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Despite that enduring American work policy that emphasizes working extra hours just to look good, American movies continue to preach how important it is to not let your job define your life. The latest movie is Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding, directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy). Catherine Keener plays an uptight lawyer in the middle of a divorce who takes her two kids to visit her mother. However, the kids have never met their grandmother, a devout hippie played by Jane Fonda. A weekend visit turns into a summer getaway as Keener’s character is told how to “chill out, man.”
It’s looking like a sweet, feel-good comedy, but the “square vs. hippie” dynamic was played out a long time ago. Here’s hoping that the casting of Jane Fonda means the mother-daughter relationship won’t be treading familiar ground.