Senior Moment: A Likeable Love Story for the Aged If Not for the Ages

By Kim Hughes

Rating: B-

William Shatner has been (virtually) everywhere lately, scorching the publicity trail in support of his new film, Senior Moment.

The thrust of most coverage is the fact that the onetime Captain James T. Kirk turned 90 last month yet remains sharp as a tack and funny to boot. Also, he is at least nominally Canadian by virtue of birth despite having spent decades working and living Stateside.

Oh yes! Read Bonnie Laufer’s hilarious chat with William Shatner

It will probably not come as a surprise that Shatner’s vivaciousness at 90 is a more compelling story than the one found in Senior Moment which is, despite its flaws, immensely likeable and propelled also by the considerable talents of Jean Smart (a mere 69) and Christopher Lloyd (82) as the love interest and best friend, respectively, of Shatner’s Victor Martin, who is sold, very credibly, as 72.

Victor is a retired Air Force pilot who loves tooling around Palm Springs in his vintage Porsche with the top down and with Sal (Lloyd) at his side. The film’s title, Senior Moment —a double entendre referring both to a momentary lapse in memory or logic attributed to age as well as to a senior, in this case Victor, having his moment —tells you everything you need to know about the plot. But here is a recap anyway.

One day, while out driving around, Victor and Sal encounter Pablo, a caricature Latino in a lowrider who, at a stoplight, questions Victor’s fitness to drive his Porsche while challenging him to drag race. Challenge accepted, Victor speeds off at the green light, only to motor straight into a speed trap Pablo is fully aware of. The fuzz lets Victor off with a warning.

Victor’s next encounter with Pablo goes less successfully, resulting in a lost license and impounded Porsche which leads Victor to riding public transit, where he meets Caroline (Smart), the charming, kind, woke operator of the local organic café who advocates for endangered desert tortoises.

PROUDLY SUPPORTS ORIGINAL-CIN

It’s not love at first sight exactly, but the groundwork for romance is laid. Of course, there are obstacles to overcome, in this case Diego (Esai Morales), the handsome, wealthy local painter who appears to be Caroline’s crush but is actually something else entirely. Victor’s efforts to get to the bottom of the relationship make way for narrative-nudging pratfalls and diversions.

For everything Senior Moment gets right, there seems to be an equal and corresponding wrong which mars the film and the efforts of its clearly committed cast under the helm of action director Giorgio Serafini.

The film features older actors playing older people who fall in love, an obvious plus in a pop culture universe seemingly inspired by Logan’s Run. But early on, there is a sidebar of sorts where Victor and his car are photographed with a comely young thing in a bikini who, briefly, has Victor smitten. Their scenes together, later at a bar and a pool party, scan as gratuitous and creepy.

The character of Pablo (Carlos Miranda) ends up being less one-dimensional as the film progresses, but his first appearance is uncomfortably stereotypical. Elsewhere, Senior Moment takes shots at aging that feel fair, precise, and genuinely amusing. And the film, set and shot in Palm Springs, captures that weirdly lovely city beautifully.

And yes, we can see the ending coming from a mile away. But anything brought to you by “Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment,” as Senior Moment is (the company describes their stuff as “content that brings out the best of the human spirit…” take that Hallmark) is not the place to seek hard-hitting, topical films.

The issue of seniors losing their ability to drive — and the ensuing practical and existential difficulties that development engenders — is real and perhaps deserves more thought than what’s offered in Senior Moment. But as a glowing testament to what 90 can look like? Well, Senior Moment and especially Shatner simply can’t be beat. It seems there is hope for us all.

Senior Moment. Directed by Giorgio Serafini. Starring William Shatner, Jean Smart, and Christopher Lloyd. Now available on streaming platforms.