Just Getting Started (2017)

Directed by: Ron Shelton | 91 minutes | comedy, crime | Actors: Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones, Rene Russo, Joe Pantoliano, Glenne Headly, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Elizabeth Ashley, George Wallace, Graham Beckel, Mel Raido, Jane Seymour, Johnny Mathis, Nick Peine, Kristen DeVore Rakes, Eli Goodman

‘Just Getting Started’ dates from 2017, but will not be released on DVD until 2020. That fact is already a bad sign. Add to that the fact that the cast consists of big names such as Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones and Rene Russo and the alarm bells are now ringing very loudly. It turns out to be quite right…

Morgan Freeman plays Duke Diver in Just Getting Started. This man runs a resort where he enjoys the respect of the residents. Our Duke is good at everything and is a hit with the ladies. When suddenly Leo (Jones) shows up at the resort and uses his charms, Duke’s position changes. he doesn’t like that very much and the atmosphere changes. When Suzie (Russo) also makes her appearance, the resort changes forever.

After a fourteen-year hiatus, director Ron Shelton took a look at this sof. Predecessor ‘Hollywood Homicide’ dates back to 2003 and was poorly received. The same fate befalls ‘Just Getting Started’. The problem with this corny film is that the old jokes about the elderly kill and the cast plays on autopilot. The once-enthusiastic Freeman was on a roll in classics such as ‘Se7en’ and ‘The Shawshank Redemption’, but in 2020 he can mainly be seen as a cracker in films like this one. Jones doesn’t feel like it either and routinely performs his grumpy grunt trick. It’s not really bad, but it’s so boring. So bland. The cast is not very enthusiastic and the director gives them little to do. Russo is the only one who still puts some soul into her game.

Shelton has little to say and canned an unnecessary film. In 2002, the director was still respected with ‘Dark Blue’ in which Kurt Russell played a racist cop. A dark film with substance. A year later, a soulless vehicle featuring Harrison Ford appeared, followed by this senior citizen farce featuring Freeman and Jones. Time for a collective retirement gentlemen!