Ladies Night Out

80 For Brady 
Stars: Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field, Tom Brady (yes, THE Tom Brady), Harry Hamlin, Bob Balaban, Glynn Thurman, Sara Gilbert, Sally Kirkland and Patton Oswalt
Director: Kyle Marvin
Scriptwriters: Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpem
Composer: John Debney
Cinematography: John Toll
199 Productions/Paramount Pictures
Rating: PG 13
Running Length: 99 Minutes 

At the time of this writing, it is only a few more days until the next Super Bowl. Fans are at fever pitch around the world, but Tom Brady is not playing this year. “80 For Brady” is set back five years when Tom Brady was still playing for the Boston Patriots and Patrick Mahomes was a newcomer. In director Kyle Marvin’s film, four senior ladies who are friends, end up getting tickets and going to a Super Bowl game.  Imagine directing four top stars, Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field in one movie. Oh, yes, Tom Brady is in the film, too, and also a producer. As you can imagine, the love of football is really the star. 

The story line has the ladies bonding through the years and each has their own situation. Lou (Lily Tomlin) is waiting for medical test results, Trish (Jane Fonda) wears a multitude of wigs and has a eye on men, Maura (Rita Moreno) recently lost her husband, and Betty (Sally Field) is a math professor and likes to tell everyone that she is the younger one (under the age of 80). To cheer everyone up, Lou manages to get free tickets to the Super Bowl which will be in Houston.  Then the fun begins, with arrival, lost tickets, meeting new people who turn into friends. Various adventures include actually making a play call for the Patriots, losing/finding/losing/finding various items, dodging security guards and finding out just how they actually got tickets in the first place. The ending is priceless. 

What you may think would have been an average comedy film, turns into something else. Friendship and how you can depend on someone who is not a member of your family. Age means nothing and life goes on with buoyancy and delight. You can do anything. The individual actresses have their moments with Sally Field and a hot wings contest, Jane Fonda with wigs and make-up and Rita Moreno trying to get past security as a dancer.  Be watchful for football stars Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman, yes, and Tom Brady, too. By the way, there actually was a “80 for Brady Club” when Brady played for the Patriots.

This film was released just in time for football fans to enjoy now or after Super Bowl 57. Sports fans come in all ages and even in mid-summer, watching football fans in action is fun.

 

Copyright 2023 Marie Asner