ReelBob: ‘Poms’ ★★½
By Bob Bloom
While “Poms” is a fun confection overall, a patronizing and disingenuousness air saturates the feature.
The movie’s heart and intentions are in the right place; it’s the execution — the reliance on clichés and predictable situations — found in dozens of other movies about senior citizens — that emits a scent of ageism.
Martha, the movie’s central character, played by Diane Keaton, moves from a northern city to a retirement community is Georgia. The filmmakers make sure you know it’s the South because all the tropes of the region are tossed at Martha within the first 10 minutes of her arrival by a welcoming trio of very chatty women — one of whom you know from the outset will soon be at odds with our new arrival.
Martha simply wants to be left alone, but her pushy next-door neighbor, Sheryl (a delightfully animated Jacki Weaver) will have none of it and forces herself into Martha’s life.
One night, over drinks, Sheryl notices an old cheerleader outfit in one of Martha’s unpacked boxes. Martha tells her new friend the story behind the outfit — and, boom! They decide to form a cheerleading club.
Of course, the snobbish woman who is head of the community won’t allow it, believing it is unbecoming for women of their ages to prance around in such uniforms.
You can write most of the rest of the movie yourself.
What’s troubling about “Poms” is its reliance of stereotypes — most of the women have some kind of physical aliment, or a domineering husband who forbids their participation or an overzealous, protective son who believes his mother is being duped for her money.
“Poms,” directed by Zara Hayes, tries to walk both sides of the street: it celebrates the women while also making fun of their infirmities and limitations. (And of course, the usual quota of sex jokes — made mostly by Sheryl — are included.
With the exception of Keaton and Weaver, most of the other women in the cast — which includes Rhea Perlman, Pam Grier, Phyllis Somerville and Celia Watson as their snooty antagonist Vicki — are defined more by their situations than as individuals.
The subplot about Martha’s illness feels contrived to elicit pathos and urgency to the cheerleaders’ aim of competing in a regional contest.
One of the movie’s other major problems is Martha’s rapid conversion from sullen loner to inspirational squad leader. It happens too quickly, with little explanation, and plays like an ill-conceived plot device.
I know I am being quite critical of “Poms.” Yet despite all its shortcoming, the movie is infectious. It’s lively, funny and a bit risqué.
And despite its anti-climactic ending, you will leave the theater smiling.
“Poms” is average, but it’s a lovely date-night movie for adult couples of any age.
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
POMS
2½ stars out of 4
(PG-13), language, sexual references