Parents' Guide to Senior Moment

Movie NR 2021 92 minutes
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Common Sense Media Review

Sandie Angulo Chen By Sandie Angulo Chen , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Comedy isn't as charming as its stars; sex, drinking.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 12+

Based on 1 kid review

What's the Story?

SENIOR MOMENT is an opposites-attract romcom about Victor Martin (William Shatner), a retired NASA pilot/Air Force officer who meets Caroline (Jean Smart), the owner of an organic café in town. Victor loves his vintage Porsche so much that he races a much younger driver on the streets of Palm Springs, gets caught, and has his car impounded and his driver's license temporarily suspended. Forced to walk and take the bus, usually with his best friend and fellow retiree Sal (Christopher Lloyd), Victor ends up overheating in Caroline's presence. The two strike up a conversation, and Caroline invites him to her coffee shop, the Cuckoo Café. Despite their differences -- he likes to drink, flirt with women half his age, and eat whatever he wants, while she's vegan and an environmentalist who's trying to save the tortoises -- the two grow closer. But Victor is wary of Caroline's close relationship with Diego (Esai Morales), a dashing 50-something artist.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say ( 1 ):

Shatner and Smart can be remarkably charming, but their talents are underserved by this lackluster, predictable romcom, which is neither romantic nor comedic enough to be memorable. While it's wonderful to see the 90-year-old Shatner continue to play a love interest and for late 60-something Smart to get cast as a leading lady, neither star has much to do in this watchable but unremarkable movie that you'll likely be able to predict the entire plot of within the first 15 minutes. Shatner's character, Victor Martin, brings to mind Jack Nicholson's iconic womanizing former astronaut Garrett Breedlove in Terms of Endearment, with his love of fast cars and younger women -- until he meets an age-appropriate woman who can call him out on his nonsense. But that's where the comparison ends.

Senior Moment isn't an epic relationship drama, and that's fine. But it's also not more than a fleeting amusement, a reminder of how there should be better, more substantive movies featuring older couples. Lloyd and Morales are both criminally underused, and for most of the movie, it makes no sense how Morales fits into the story. Morales is the "young" hunk of this movie, so it doesn't compute how he can be the less obvious suitor in a seeming love triangle ... until the most obvious of plot reveals. Those who want to support romances featuring older characters may want to check this out, but far more effective examples of the subgenre include Ordinary Love, Our Souls at Night, and most of Nancy Meyers' filmography.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how Senior Moment compares to other stories about aging couples. Can you think of any other films about one spouse who realizes that they've neglected the other?

  • How does the movie depict drinking and smoking? Are there consequences? Why does that matter?

  • Who do you think the movie's target audience is? Why? Do you think younger viewers can appreciate movies about older characters -- and vice versa?

Movie Details

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