Back When We Were Grownups

Watched this on Hallmark Now and loved it and Will Highly recommend it. James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 2/14/2021

Nothing super flashy, no big special effects. A solid story with a superb cast. Not your type of movie if you're seeking big explosions with not much story. This is a touching story about lifelike characters. Very relatable.

Blythe Danner, Jack Palance, Peter Fonda, Peter Riegert, and Faye Dunaway were fantastic. The supporting cast was excellent as well.

I read -Back When We Were Grownups- some years ago and I'm a big fan of Ann Tyler's novels. This broadcast was remarkably faithful to the book, and the casting, particularly in the principal roles, was truly inspired. This is what good acting is all about. Especially great to see the wonderful Blythe Danner. Peter Riegert as always brought warmth and subtlety to the role of the brother-in-law. I loved Jack Palance as Poppy, although he's so youthful it was necessary to suspend belief in his portrayal of a 100 year old man! Great set design, too, and subtle retro styling for the memory scenes. I always look forward to the Hallmark Hall of Fame specials for quality drama, great commercials, and beautiful Wagner-like theme music.

This film was very enjoyable and showed a family with many problems and lots and lots of good time Parties! Jack Palance,(Poppy Davitch),"War Games",'96, was the star of this film with his great acting and very comical role as the Senior Citizen of the family. Poppy was constantly eating at the kitchen table and waiting for a Big Birthday Event, his 100th ! Peter Fonda,(Will Allenby),"The Laramie Project",'02, play a middle aged/old sweetheart friend, who was a stuffed shirt that was not able to accept the family and their way of living and was not able to understand why the family was such a big Melting Pot of all races. If you loved Jack Palance over the years and want to see him at his very best, this is the film for YOU!

Other than the stellar cast, the plot is boring and dysfunctional. Jack parlance is a gem as usual, the other characters are unlikable. How can you make a hallmark movie with the inability to portray characters who resonate with people. Fonda is like a downer. Anyway, don't waste your time. . Do I have to keep writing about the first time they reunited? She never even offered an apology for dumping the guy and blindsiding the poor fool. He then apologizes to her and grovels to get back into her life because he was recently divorced. There's a reason he's divorced. He's just not even worth remembering.