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FLICKS: The Tomorrow Man, Journey to a Mother’s Room & Memorial Day activities

Posted on 23 May 2019 by LeslieM

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Since the early 1980s, John Lithgow has been a consummate character actor on the big and little screen. He was the villain to John Travolta and Nancy Allen in Brian de Palma’s Blow Out, yet was Oscar nominated for his gentle role as a transsexual football player in The World According to Garp and as a small town gentleman who helps Debra Winger in the Oscar-winning Best Picture Terms of Endearment. Lithgow earned an Emmy as the nasty antagonist to the serial killer Dexter and as Professor Dick in 3rd Rock from the Sun. Lithgow portrays the lightness and the darkness of human nature with equal conviction.

Lithgow’s new movie, The Tomorrow Man, opens this Memorial Day weekend. In the midst of comic book movie openings, The Tomorrow Man may be the quietest movie opening this weekend. It is definitely the most unique one.

Ed (Lithgow) is on the high side of 60 and is obsessed with the future. While grocery shopping for supplies for his hidden bunker, he observes Ronnie (Blythe Danner). Like Ed, Ronnie buys bulk supplies and pays cash. Ed suspects they are kindred spirits and he introduces himself.

Ed and Ronnie hit it off and share meals, have discussions and late night drives in small town America. We learn that Ronnie has suffered much loss and has a tendency to hoard. As the relationship grows, Ed’s estranged son asks them to join the family for Thanksgiving Dinner. The meal is comically dark, but changes the tone of The Tomorrow Man.

As we learned in the movie Storm Boy, a good story has to go wrong before it gets better. The Tomorrow Man is a story about growth and the inevitable. Yet, the theme of embracing the present is so strong. With empathetic actors like Lithgow & Danner, The Tomorrow Man is a gem of a movie hidden on the big screen, much like the treasures found in Ronnie’s house of hoarding.

Opening last weekend with a visitation from the writer/director (Celia Rico Clavellino) and leading lady (Lola Duenas),Journey to a Mother’s Room is a Spanish language movie about a mother and daughter separation. For 90 plus minutes, this film features two women performing mundane activities. The daughter goes off to pursue her dream job in London, while the mother suffers from empty nest syndrome. Though this drama does drag, the climax provides a worthy payoff.

Of course, this is Memorial Day weekend and this columnist must acknowledge the PBS National Memorial Day Concert on Sunday night. The show is always epic and emotional, with this year’s emphasis on the 75th Anniversary of D-Day. Also, on Thursday, June 6 at 2 p.m., the Percy White Library in Deerfield Beach will host a free concert conducted by the Senior Moments Unforgettable Band. Expect some patriotic Big Band swing!

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