Michael Keaton and Diane Keaton attempt sparks in “And So It Goes.”
Credit: Clay Enos/Clarius Entertainment
‘And So It Goes’
Director: Rob Reiner
Stars: Michael Douglas, Diane Keaton
Rating: PG-13
2 (out of 5) Globes
At some point Hollywood stopped making movies like “And So It Goes.” Well, not exactly like “And So It Goes.” To put it crudely, some of them used to be good. “And So It Goes” is not; it’s slapdash, wincingly amateurish at times, hardly deserving the two commanding legends — Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton — at the center. But once upon a time there could have been a charming, even moving film made from this autumnal romance, which finds a miserable widower and a plucky widow hesitantly finding love. It might have even starred the same people and also been directed by Rob Reiner.
“And So It Goes” wants to be a hang-out movie, where you simply congregate a lot of talented people, give them a minimal plot and let them go. But there are too many moving parts and conflicting tones here, and Reiner isn’t the kind of party master who can keep them in control. A sudden home birth scene may be the most chaotic thing he’s ever directed, but not in a good way; it’s an out-of-control situation which seems to genuinely have no one at the controls. World-weary sobriety gets interrupted by cloying sentimentality plus terrible jokes. A better stylist could have whipped this into shape, but Reiner doesn’t even seem to be trying.
Even the central couple seem mispaired. Douglas’ cocksure swagger seems to genuinely intimidate the already flummoxed Keaton, and what’s supposed to be an awkward hook-up late in simply looks awkward. They seem like a hypothetical couple, two people you want to see paired because they’re both great. But they’re two different kinds of great. You want them to find happiness, because they’re beloved actors, but with someone more each other’s speed.
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