Much like their first movie together, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are back in a dark comedy Moving On. And back to their 9 to 5 roots, the actors are doing a movie that is based around friendship, death, and a bit of revenge. But unlike their other first movie together and other roles, Moving On seems to have aged their story up quite a bit, much like their acting and other roles together.
Moving On reunites the actresses in a friendship comedy with a murder plot tied in. After their college friend has passed away, the two friends reunite after decades apart and work together on repairing their friendship but also on plotting to kill their former friend’s husband. Through a series of mishaps, miscommunications, and lies, the movie takes you along the journey as they seek revenge, try to find love again, and find their way in the world around them. The movie may have a darker tone to it but will leave you smiling after watching it. It has a heartfelt feeling even through the darkness and shows the power of friendship and love at any stage.
Fans of Grace and Frankie may have a bit of a harder time separating Fonda and Tomlin from their roles in this new movie, and the characters seem to have a bit of the series characters in the film as well. This could be the part of the actors natural personalities pushing through each character, or purposely written that way. And while at times the movie does have a feeling of a bit of an extended episode of Grace and Frankie, it doesn’t make it less enjoyable for it. Moving On tells the story of a decades-long friendship and its ups and downs, much like the actors have had together since their first movie together in 1980.
Moving On may be a dark comedy, and may be extreme situations – but it will quickly win fans over. At the heart of it is a story of enduring friendships, rekindled love and support, and a lot of love between characters. The movie is a testament to friendship through the decades and how they change and adapt as time does, but not packaged in the cute bow that a lot of other friend movies are. It doesn’t seem to take the traditional path or one that you would expect but is a journey that you’ll happily take with two fantastic actors at the helm. It’s a nice reminder that any stage of life is not too late to start over, get revenge or rekindle that flame.
Moving On is now playing at select theaters.
Overall Rating:
About Moving On:
ane Fonda and Lily Tomlin star as estranged friends who reunite to seek revenge on the petulant widower (Malcolm McDowell) of their recently deceased best friend. Along the way, Fonda’s character reunites with her great love (Richard Roundtree) as each woman learns to make peace with the past and each other.
