Flirting with Forty

sweet story, nice script, perfect cast. a love story in same rules of genre, not profound but comfortable, using the difference of age as spice and two not bad actors in the lead roles. so, a modern form of fairy tale with clichés and tension moments, lovely landscapes and pleasant atmosphere. nothing new but that could be its fundamental virtue. because, in fact, it is only a film with Heather Locklear and Robert Buckley, with surfing in Hawaii and collection of stereotypes, ideal choice for Sunday evening, not problematic but sweet and nice and decent. so, an easy romantic film with the ordinaries problems and solutions, selfish and dreams. better than many other examples of genre, it is a soft refuge for romantics and the victims of a hard long work day.

I accidentally turned the TV to star movies and started watching this movie just because I live in Hawaii and I saw Diamond head, which I personally found the only true thing about Oahu in this movie.

This movie must have been written based on a novel of an author who found herself a lot unattractive and rewarded herself with such a fantasy. The main character is too old and her acting sucks. Anyone who still thinks this stupid movie is true, go to Hawaii and you are welcome to stay with me for free if you could find such a surfer on the beach. Oh, and skip the broke ones too, if you're better looking than that cougar, i'm sure you can find a great 6 packed lad with buckets of money too. Come on, we are not 13 year-old teenagers to believe in such things. Get real!

Locklear looks fantastic and Buckley is quite convincing. The plot sounds simple and there aren't many twists, the movie is perhaps classic Showtime stuff, but nevertheless it's spicy enough to make some very interesting points. In fact, beneath the surface and the great Hawaii landscapes, beneath the fun times and the colorful cocktails, it's a social commentary of a movie! Scratch that surface and get ready to give some thought whether it is fair for a man to date a younger woman but not as fair for a woman to date a younger guy...

This is a charming tale of double standards and age discrimination in our society. It isn't an earth shatteringly intelligent film and requires no concentration to watch it after a long, hard day. The scenery is stunning and Heather Locklear, the heroine is lovely.

The heroine is divorced, after her husband went off with an airhead bimbo who allows the kids to eat what they want. We are informed that Bimbo is 14 years younger than the husband. Which everyone just accepts. No problem. But when the heroine has a holiday fling with a handsome young man... whoooa ... everyone raises an eyebrow. As I said double standards. Why? The young male lover is seriously decorative. You can watch this at a couple of levels, lazing in the armchair with a glass of wine or pondering life's injustices. It won't get any awards but it's OK.

OK, so I don't buy this flirting idea with Heather Locklear, but the premise of the movie is there, and she was the only reason that I tuned in to watch this film (that, and the fact there was nothing else on the tube).

Locklear stars as a recently-divorced woman who is about to turn forty and her best friend hooks her up with a trip to the Islands for a little Holiday getaway, which turns into a May-December romance (well, OK, she's only September). Once again, love is given a chance in a long distance relationship, even though her children, her friends, her ex-husband (who's dating a woman just as young as the one Locklear is dating), and her common sense tell her something completely different from what her heart is saying.

You know, this isn't a bad movie, but plot is a little overdone. I think we all hope that love can overcome any obstacles, which I believe is the message of this movie, but I can't help think about the saying, "50 is the new 40," when it comes to this movie, because Locklear is WAY beyond the "39 and holding" age. Maybe it's just because I remember seeing her in "TJ Hooker" with William Shatner when she still carried her baby-fat in her face.

3 out of 10 stars.