Last Saturday night, Willy Dunne Wooters and I watched a movie starring Robert Redford called The Company You Keep (2012, Rated R, Available On DVD).
I liked the movie, but Willy Dunne Wooters absolutely loved it. We sat in our chairs and chatted about what we liked, and I pointed out what I didn't like.
The movie is about some former members of the Weather Underground (the militant wing of The Students for A Democratic Society) who are still in hiding. One is taken into custody, and then others, including Redford's character, are in danger of being charged.
I'll provide our conversation as closely as I can remember it:
Janie Junebug: That's a good movie, but Robert Redford is so much older than the other actors who are supposed to be former members of the Weather Underground. And it's pretty weird that he has a young child. The man is 76 in real life, and he looks it.
Willy Dunne Wooters: He's in the same age group as those other actors. Didn't you see those pictures of him they used to show him when he was young? Those are real pictures of him. Those pictures are from the time of . . . uh . . . uh
JJ: Jeremiah Johnson, Downhill Racer, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. Yeah, I know those were real pictures of him, but he still looked too old for the part.
WDW: Well, maybe his character was just the oldest one in their group when they were young, so he's older now. The movie I'm trying to think of from that time that he was in had him as a cowboy and he's with Jane Fonda and he doesn't like the way the horse is treated so he rides away. It was They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
JJ: Huh? They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is about a dance marathon during the depression. Robert Redford isn't even in it.
WDW: About a DANCE MARATHON? No, it's not. It's Robert Redford and Jane Fonda and he's a cowboy.
JJ grabs her laptop and opens it. She taps on the keys.
JJ: Here it is on IMDB. It was Jane Fonda and Michael Sarrazin. They're in a dance marathon and she's really miserable and she wants to be shot like a horse being put out of its misery. blah blah blah yada yada yada snrt snrt snrt. That's They Shoot Horses, Don't They? I remember seeing it a long time ago.
WDW: That can't be right. It's Jane Fonda and Robert Redford and he's a cowboy and he's upset about the way the horse is treated. Let me see that.
JJ hands over the laptop so WDW can see for himself.
WDW: I don't understand this. This can't be right. blah blah blah yada yada yada snrt snrt snrt.
JJ: I think the movie you remember might be called The Electric Horseman. I never saw it. Let's IMDB it.
JJ taps on the laptop a little more and finds the Robert Redford movie. She reads the description of it aloud to WDW.
JJ: blah blah blah yada yada yada snrt snrt snrt.
WDW: Yeah! That's the movie. So They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is about a dance marathon. And Robert Redford isn't in it?
JJ grits teeth.
JJ: That's correct. Robert Redford is not in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
WDW: I still don't think he was too old for the part in this movie. He could have just been the oldest one of that group of people. blah blah blah yada yada yada snrt snrt snrt . . . and so on and so forth . . . and WDW continues to talk and snrt snrt snrt . . .
JJ points her index finger at her head and pretends to pull the trigger of her imaginary gun. Her head slumps to the side.
WDW: blah blah blah yada yada yada snrt snrt snrt this movie was just perfect. I loved it. The acting was great. snrt snrt snrt.
JJ: Let's go to bed.
WDW: I'm not tired.
JJ: I am. I'm going to bed.
WDW: Okay. I'll be in in a bit. blah blah blah yada yada yada snrt snrt snrt . . .
Good night, everybody.
Infinities of love,
Janie Junebug
I've seen Electric Horseman but not this one.
ReplyDeleteIf you're anything like Wooters, you'll love it.
DeleteYou are right! Robert Redford looks old now, no matter what movie he is in! What a shame! He was such a hunk back when! Linda@Wetcreek Blog
ReplyDeleteHe has such deep lines in that pretty-boy face.
DeleteSounds like the two of you had a very romantic date night, Janie! :) I don't usually like movies in which a seasoned actor plays a character that is obviously too young. That said, we should remember that Redford is an outdoorsman and people who spend their entire lives outside under the sun tend to age more quickly than people like you who protect their alabaster skin.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned one of my favorite movies, They Shoot Horses, Don't They. I will make a mental note to watch that one again soon because I love Jane Fonda's acting and it was a gripping character study.
Hey, I'd like to bring up another favorite movie that stars both of the iconic actors that sparked your debate with WDW. Jane Fonda plays Anna Reeves and Robert Redford is her fugitive husband, Bubber Reeves, in the 1966 film The Chase. Add Marlon Brando, Angie Dickinson, E.G. Marshall and other heavyweights to the mix and you have a brilliant portrait of life, lust, hate and bigotry in a small Southern town.
Have a great weekend, dear Janie!
I've never seen The Chase. I remember Redford and Fonda together in Barefoot In The Park. I'm glad you realize that I have alabaster skin. It's nice not having wrinkles even at my advanced age.
DeleteI was just commenting on a blog earlier today about a movie Robert Redford is working on now...I said I hadn't seen him in a while and they said he was in a Captain America movie. My joke (probably not a nice one!) was that I assume that Robert Redford wasn't playing the Captain America role in that one...
ReplyDeleteHe could be in Captain America Is Admitted To A Nursing Home.
DeleteBlah, blah... *snicker* it's like you're in the living room with Tony and I. :) We saw "the Other Woman" tonight... cute, but I will say we agreed that the ending should have been different.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of couples have the same conversation. snrt snrt snrt
DeleteHe could have been an older friend--and not all that much older. Susan Sarandon is 67, Nick Nolte is 73, Julie Christie is 73, Sam Elliot is 69, Richard Jenkins is 67...and there were always people in the movements back then that were older and stuck around long past college days. Robert just looks older because of all his sun and ranch time. BUT--him having a little child was a stretch. Not that some older guys haven't married younger women and started families in their 60s and 70s. I suppose that is what made it such a big plot point in the movie. He'd never have another one and all that.
ReplyDeleteI loved Electric Horseman! I'm a big Redford fan, but this movie was just so-so for me. Even being a child of the 60s. ;) As you know, I just saw All Is Lost and LOVED it! :)
I stand, or sit, corrected. Julie Christie doesn't look 73. Nick Nolte looks 93 in drug years. Sam Elliot always looks good.
ReplyDeleteAnd if they're remembering back to the 60s and early 70s from college days--they would be around that age. I graduated high school in 1968 and every body is around 64--so the ones who went to college for four years would be around 68 today--from my class. I'd have to google when those people were doing their damage back then to see what the dates were--but there were always older--long graduated--folks involved in those groups. They stayed until the law was after them and they had to go underground--and then still did things underground, too. Dagan and Leah still hang out with the same people Dagan graduated with in 1999--on a regular basis. I have to agree with WDW on this one--ROFL! ;)
DeleteOkay. I've never hung out with anybody I used to know. I'll tell WDW that you think he's a genius.
DeleteI'm 73 too and I didn't know I was in such good company. I agree that he could have been an older friend of theirs, maybe even a leader that the younger memebers would look up to. In general, I would say the group would be between five and ten years younger than I.
ReplyDeleteMost of them are not younger than you are. Julie Christie is 73. She looks fabulous. Redford looks older than 76, and it's ridiculous that he has a kid about 8 years old.
DeleteJulie Christie is indeed fabulous.... My brother in law looks like a dark haired Redford
ReplyDeleteI just look like Rosie o donnell
You are much more handsome than Rose O'Donnell and you're funnier, too.
DeleteI graduated in 1964 and still don't look as old as some people ten years younger. So, even same age people can have different aging rates. Plus, blondes who are outdoors people, sun worshippers, smokers, and drinkers age prematurely. And, he could have been a older friend. I loved The Electric Horseman. I just drooled over him. I still do. Now, I did not say he was a genius. If I had a disagreement about something like this, exbf would argue his point for at least 15 minutes until I just had to get away. Then, he would come back to discuss it again.
ReplyDeleteI think my disagreements with Willy Dunne Wooters are hilarious. I hope I always feel that way. Favorite Young Man thinks WDW says things just to get me off on a tangent.
DeleteI was laughing while reading your conversation. Anyway Redford used to be a great actor so not sure how he ended up in this movie. He is old though and I think after a while they should stop trying to act young as that spoils everything.
ReplyDeletewww.thoughtsofpaps.com
I'm glad you laughed, PAPS. The movie was pretty good, and I have learned that Redford isn't a lot older than the other actors. He just looks older.
DeleteToo bad we have to get old. Redford was a good looking guy in his younger years.
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness. He was hotter than . . . I don't know what.
ReplyDeleteI have seen neither...love that you guys worked through that one!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't exactly work through it, but WDW is thrilled that some followers agree with him.
DeleteI have not heard of the movie but found this interesting
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jo-Anne. I think our conversations are amusing.
ReplyDeletePoor feller- he hasn't aged well. And the convo between you and WDW? Hilarious~
ReplyDeleteHe has the deep grooves in his face of someone who has spent a lot of time in the sun. Perhaps he's done his share of smoking and drinking, too. I don't know. I'm glad you enjoyed the conversation. snrt.
DeleteHa ha, I love the every day chats in a relationship. So silly, but also really quite sweet.
ReplyDeleteRobert Redford may be old and look it, but not like my first love, Paul Newman. Okay, Paul looks old, too, but I still love him anyhow. And now I really want to watch Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid!
Paul probably looks really old because he's dead.
DeleteJJ. Why haven't I used that cute nickname? Thank God for IMDB! Philomena (sp?) Is on her way.
ReplyDeleteI hope you like Philomena as much as I did. JJ out.
DeleteOMG Nick Nolte looks 93 in drug years...I'm laughing my ass off!!
ReplyDeleteI've seen neither (or none) of these movies. RR is hot...but lookin old...
-andi
Yeah. Even though Robert looks old, I'll never stop thinking of him as that young guy in Butch Cassidy and The Sting and so many other great movies.
Delete