Boynton Beach Club

Several mature characters grieve after the death of their partner. Marilyn (Brenda Vaccaro) is invited by a neighbor Lois (Dyan Cannon) to join a bereavement support group. She does so reluctantly and tries to come to terms with the driver who killed her husband in an auto accident.

Meanwhile Lois is attracted to a guy she meets in a restaurant Donald (Michael Nouri).

New widower Jack (Len Cariou) is pursued a little too aggressively by Sandi (Sally Kellerman) but he's not ready to move on.

Harry (Joseph Bologna) though trolls the dating websites and lies about his age. He befriends Jack, being one of the few widowers in the community.


I liked the more serious sides to stories, such as the friendships between Lois and Marilyn, and Harry and Jack; Lois' reasons for joining the bereavement club; and of course how Marilyn and Jack, as the newly bereaved, dealt with their grief.

The humorous elements made the whole film less worthy though, such as when one of the men picks up his Viagra prescription.  This scene's comedy was typical and although it might have reflected some of the embarassment a man may feel to acknowledge he needs a sexual enhancement medication, was too loud and broad.

Other than Vaccaro, the female characters were mostly portrayed as sex fiends out to catch any man they could. Cannon of course is the provacatively dressed sexpot and I think I would have liked her character more if the actress got out of the rut of playing herself all the time.

The film also remembered to give Jack's daughter some screen time as a griever too so it wasn't just about the senior characters.