‘Mack & Rita’ movie review

Category: Movies



What does Mack & Rita have that 13 Going on 30 and Big don’t? The answer is Diane Keaton. While the premises are all the same – a young person gets instantly transformed into the body of an older person – Mack & Rita starts off a little differently than the other two films. In the first place, Mack Martin (Elizabeth Lail) is 30 years old and in the second place she transforms into a 70-year-old woman. But with the spunk of Keaton, this senior citizen, whom she calls Aunt Rita, is a joyous, fun-loving, and really enjoyable woman, unlike the rather dull 30-year old Mack.

When Mack joins her best friends in Palm Springs for a bachelorette trip this woman, who is pretty much a loner and goes along with everything and everyone, decides to go to a psychic/mystic who unwittingly transforms her into a 70-year-old. Now it is up to Rita to figure out how to live her life as a senior while at the same time look into finding where this so-called mystic is going to be to have him transform her back into her 30-year-old body.

While muddling through, Rita is free from all the restraints and constraints which had been self-inflicted by Mack. She strikes up a relationship with Mack’s dog-sitter Jack (Dustin Milligan) and there could be a romance in their future. But Rita knows this cannot be, even though Mack has wanted it for a long time.

Well, it turns out that Rita is more fun and adventurous than Mack ever was. She is the talk of the town and adored by everyone.  What she needs to do is to learn how to let this fun-loving spirit come out if and when she returns to her original body. That is the crux.

It’s a story that has been told many times before and every time it makes viewers think about how they would live if they suddenly skipped a few decades and landed in an older body, but in the same time period.

Diane Keaton is the salvation of this particular version of age traveling. She is always adorable and easy to watch. She adds dimension to this character and fans of the Oscar-winner will undoubtedly enjoy seeing her in this incarnation, so to speak.

Mack & Rita is rated PG-13. It opens August 12, 2022.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Television Critics Association, was a longstanding member of the Los Angeles Press Club, and is accredited by the MPAA. Follow her on Twitter.