Oren Little has turned his back on all his neighbors and shunned the notion of being kind to others after the death of his wife. Next door neighbor Leah has put her soul, and her tears, into her stagnant singing career after the death of her husband. But then Oren's son shows up needing Oren to take care of his daughter Sarah. Oren has no patience for children, Leah never had any of her own, but 9-year-old Sarah just might be the spark that allows these two lonely souls to turn their home into a Little Shangri-La.

This movie has been crucified by most critics as being bland and vapid, lacking in any emotional connection that would raise it to the level of, oh, say, Something's Gotta Give (another Keaton vehicle), or whatever other older rom-com you might want to mention. It is not that bad. I sat in the theater, before the show, and read the critical reviews on IMDb and was waiting for disaster! But I was pleasantly surprised! The guy who wrote As Good As It Gets penned this film. It's a knock off on that effort, one that one several Academy Award. I left feeling the same way I did after watching that film.

This is a good movie. It is engaging and poignant, and has lines (particularly those from Frances Sternhagen) that are hilarious.

Yes, the theatre was not full when I went, and those in attendance were over 50. I'm not sure why critics would be so upset, just because a movie plays to a particular demographic...

My only complaint about Mr. Reiner (whose directorial efforts seem to be continually skewered) is that he really didn't need to play the piano player....otherwise, this film works, just as many other older rom-coms do. The supporting cast is uniformly excellent and the only clichéd scene is the abrupt childbirth sequence.

This is a good movie.