Finding Your Feet (2017)

Directed by: Richard Loncraine | 111 minutes | comedy, drama | Actors: Timothy Spall, Joanna Lumley, Imelda Staunton, Celia Imrie, David Hayman, Phoebe Nicholls, Josie Lawrence, John Sessions, Indra Ové, Richard Hope, Victoria Wicks, Sian Thomas, Marianne Oldham, Jacqueline Ramnarine

In 2003 they posed naked for a calendar. In 2013, they retired to a run-down hotel in India. Who are we talking about here? About the generation of now elderly baby boomers, as portrayed in British comedies such as ‘Calendar Girls’ and ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’. Because of the success of those films (and because self-aggrandizement is somewhat addictive) there is now another film about this unbreakable generation: ‘Finding Your Feet’.

In this nice target group comedy we meet a group of elderly people who take dance lessons every week. The film focuses on sisters Bif and Sandra, of which Bif has always remained a hippie and Sandra has settled in a materially rich but spiritually poor marriage. When Sandra catches her husband with another woman, she moves in with her wild sister. There, frumpy Sandra meets Bif’s colorful friends, including Charlie in the rough.

‘Finding Your Feet’ once again sings the praises of the baby boom generation, but exclusively of the anti-bourgeois kind. So here we see elderly people living in houseboats or incense vapor dwellings, elderly people smoking weed and having multicultural or bisexual hookups. All things that a young person does not lose sleep over, but which are presented here as taboo-breaking. Furthermore, the old people are all very lively and a few dreams of one day emigrating to France, because of the delicious croissants (hope he first watches ‘Amour’ for a little reality check).

Although the film does not avoid subjects such as Alzheimer’s and terminal diseases, they are covered with a thin layer of syrup. As soon as such matters are discussed, a comforting music ensures that the tone never gets too serious or that the film starts to hurt. More cheerful stories, such as about the unexpected successes of the dance club, are completely unbelievable.

The jokes in ‘Finding Your Feet’ are often corny, never original and the story of the sisters and their friends is no surprise. On the other hand, the excellent acting of well-known names such as Imelda Staunton and Timothy Spall, and a very relaxed, no-nonsense atmosphere. That makes this film a must for the older, not too critical film buff. As a non-retired person there is a chance of considerable itching and a need to temporarily avoid the elderly. Definitely the smug kind of ‘Finding Your Feet’.