OPENS APRIL 22nd. Marnie (Susan Sarandon) is a widow. She’s got a new iPhone (that she’s learning to use.) She’s able to navigate google and she’s just moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in order to be near her daughter, Lori (Rose Bryne). Walking through ‘The Grove’ mall, Marnie’s trying to find purpose since her husband’s death.
But Marnie’s daughter, Lori worries that her mother will drive her crazy since Lori’s receiving five missed calls a minute [from her]. Lori is a television ‘show runner’ depressed over losing her boyfriend, who’s left her for a twenty-something younger version. Lori’s mother, Marnie, constantly shows up unannounced, has her own key to Lori’s apartment, meddling in everything including an appearance on the sofa of Lori’s therapist, who suggests, that “Perhaps it’s time to set some boundaries?”
When Lori takes a gig in NYC her mother, Marnie, is left behind in LA, now meddling with Lori’s friends,’ one of their weddings, and even happens upon a movie set. It’s there she meets a potential suitor, also a widower, named ‘Zipper’ (J K Simmons.)
But we also come to realize that the one place Marnie might learn to meddle is inside her own head. Marnie feels guilt for all her deceased husband’s money. He left her well-cushioned, and she wants to share her worth with the world.
For Sarandon, who has always played the role of bold woman in control, this is a gentle turning point, embracing age and wisdom. As for J K Simmons, following his temper-tantrum performance in the Oscar nominated Whiplash, this too, is a softer side of life.
In the end, the film comes to feel like an instant classic. It’s Nora Ephron-esque. It’s Terms of Endearment …films about underdog hope, loss, and finding purpose and love again. This is a film about facing regrets, fears and reinvention of ourselves. This is a film that might just be all of us someday. The Meddler is a movie about being consumed by everyone else, until eventually, and through growth, we must meddle with the core of who we really are. Four tiaras