Review: Who wouldn’t want to be Diane Keaton? But in a better movie than ‘Mack & Rita’

Who doesn’t love Diane Keaton? Or frankly, wish to be Diane Keaton? The Oscar-winning star has had a movie and tv profession spanning six many years, she’s a vogue icon, and she or he’s accomplished all of it in her personal singularly distinctive and quirky method. It’s not shocking then, that within the fantastical and fluffy comedy “Mack & Rita” — written by Madeline Walter and Paul Welsh, directed by Katie Aselton — a struggling younger author needs to be as cool and assured as Keaton herself, or somebody like her — as in, older. Rendered literal, that want leads to a story that could possibly be described as “Freaky Friday” meets “Outdated.” It’s a cute idea, however seems to be a lemon when you begin kicking the tires.

Watching Keaton learn the cellphone ebook could be entertaining. Sadly, the cellphone ebook would have made extra sense than the screenplay for “Mack & Rita,” which ditches character institution and clear battle for fish-out-of-water bodily comedy and a few vaguely affirmative classes about studying to be your self, unapologetically.

Twenty-something Mack (Elizabeth Lail) is an creator turned social media author/influencer. Although she seems younger and hip, she’s really an previous soul, who desires of dwelling like her pricey grandmother, swanning about in colourful caftans, not caring about what different folks suppose. This need for the caftan life is seemingly a wrestle for Mack, as she violently resists the youthful capers of her pals throughout a Palm Springs bachelorette celebration for her finest pal Carla (Taylour Paige).

Worn out from a bottomless brunch, aghast on the notion of a “Unhealthy Bunny live performance in a fridge,” Mack stumbles right into a “past-life regression pop-up” and clambers into an previous tanning mattress on the behest of Luka (Simon Rex). He guides her by means of a meditation about who she actually desires to be, and out pops, naturally, Diane Keaton. Hastily Mack is the daring and classy 70-something she’s all the time dreamed of changing into.

Posing as her “Aunt Rita” till the issue might be remedied, Mack slides again into her life with just a few bumps alongside the best way. She’s bought a brand new groove as Rita, flirting together with her next-door neighbor Jack (Dustin Milligan), and changing into a shock Instagram sensation. The story is ostensibly about how the privilege of age can assist one study to embrace their foibles and idiosyncrasies, however we’re by no means fairly clear on particularly what these are for Mack.

If rising older is empowering, it’s because of the expertise you achieve and the teachings alongside the best way; these years spent incomes grey hairs and chuckle traces. It’s not one thing you may skip. Mack/Rita finally figures this out, because of a sassy wine membership of grandmas, but it surely’s a bit of too late.

Any and all age-swap shenanigans, baffling eventualities, and flaws within the idea could possibly be forgiven by a greater understanding of Mack, whose points appear muddled and trivial. Rita, nicely, who even is Rita? She’s meant to be Older Mack, however she’s simply Diane Keaton delivering her signature adorably neurotic routine (if it aint’ broke). There’s no consistency of character or efficiency between Lail and Keaton, and it all the time looks like we’re watching Mack AND Rita, not two variations of the identical particular person.

Aselton has a light-weight contact as a director, and she or he properly trots out an all-star parade of comedy heavyweights to distract from the script points. It’s onerous to be mad at a film wherein Patti Harrison juggles three cellphones as Mack’s harried agent, and Nicole Byer leads a beachside breathwork session that one way or the other finally ends up lighting Rita’s hair on hearth. The supporting characters, even within the smallest of roles, are a spotlight.

Maybe a bit of Keaton cosplay might be therapeutic, however true knowledge comes from time spent, not simply an age swap. Because of the adventures of Rita, Mack lastly learns to only put on that caftan if she desires to, although precisely what was stopping her within the first place stays a thriller.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune Information Service movie critic.