Strangers in Good Company

This is a seriously good movie, for those on the search for a serious good movie, but don't go expecting much by way of a plot. With much of it improv, it feels more like a documentary. Like "survivor for seniors." What happens if you drop a busload of very old women off in the woods and tell them to fend for themselves?

It's all very civilized, and there's not a lot of urgency about it. No pulling straws to see who gets eaten. Just a bunch of old women (and one mildly injured young one) trying to figure out how to divide an apple into 7ths while sharing the details of their lives. The most intriguing, for me, aspect of this film is that the actresses played themselves. Nonagenerian Constance Garneau was really Nonagenerian Constance Garneau, and when she weeps with fear at the thought of her impending death it doesn't feel like acting. Octagenerian Cissy Medding's bewildered grief as she faces her own fear of a life unloved and alone is not feigned.

But don't let me mislead you--this movie is not depressing. It's affirming. These old girls get along very nicely with each other and their world, and while there are no answers to the deeper dilemmas they face (we do get the sense that Constance may find hers), they manage their present challenge with an enviable bon vivant. In places, in fact, it's very funny. The interaction between Mary Meigs and Cissy Meddings when Mary reveals her awkward secret is priceless.

Good friends, good movie. I highly recommend.

This is one of a select few DVDs I give to special friends knowing that the viewing of it will be received as a true gift. The story line is simple: 8 women -- 7 are elderly -- must grow resourceful when their bus breaks down and they are stranded miles from civilization.

At the time the film was made, the 7 women, all non-actors, were feeling old and marginalized in their lives. Their situation changed one magical summer when they became unlikely movie stars. This film is a record of that summer. The viewer is caressed by the presence of these women as they open up and blossom before our eyes on screen. Enduring friendships were forged among cast members, many of whom felt their participation in this film was the best experience of their lives. Inevitably, most of the cast members are now gone. It is rewarding to know that these women lived to experience their standing ovations when the film was initially released.

Please note that there is a companion book about the making of the film (and more), written by cast member Mary Meigs titled "In the Company of Strangers" published by Talonbooks. It is a splendid read and is available from Amazon.com.

The American historian Page Smith once wrote, "After an acquaintance of ten minutes, many women will exchange confidences that a man would not reveal to a lifelong friend." It's true that "Strangers in Good Company" is set in beautiful country and that the friendships that are born and explored during its hour-and-a-half length are absolutely charming and endearing to the Nth degree, but I believe more than anything else, it portrays the sense of sisterhood that exists among women over the age of 40. There's just something about being a woman who's no longer thought of as "young" that bonds women to each other, when they finally realize that gravity and hemorrhoids happen and there are worse things in life than growing old, and that being married (all a girl thinks about when she's young) isn't the be-all and end-all of a woman's existence. The women in this film are generally older than me but still, I felt that sense of sisterhood among them, and loved watching as each revealed her past, noting how some still revel in being alive while others seem to have given up and now wait to die. What really tickled me was, each character reminded me of a person I know in my own life (altho' I doubt my great aunt---a former school teacher---would be pleased to hear that "an ol' Lesbian" reminded me of HER [hahahahahahahahaha!]): Winnie, the dancer, who still thinks of herself as graceful and sexy; sweet little Cissy, almost overcome with emotion whenever she thinks of her son; Mary who, for all her art and appreciation for birds and nature, seems to take the world so literally; Catherine singing hymns while she works; Michelle who's younger than the others, but still senses that she has more in common with these "old ladies" than she thought at first glance; Beth, the loner, who at 80 is still self-conscious about her appearance; Constance, whose physical presence, as she sat and walked about, reminded me SO much of my dear little maternal grandmother (except that Grandma was full of joy until the moment of her death at age 92); and Alice, dear Alice. I've always had an "Alice"-type person in my life, an Earth mother sort who, when faced with the possibility of her own death, decides to go fishing instead. Lord, if I can be anything I want before I die, please let me be an Alice. In short, I LOVED this movie.... and you will, too!

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