Title: The Hot Flashes
Directed by: Susan Seidelman
Starring: Brooke Shields, Wanda Sykes, Virginia Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Camryn Manheim, Eric Roberts
Running time: 1 hr. 39 min, Rated R, In theaters 07/12, DVD 08/13
Beth Humphrey (Brooke Shields) is feeling the early effects of menopause. Her husband Laurence (Eric Roberts) has no sympathy. Beth is devastated to discover her deceased friend and former teammate’s legacy, a mammogram screening truck has lost funding and will no longer be operating. Beth gets the idea to put a team together for charity, challenge 3 games with the current basketball team where her daughter is a star player and raise enough money to keep the truck up and running. She begins to approach various women around her town she knows were players: Ginger (Daryl Hannah) who is the local celebrity saleswoman of the town’s car dealership, Roxie (Camryn Manheim) is the go to person for medicinal baked goods, Florine (Wanda Sykes) is running for a 2nd term as mayor and Clementine (Virginia Madsen) the jilted ex-wife of the current basketball coach with a wild reputation. All these women are apprehensive, but band together for a good cause and relive their glory days. Their small Texas town first thinks it to be a joke, but when the women’s cause gets in the press, they all start getting support and respect from the community.
The negative: Cliche story. Predictable ending.
The positive: Funny characters and dialogue. Kind of cliché, but I liked how they get a dwarf (Mark Povinelli ) to be the basketball coach. Not to sound like Mugatu, but little people are “so hot right now.” There’s a little bit of novelty to the character, but in the end he’s a regular guy who gets the girl he wants. I liked the message of that even if a woman is reaching a “certain age” she doesn’t need to stay in a dead-end relationship, and especially not for the kids.
The Hot Flashes is a good popcorn movie or for a mother-daughter movie night where you can share a hatred for the evil mother-daughter characters and feel redemption when things go sour for them. It has a good message about letting go of the past and look for the good in others even though you think you hate their guts. It’s geared towards homemakers and the over 40-50 crowd, but I thought it was a fun distraction.
Reviewed by: JM Willis
Total Rating: B
