & Fred (2014) Online

I just finished watching Elsa & Fred and really, really enjoyed myself. However, at the same time I wonder just how many folks will go and see this neat little movie. After all, it's about two very old and rather strange people who find love in their final years...and this sort of thing isn't exactly box office gold. Most romance pictures today involve very young, very beautiful people and not people in their 80s! Frankly...I'm a bit tired of those typical love stories. Some recent films like Something's Gotta Give, The Face of Love and now Elsa & Fred have all explore relationships with folks who are neither taut, tanned nor twenty-something and I say more power to 'em!

Christopher Plummer stars as Fred--a cranky old widower who is sick to death over losing his independence and has no desire to grow old gracefully. When his daughter arranges for him to move to a new apartment, he seems content with just lying in bed...waiting to die. However, his rock-solid retirement plans are upset due to his eccentric neighbor, Elsa (Shirley MacLaine). Unlike Fred, she is vivacious and full of life--and loves to make up lies about the fantastic life she's led. To put it bluntly, she's a bit of a wacko....but a fun wacko. And, they soon decide to throw caution to the wind and enjoy their final days together.

While the ending is a bit of a downer (I gotta be honest about this), I thoroughly enjoyed the film because these two quirky characters seemed so unlike the people you normally see in movies. They are not walking clichés but older people who have needs, desires and dreams--and who refuse to grow old gracefully! Plummer and MacLaine are simply terrific and it also didn't hurt that they had a very strong supporting cast--which is surprising considering that this is a relatively low-budget film. But, despite the budget, it really doesn't skimp on anything and really delivers. Plus, it made me smile...and not enough movies do that.

NOTE: After seeing this wonderful film, I learned that it is a remake--and much of it is almost exactly like the Spanish language original. Because of this, I knock a point off this one and recommend you first see the 2005 version. Now I am not saying it's better--but it is original.

This is one of those films you want to love – strong lead actors and a solid supporting cast showing another homage to aging gracefully. But the cake was left in the oven a bit too long and the resultant 'romantic comedy' becomes so Hallmarky that the script drowns the fine intentions of the actors. Written by Anna Pavignano and Michael Radford (who also directs), the story is given its best shot by Shirley MacLaine (age 80) and Christopher Plummer (age 85) but the saccharine ending is a bit too heavy to hold up the good moments.

Set in New Orleans, the story introduces two people who at the end of the road, discover that it's never too late to love and make dreams come true. Elsa (Shirley MacLaine) has lived for the past 60 years dreaming of a moment that Fellini had already envisaged: the scene in 'La Dolce Vita' at the Fontana di Trevi. The same scene without Anita Ekberg in it, but with Elsa instead. Without Marcello Mastroiani but with that love that took so long to arrive. Fred (Christopher Plummer) has always been a good man who did everything he was supposed to do. After losing his wife, he feels disturbed and confused and his daughter (Marcia Gay Harden) decides that it would be best if he moves into a smaller apartment where he ends meeting Elsa. From that moment on, everything changes. Elsa bursts into his life like a whirlwind, determined to teach him that the time he has left to live -- be it more or less -- is precious and that he should enjoy it as he pleases. Fred surrenders to Elsa's frenzy, to her youth, to her boldness, to her beautiful madness. And this is how Fred learns how to live. When he learns about Elsa's terminal illness, he decides to make her dream come true and takes Elsa to Rome to reenact with her the famous scene at the Fontana di Trevi.

The supporting cast includes Scott Bakula, George Segal, James Brolin, Chris Noth, Wendell Pierce, and Erika Alexandra (in the most entertaining role as the 'housekeeper' for Fred). It has its moments and it always is a pleasure to see MacLaine and Plummer no matter how lame the script's ending. Not exactly the reincarnation of Fellini's La Dolce Vita, but an entertaining movie.

What can I say? I adored it. Anyone that dislikes sentimentality in movies will hate this - therefore I loved it! The scene in Rome is remarkably beautiful - as are many other moments in this wonderful movie. You kiddies out there who think that Shirley MacLain looks too old and her part should have been recast - screw you. She is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. She has been a heartthrob for me since we were both young. It's great to see her still beautiful (in my eyes anyway) and her terrific acting talents are on display here as well. Christopher Plummer is another huge PLUS in this movie. To watch these great stars on the screen, in parts befitting their, well..advanced ages - and not "younged down" for general audiences who don't understand what getting...mature - is all about - well, I really appreciated it from start to finish. Great supporting cast as well. If you're, let's say, under 50 (I'm well over), and get uncomfortable or bored watching it, put it away for a decade (or two or three) or so and then break it out again. You won't get it now, but you will someday. For those who recognize the names of the stars, who have watched them age through the years, and who have a sense of history in their own lives because you've lived through a lot of stages in your life - you will love this movie. I guarantee it!

I didn't expect too much of this but came away pleasantly surprised. Maclaine and Plummer had good chemistry and it was a good reminder that life and feelings don't stop with the first grey hair. I thought the relationships between parents and children were realistic as it's almost a role reversal and the children start treating the parents like children. It was a change watching a love story that didn't involve a handsome young man and a beautiful young woman and showed that love is love no matter what age you are when you find it. Although the plot was predictable, it was a nice ride and one I would recommend for a Sunday afternoon.

A delightful, charming, warm, funny, sad, inspiring and lovable film! We loved it. But then we're seniors. Younger folks just might not "get it." But there is so much that is so good here, not the least of which is the wonderful chemistry between Christopher Plummer and Shirley Maclaine. They are superb to-gether and exhibit a special "something" that goes beyond their formidable individual acting talents. I don't know why it was shot in New Orleans. The city plays no part in the story. Indeed if you were not familiar with the St. Charles streetcar which trundles across the screen repeatedly and needlessly, you might not even know it is New Orleans. But aside from such minor nitpicking on my part, it is a tremendously warm and human movie with two superbly crafted characters played by two brilliant stars. Good entertainment for anybody. Essential entertainment for anybody over 65!

"Somethings are priceless." Elsa (MacLaine) is an older woman who isn't happy with anyone or anything. When recently widowed Fred (Plummer) moves in next door the two become fast friends. The friendship develops into more and the two find out that it's never too late to find love. Until Elsa's life turns out to not be what Fred expected. The first thing I have to say is that this was a pretty good movie. Plummer and MacLaine have great chemistry but that is to be expected from two legendary actors like them. The fact that those two are in it is the reason that the movie rises above being a cheesy cookie cutter love story. There really aren't any real surprises in this and goes pretty much how you would expect. All that said I am 35 and this movie isn't really geared toward me at all. I'm sure an older crowd will relate to this better and they will probably find it more enjoyable than I did. Overall, a movie that was OK and I liked it but if I was 40 years older I probably would be able to relate to this better and love it. I give it a B.

This movie wanted to set a mood and lure us in to the depression of old age while extracting us with the allure of romance. However, the movie just falls short. The mood is never quite right. The writing is sub par, and the acting (other than Shirley Mclain) is equally substandard. Not even Shirley can raise up such a bad movie. The plot was overly predictable, and in general, this one should be skipped. The reason you probably never heard about is that is just isn't good, which is unfortunate, because it had so much potential. Instead watch "Wrestling Earnest Hemmingway" for a much better version of spicing up life among older individuals.

Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer.

Oh how sadly they fall between lifeless dialogue and inept scenes and a dispiriting depiction of old age.

Shirley's wig was uber distracting as it was sooo bad.

Direction was sketchy, the interior car scenes out of filmmaking 101.

And offensive - scarpering out of a restaurant without paying the $400 owing? Any thought to the waiter who'd have to pay? And a pathological liar like Elsa getting away without challenge with every single fib? The Oscar winning duo were not served well here.

For elder love depicted beautifully watch "Amour".

This is a remake of a 2005 Argentinian movie of the same name in Spanish. I found it on Netflix streaming movies.

Shirley MacLaine is Elsa Hayes, a mid-70s widow living in a condo at 2801 St Charles Avenue in New Orleans. This is a single 3-story building with several condos about 700 to 800 square feet each. A freshly widowed 80-isn man, Christopher Plummer as Fred Barcroft, is moving into the adjacent condo. He seems to just be waiting for life to end, he spends lots of time just lying in his bed, with no interest in getting out of his living space.

Elsa, on the other hand, seems full of life and right away she greets Fred and tries to get him to do things. When his caregiver is absent and his kitchen faucet starts to spray water everywhere, in desperation he gets Elsa to help him and she does. It becomes the catalyst for her to take a greater interest in him.

This is a very nice movie, character studies of two people in the twilight time of their lives. They have issues with adult children, and she has to go to the dialysis clinic weekly. She doesn't seem to have much time left, but they begin to fall in love with each other.

It isn't the kind of movie that can attract decent audiences at theaters against mega-buck blockbusters, but it is a very nice smaller movie with some of the best actors of their times.

Fred (Christopher Plummer) recently lost his wife in New Orleans. He's a bitter old man alone after a life of being unhappily married. His intrusive daughter Lydia (Marcia Gay Harden) moves him into a small apartment. She has a money grubbing creep for a husband, Jack (Chris Noth) and a downtrodden teenage son. Fred's new neighbor is the irreverent liar Elsa (Shirley MacLaine). She dreams of being Anita Ekberg in Marcello Mastroianni's La Dolce Vita.

This movie puts me off almost immediately with Jack taking the cabbie's change. He's an annoying jerk and not in a fun way. It would work if I like Elsa but I find her just as annoying. It's trying to make her irreverence as fun but it's all so self-serving. I do like Fred. As for the coupling, I'm willing to root for them if only to improve Elsa. At last, I don't think his effect on her is quite as powerful. That perfectly nice waiter will have to pay for their dine and dash.

What a bizarre experience this movie was -- and not in a good way! It began kind of cute, sweet and innocent and showing many signs it would be a meaningful movie well worth watching.

However, Elsa has a lying problem. That is, she lies. A lot. And the one person she lies the most to is Fred. Not a good sign. This movie portrays an old woman who is a pathological liar as if it were both cute and romantic. Being an older woman myself, I can tell you that the older I get the more I realize that lying is neither cute nor romantic, and this kind of message in a film really irks me big-time.

Then when she tells Fred about her ex (who she had previously said died but who really didn't die, and she got caught in that lie) she told her "sob story" of how he cheated on her and so she went to another country to pay for a handsome young male prostitute, then came home and told her ex about it, saying that if he could cheat on her then she could cheat on him. The punch line was that he said it was okay for him because he was a man. I guess this is the point where we are supposed to say, "Oh good, she is just being a feminist." Ugh.

I don't really care to cover anymore of the story except to say that I felt cheated myself -- of an hour or two of my time -- for having watched this ludicrous film which seems to give a moral to the story of it's okay to lie, and oh look, it's even kind of cute and romantic and whimsical and totally okay. Not!

American remake of the 2005 Spanish-Argentine co-production "Elsa y Fred" casts Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer as single oldsters living next door to each other in the same New Orleans townhouse, each with over-protective grown children, concerns about money and health, and a textbook of cranky-cute idiosyncrasies. Written and directed at a sitcom level, with dishonest characters and offensive sentiment. A good cast flounders; MacLaine tries creating a goosey, unflappable woman prone to giggling and full of neighborly good cheer, but she's covered much of this territory before (there are also uncomfortable parallels to "Used People"). Mildewy romantic comedy opens with a self-defeating first reel involving a not-funny fender-bender (following shots of Fellini's "La Dolce Vita") before settling into an unconvincing give-and-take between the leads. Not a single sequence rings true, the relatives are boors, while the laugh lines fall like wet sponges around the actors. *1/2 from ****

Maybe parts for older actors are a bit more difficult to come by, but why two great performers like Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer agreed to appear in such dross is beyond me. Clearly, given this currently has a rating of 6.5 on IMDb, not everyone agrees with me, now I am not the biggest rom-com fan around, so this starts at a bit of a disadvantage, but give me a descent one and I am more than happy to watch it and give a higher rating if merited.

For a start it's listed as a comedy, one little snigger is all I found throughout. The music is just awful, the story is very predictable, it's pretty bad all round.

The stars do, at least, try to give it a go but even the true romantics out there may find it hard to find anything to shout about here.

I was so looking forward to this movie, but halfway through it, I actually considered turning it off. In general, I really like the "old folks get a second chance at love" movies, but this one really fell flat.

A lonely widower and a kooky, slightly older vivacious woman hit it off. Newly Oscar-ed Christopher Plummer and an always delightful Shirley MacLaine—what could go wrong? The bad news: the plot went wrong. The good news: there was nothing wrong with the veteran actors' performances.

If you're a hopeless fan of either actor, you'll probably end up seeing this one. After all, I did. But it's really not very good. Christopher Plummer's character just doesn't make any sense; he's cranky, he's hopeful, he's lusting after his maid, he's in love with Shirley MacLaine, he couldn't care less about Shirley MacLaine, he's capable, he's getting senile—See what I mean? And Shirley MacLaine's character is one feather shy of a loon. She's grandiose and full of life, and for absolutely no fathomable reason other than "new blood" she pursues her neighbor. She recreates the classic fountain scene from La Dolce Vita and expects the fuddy-duddy to break free of his shell and join in her eccentric behavior, when he's made it perfectly clear he has no such intention. I struggled to understand her character as well, and let me tell you, when you're battling confusion from both leads and boredom from the plot, it's not very fun.

okay, we have seen a lot of movies so far trying to either reminding the old male or female farts not to give up hope to have a possible second spring of their lives or still get the chance to have wet dreams or, a fair warning to their younger offspring to have some heart for their old ones not to take for granted that their old folks were just sticking to their couches or lying in their bedrooms awaiting the final call from the heaven or hell, they were still having some sexual desires to meet an old opposite gender to have a good time.

save it, will you? because there's no need to paint a lovely and hopeful picture for the old and dying generation. the possibility of meeting someone so late is actually zilch. life is not such an easy way to have some fun once you are standing at the bus stop or bus station, destination heaven or hell, with fuzzy blurry eyesight, loose teeth, stinking breath, hard hearing, shaky knees, itchy dry skin, dizzy drowsy brain, numb senses, bad digestion and appetite, constant farting and constipation, hoping that you might still get the chance to have a late staged final encounter of romance. that's just pure crap!

but i know you wouldn't give up so easily, right? so you decide to regularly visit the senior citizen center nearby, or coming down from your senior citizen apartment, into the 1st floor meeting room, to find some opposite old gender to start up a new relationship and 2nd romance. then you would suddenly rejuvenate as a young man and full of energy and hope again, getting up every morning feel like a young man, start humming frank sinatra's songs? or, you decide to go to the church more, lingering behind after the service,hope to meet some handsome old dudes or attractive old grannies?

the reason why you shamelessly become so interested in all of these activities is because you might somehow get lucky to meet a lonely widower or widow, you might get the chance to flirt with him or her? what a shameless old dog you are. you should stay at home, stay in your couch and snooze off. :)

this movie is just another untruthful, ridiculous and stupid drama that could only happens in a movie. when an old fart's bathroom medicine cabinet piled up so many medicines that you have to take on a daily, duly and timely schedule, you don't need to add one romance dosage to cheer you up and feel alive and young again. you just wish after taking so many pills everyday, you don't get kidneys stones or kidney failure and worst of all, a chronicle constipation. this film is the ultimate insult to the old and dying generation.

I really like Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer. So, I was pretty surprised to find them starring in "Elsa & Fred". After all, Netflix Streaming lists the two stars as (Gasp!) Marcia Gay Harden and James Brolin. Hello Netflix! James Brolin appears in only TWO scenes. I guess whoever listed "Elsa and Fred" are either Gen X or Gen Y. Otherwise, he or she would realized BOTH Shirley MacLaine AND Christopher Plummer have won Oscars! Well, yes, so has Marcia Gay Harden; but JAMES BROLIN? Anyway, the ignorance of those responsible for Netflix Streaming is the LEAST of the problems with "Elsa & Fred". I do not care if Michael Radford DID win an audience award. Radford's direction is listless; and nearly the entire first half of "Elsa & Fred" plays out almost as a series of unconnected scenes. Despite the great efforts of MacLaine and Plummer, there is simply NO chemistry between them during the first half. However, once Plummer's character "comes out of his shell," the chemistry between him and Shirley MacLaine is quite touching. Unfortunately, by then, it is too late. The narrative builds no tension, even with the cliché "character in jeopardy" subplot. More engaging music would certainly have helped.

If you really want to see this type of movie done right, watch "Still Mine," with James Cromwell and Genevieve Bujold. Now, THAT is a "geriatric love story" worth seeing.

Oh, I must point out, when MacClaine dresses as "Anita Ekberg," MacClaine proves she is STILL hot at 80. Sadly, I must ALSO point out that James Brolin, at 74, looks WAY too young to be convincing as MacLaine's estranged husband.

I give "Elsa & Fred" a "4".

I've seen several movies about older people falling in love & have enjoyed most of them. I suppose that's why Netflix recommended this one, guessing that I'd LOVE it! Boy were they off this time!

I had a huge problem with the Elsa character who was, IMO, a contemptible, pushy, pathological liar and overall whack-job!

And poor Shirley looked just awful! I realize she's elderly, but good grief, there are things they could have done with camera angles, focus, lighting and wardrobe that would have improved her appearance. It looked like they applied her foundation with a trowel! And rarely, if ever, is long hair flattering to women from about age 60 and up - and hers looked like a cheap wig, to make it even worse! If I was Shirley, I'd sue them for making me look so horrible.

I found the whole thing implausible because to start with, among the folks in this age group, decent looking widowers who are financially secure and mentally sound - as the Fred character was - are in very short supply. In reality, a Fred would not be so lonely or so desperate that he'd settle for someone who acts and looks like an Elsa.

It saddens me that two great old pros, like Plummer and MacLaine have apparently been reduced to starring in this kind of inane garbage.

I honestly wish I hadn't watched this and I recommend that nobody else watch it.

Remake (again) of a much better (latinamerican) movie. Argentinian cinema is (one of) the best industries in LatinAmerica, with some quality movies who have made their way in numerous festivals and even foreign category in the US-Hollywood backed Oscars. From time to time, US-cinema copies the movies, as we saw previously in K-Pax (remake/copy of "Man looking Southeast", which is the worst of these examples. Again, in this case, the US copy has stripped all of the good quality dialogues, and change the sarcastic humor for a more basic low standard jokes, including that translating sarcastic intelligent jokes from Spanish to English is not easy task. Not all is bad, as the good choice of cast with big names make it up for the effort as they do their best to try and save this simplistic version. Getting the latinamerican version with English subtitles is not that difficult, and if not, it's always worth it to learn Spanish, to better catch the many more humorist moments.

I got around to watching another movie I've had in my queue at Netflix for some time yesterday- "Elsa and Fred" is apparently an English- language remake of the 2005 Argentinian film of the same name. Oscar winners, Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer play our titular characters in a December-December romantic comedy surrounding Elsa's obsession with "the sweet life in Rome", as experienced by Anita Ekberg in the 1961 film "La Dolce Vita".

I kept thinking something about this seemed very "deja-vu"-ee to me, then realized MacLaine had actually co-starred with the star of that film, the late Marcello Mastroianni, in the 1993 comedy, "Used People". I've read some user comments that MacLaine may have been a little miscast as Elsa, and I never had any issues with that. Overall, I liked the cast and the feel of the movie, just thought it dragged it's feet a bit-?? And one thing- James Brolin as Scott Bakula's father-??? Eh...neh.... LOL Chris Noth, Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden, and George Segal round out the cast.

Review: This is a very sweet movie about a elderly couple who fall in love after bumping into each other in there apartment block.The man, played by Christopher Plummer, is quite a stubborn fellow who moans about any and everything. The woman, played by Shirley MacLaine, is a happy go lucky lady who gets the most out of life and lives in the fantasy world of film. When Plummer moves into her apartment building, she tries her utmost to get his attention but his difficult ways makes the task a uphill struggle. When they both finally admit there feeling for each other, the movie switches into a beautiful love story which is played extremely well by these two veteran actors. It was great to see George Segal back on the big screen alongside James Brolin who hasn't been on the big screen for some time. I've always been a fan of Shirley MaClaine because of her acting style, which is natural and realistic. It does take some time to get going because of Plummers refusal to get out of bed but it's an emotional movie which made me laugh in parts. Watchable!

Round-Up: These Veteran actors really do put these young and upcoming actors to shame! Shirley MaClaine, who still can pull out a great performance at the age of 81, is brilliant at mixing comedy with emotional drama and it's good to see her back on the big screen. Christopher Plummer is also doing well at the age of 85 and after winning the Best Supporting award at the Oscars in 2012, he's finally earning the respect that he truly does deserve. The director, who also made Beginners and Thumbsucker, has only made 10 movies in his career but he has to be the man whose responsible for bringing Christopher Plummer back the mainstream. He done a great job with this film and he definitely got the most out of the actors but the ending could have done with a rewrite.

Budget: $10million Worldwide Gross: N/A

I recommend this movie to people who are into their drama/love stories about an elderly couple who fall in love with each other after meeting up in there apartment block. 4/10