At first glance, it seems as if "Just Getting Started" is going to resemble one of the old Bob Hope and Bing Crosby collaborations from decades ago-two footloose con men ambling along in search of a life of ease, avoiding responsibility and matrimonial entanglements by relying largely on their wits and their engaging personalities.
But before you start getting excited by a sense of nostalgia, you might want to remember that the Hope and Crosby comedies coasted along on the most threadbare of plots, leaning instead on the rapport between the two stars and their often unscripted and improvised dialogue, which mostly consisted of in-jokes and references to each other's entertainment personas.
And that's one of the many problems of "Just Getting Started"-unlike Hope and Crosby, stars Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones have absolutely no chemistry in their scenes together. While the dialogue in the picture might seem spontaneous and unscripted, it's not-it just isn't funny. And as anyone knows who's seen either Jones or Freeman appearing on a television talk show, without a script in his hands neither actor has a great deal of personality to contribute to the party.
"Just Getting Started" has no discernible plot-there's barely even a pulse. As a result, the picture after a while begins to resemble one long and pointless comedy sketch rejected by some obscure television variety show from the 1970s. Worse, Freeman and Jones often mutter and mumble their lines inaudibly, under their breath, as if they're embarrassed.
They have reason to be-writer and director Ron Shelton has created for the two aging stars a script which meanders all over the screen. The story seems to travel in one direction for a few minutes, then wanders off in another direction, and then repeats the pattern again and again until we don't really know what the picture's about. Is it a mob comedy? A satire?
Rene Russo, cast in the role Dorothy Lamour would've played in a Hope and Crosby comedy, at least gives the movie her best effort-in marked contrast to Jones and Freeman, Russo seems to be pointedly enunciating her lines, but in the process she also unfortunately removes every dramatic nuance or hint of intentional humor. And Jane Seymour in a guest-star role literally phones in her performance-she has no scenes with any of the other actors, appearing almost unrecognized in elaborate wigs and slinky metallic outfits, shrieking with a Noo Yawk accent into a gold telephone.
Dumped into 2146 theaters nationwide, "Just Getting Started" has earned a 9% approval rating from the critics on the Rotten Tomatoes website, and a score of 25 out of 100 on Metacritic, signaling generally unfavorable reviews. The more charitable audiences polled by CinemaScore assign the picture a C grade.
"Just Getting Started" is a mess. Skip this one entirely, and save your money to buy extra Christmas gifts.
But before you start getting excited by a sense of nostalgia, you might want to remember that the Hope and Crosby comedies coasted along on the most threadbare of plots, leaning instead on the rapport between the two stars and their often unscripted and improvised dialogue, which mostly consisted of in-jokes and references to each other's entertainment personas.
And that's one of the many problems of "Just Getting Started"-unlike Hope and Crosby, stars Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones have absolutely no chemistry in their scenes together. While the dialogue in the picture might seem spontaneous and unscripted, it's not-it just isn't funny. And as anyone knows who's seen either Jones or Freeman appearing on a television talk show, without a script in his hands neither actor has a great deal of personality to contribute to the party.
"Just Getting Started" has no discernible plot-there's barely even a pulse. As a result, the picture after a while begins to resemble one long and pointless comedy sketch rejected by some obscure television variety show from the 1970s. Worse, Freeman and Jones often mutter and mumble their lines inaudibly, under their breath, as if they're embarrassed.
They have reason to be-writer and director Ron Shelton has created for the two aging stars a script which meanders all over the screen. The story seems to travel in one direction for a few minutes, then wanders off in another direction, and then repeats the pattern again and again until we don't really know what the picture's about. Is it a mob comedy? A satire?
Rene Russo, cast in the role Dorothy Lamour would've played in a Hope and Crosby comedy, at least gives the movie her best effort-in marked contrast to Jones and Freeman, Russo seems to be pointedly enunciating her lines, but in the process she also unfortunately removes every dramatic nuance or hint of intentional humor. And Jane Seymour in a guest-star role literally phones in her performance-she has no scenes with any of the other actors, appearing almost unrecognized in elaborate wigs and slinky metallic outfits, shrieking with a Noo Yawk accent into a gold telephone.
Dumped into 2146 theaters nationwide, "Just Getting Started" has earned a 9% approval rating from the critics on the Rotten Tomatoes website, and a score of 25 out of 100 on Metacritic, signaling generally unfavorable reviews. The more charitable audiences polled by CinemaScore assign the picture a C grade.
"Just Getting Started" is a mess. Skip this one entirely, and save your money to buy extra Christmas gifts.