HANGING UP (2000)

HANGING UP has a couple of funny moments, but overall, it's very boring. The overlong flashbacks don't help. I think they should've been cut or the story should've been told in chronological order. Except from the sad event that the main characters (Eve, Georgia & Maddy) and the audience expect from the beginning (where editing and sound are put to good use, because the intensity of the moment is highlighted), nothing about the film's presentation stands out. Walter Matthau's performance is weak, but he, Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton and Lisa Kudrow have enough chemistry to make a believable family, despite the age gap between the Mozell sisters. I'm not saying that can't happen in real life, but this case is so unusual that it should've been addressed, even for a brief moment. Since it doesn't, it comes off as the movie trying to pass a woman in her 50s off as a woman in her 30s. There's a scene where Lou (the sisters' father) ruins his grandson's party, causing a fight between him and Eve. After that, her husband Joe says "He's never setting foot on this house again!" How weird. That usually happens in movies where the son/daughter-in-law gets angry at the grandpa/grandma while the son/daughter tries to defend them. In fact, Joe witnessed their fight. Why does he feel the need to say this?

3/10
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