Diane Keaton Takes on Final Act with Dignity in POMS

Getting diagnosed with a fatal disease leaves one with a chapter that can’t be re-written or can it?

We may not be able to wave a wand and change the path in which we leave this earth, but we have complete control on choosing how to manage the time we have left.  We can wallow in self-pity at the inevitable or we can live life like there is no tomorrow.

Martha (Diane Keaton) is dying of ovarian cancer, so she decides to leave the big city and move into a retirement community.  At first glance the community and its inhabitants seem and feel stale and corny until she meets her next door neighbor Sheryl (Jacki Weaver).  Sheryl shows no signs of giving in to her age and lives life-like a reckless young woman in her 20’s.  Sheryl sums it all up in one phrase when asked what she likes and she simply responds, “poker and poking.”

The two women form a bond and when Martha runs across an old high-school cheerleader uniform, she is reminded that her dream of being on a squad were never fulfilled.  With that, Martha, Sheryl and six other ladies form a cheerleading group to perform at the Senior Showcase.

Some would watch this film and call it an old lady flick about cheerleading.  POMS is a film about resilience, not giving up and taking control of the little bit of life you have left on your terms.

Everyone has the right to go after one more dream before their time is up and there are no rules that govern dreaming.

Diane Keaton has become the Queen of films that address getting older like Book Club, And So it Goes, Darling Companion and Something’s Gotta Give.  She proves there is nothing wrong with having/finding love or being naughty with your girlfriends just because you are of a certain age.

Just because you are Grandma age, doesn’t mean you have to shrivel up in a corner and disappear.

Honestly, if she weren’t tackling this subject who else would? Clearly not Angelica Huston.

Huston made some snarky remarks regarding POMS. It all started when Huston was asked about her role in John Wick: Chapter 3 in an interview with Vulture.  “I’m looking for movies that impress me in some way, that aren’t apologetically humble or humiliating like, ‘Band of cheerleaders gets back together for one last hurrah,'” Huston, 67, said. “An old-lady cheerleader movie. I don’t like that kind of thing. If I’m going to be an old lady — and I’m sort of touching old lady these days — at least I want to be a special old lady. I don’t want to be relegated to some has-been making a comeback. I hate comebacks.”

POMS is special because it celebrates a sector of society in America folks want to write off. Having traveled the world, it has been my observation that America is the only country in the world that shuns seniors instead of revering and respecting them for the lives they have led.  POMS may not be perfect, but it is fluffy, light, fun and worth the ride down memory lane one last time.

Produced by STX Entertainment and also starring Rhea Perlman, Pam Grier, Phyliss Somerville, Bruce McGill, Carol Sutton, Patricia French and Sharon Blackwood, POMS rolls into theatres on May 10th.