Freundinnen fürs Leben

I laughed and cried throughout this beautiful film. This is truly a gem for my generation, the forgotten ladies in our 50s who have a wealth of experience and plenty of life yet to life. We can all relate to at least one character in Off the Rails, which is not only a timely reminder to live life to the full, but also to appreciate the friends we have and to come out of the pandemic wiser and kinder.

I also secretly love that middle aged male critics don't get it. This one is for us!

This clever inversion of the road movie genre sees a group of women trying to recreate their teenage Interrail journey from London to Mallorca and wittily confronting the reality of life in their 50s along the route.

Making the most of its superb cast and great Blondie soundtrack, the film powers through Europe and a succession of misadventures that threaten to derail the journey. Strong female characters are front and centre throughout the film and when Dan (Ben Miller) tries to ride to their rescue he finds the ladies have other ideas.

Trainspotters may quibble about the representation of the European rail network, but film buffs should look out for the cinematic references: the final scene, for example, is a carefully-crafted homage to Thelma & Louise.

The film is released at a difficult time: Brexit and Covid took a toll on the very idea of European travel and, of course, Kelly Preston sadly died last year. However, the essence of the film is a promise of new beginnings and it ends with a sorely-needed message of hope.

I really looked forward to watching this movie and was so disappointed. It was far fetched to the point where we just burst outlaughing. It was never explained what caused the beach to age everyone on it. I didn't realise it was a comedy 😂

Good idea, for a film with a reasonable cast bbut just woefully scripted and totally predictable at every turn.

Okay, so it is a sweet film with a mixed up plot and loud BLONDIE music. Good to see Kelly Preston before she left this world.

Why BLONDIE music? And why so loud?