Poms movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Poms

Comes out on DVD September 6, 2019

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: C-

IN A NUTSHELL: This female empowerment comedy is brought to you by STX films, the studio that created the movies Bad Moms and Book Club . If you liked those films, then you’ll probably get a kick out of this new Diane Keaton movie. If you thought they were both too crass, trashy, and dumb, then you’ll want to pass on this one.

As a film critic, I have to say the movie is not very good. As a woman marching every day closer to retirement age, I readily admit that grandma gal pals will have a laugh together while watching this and be inspired to live their dreams and seize the day.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

There is a short clip of an STD film a high school class has to watch.
Lots of talk of sex.
Some suggestive movements.
Talk of drugs.
Some profanity and name-calling
Teen cheerleaders in skimpy outfits showing lots of skin
People make fun of other people
Talk of murder
Vandalism
An old woman flips the bird at her son as her friends cheer her on.

THEMES:

“My mom. She used to say that we don’t die. We live on through the memories we leave behind.” – Martha (Diane Keaton)
“The only thing that really matters is what we think of ourself.” – Martha
“Life is short and make your move already!” – Martha

THINGS I LIKED:

The elderly cast of spunky women includes Diane Keaton, Jacki Weaver, Rhea Perlman, Celia Weston, Phyllis Somerville, Pam Grier, and some faces you may not have seen before.
Wow, those video clips of cheerleaders shown at the very beginning of the movie could have easily been from my high school days. They sure brought back memories.
If the movie gets people moving, that’s always a good thing. The dancing montage during the end credits with Martha’s signature “move” at the end was cute.
I loved the metaphor of the firework.
Women need a support system of other women. This is a great reminder to be open to new friendships and experiences.
It’s always good to see older actresses getting work in Hollywood.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

I like Diane Keaton, but she plays the exact same character in every movie.
You don’t really get to know anyone. There is no character development other than surface-level cliches.
The motivation of two key characters (Vicki and Chloe) changed on a dime for no apparent reason. Every movie needs tension, so the plot just instantly changed their personalities in order to move the story forward. Lame.
What an annoying next door neighbor.
Raunchy, unsophisticated humor with tired punch-lines
Kind of depressing
Over-acting that felt like the people were more cartoons than real people
People are super disrespectful to others. It’s supposed to be for laughs, but I wasn’t amused. That’s such poor humor.
It would have been better if their uniforms at the end spelled something.
It would have been fun to see some really great cheerleading from the young girls to showcase how much it has changed over the years. It all looked like it was from 20 years ago.
Very predictable.
Really ridiculous.