Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (May 19, 2025)
About 25 years ago, the public seemed to forget about Blythe Danner’s work as an actor and shifted her fame mainly to her status as Gwyneth Paltrow’s mother. Nonetheless, Danner’s career continued, as she reminded us with a lead in 2015’s I’ll See You In My Dreams.
Widowed and retired “empty nester” Carol Petersen (Danner) leads a low-key existence without a lot of spark to it. Though she spends time with friends, she seems to prefer to stay along and dote on her beloved dog Hazel.
When Hazel passes away, Carol finds herself lonely and now open to new ways to experience life. This leads her to new relationships and a renewed sense of vigor.
Hey, what’s wrong with focusing your attention on your dog???
That “I See Myself Following Carol’s Path When I Retire” complaint aside, Dreams offers an amiable affair. It also becomes one that I appreciate for its willingness to ignore too many “old people movie” clichés.
In particular, Dreams largely avoids the Wacky Grannies tropes. Outside of a trite scene in which Carol and her pals (Rhea Perlman, June Squibb and Mary Kay Place) get stoned as well as a nutty “speed dating” sequence, the film mainly stays away from that tone.
In spite of that refreshing lack of much cheap comedy, though, I can’t find much to recommend about Dreams. While I also don’t see a lot here to dislike, the movie just feels oddly aimless.
Actually, I take that back, as I get one primary vibe from Dreams: it seems to intend to give Danner a star vehicle. And I find nothing wrong with that.
As noted, Danner now appears better known as Paltrow’s mom than anything else. If Dreams allowed her some added prominence for her own work, then good for it.
But Dreams tends to focus a little too much on Carol as an Amazing Person, and that’s where it comes across a bit like a Danner Showcase. The movie grants her time to show her acting chops as well as singing, and we see her as this clear major object of desire to men.
Which makes sense inside the elderly set, as Danner looks darned good here. There’s no question older men would line up around the block for a shot at her.
Dreams stretches beyond that, though, when it gets into Carol’s relationship with pool cleaner/musician Lloyd (Martin Starr). Though their situation never turns romantic, it seems clear Lloyd wishes it would.
Granted, if a 30-something guy would fall for a 70-something woman, Danner would make a likely target. Still, it feels like a stretch, as for better or for worse, men just aren’t wired that way.
The film pairs Carol with a better age match in terms of her actual romance, as she falls for Bill (Sam Elliott). This makes a ton of sense, as both Danner and Elliott Still Got It at their age, and they make for a good couple.
Where Dreams loses points stems from the general banality of the whole thing. Carol just kind of meanders into her new male relationships and they don’t seem especially interesting.
Perhaps I should applaud this lack of melodrama, as it better represents real life. However, it makes for a less than enthralling narrative.
I suspect the filmmakers realized Dreams lacks dramatic impact so they invented a scene that brings tragedy – well, tragedy beyond Hazel’s death, the most emotional part of the film by far. No spoilers, of course, but Dreams creates a sequence that hits semi-hard and does so out of nowhere.
This feels like an unnecessary gut punch to the audience. Again, no spoilers, but the movie’s Big Dramatic Twist feels unnecessary and doesn’t add to the final product.
Even so, Dreams remains a watchable effort, and Danner’s solid lead grounds it. The movie simply doesn’t find much to say beyond a generic “live life while ya still can” message.
