‘Hello, My Name is Doris’ is great fun

Cast: Sally Field and Max Greenfield

Director: Michael Showalter

Classification: 13 PGL

Rating: ***

Leon van Nierop

Why should a lady act her age? Who says a woman on the wrong side of 60 shouldn’t occasionally take some romantic liberties? Robert de Niro did it in The Intern opposite Anne Hathaway and got away with it, so why can’t Sally Field?

She plays the part of a spinster who meets up with a handsome young man (aren’t they always?), played with charm and a boyish allure by the engaging Max Greenfield. Is there really a spark between them or is she in the land of the wishful thinking? And what would the people say?

The film is harmless fun for the older generation, and takes issue with other’s perceptions, and with how many people suppress their lives to be socially acceptable to their co-workers. That perception gets a serious slap in the face. It is about finding your own individual place in society and making peace with it.

It celebrates an older woman discovering who she really is after years of emotional neglect and inventing a more daring image while enjoying the freedom.

There is a great chemistry between Field and Greenfield and their scenes are charming. But most importantly: in a film exploring the relationship between and older woman and a younger man, it never becomes awkward.

Doris endears herself to the audience without belittling women of her age and celebrates the fact that she doesn’t act her age, but rather acts her heart out. Great fun.

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