THE TOMORROW MAN – Review

In THE TOMORROW MAN, John Lithgow plays Ed, a retiree doomsday prepper who lives alone and spends his days stocking up for the coming end of civilization and posting online to his like-minded followers, when he’s not on the phone arguing with his son, who does not get the whole prepper thing. One day at the grocery store, Ed spots a pretty older woman (Blythe Danner) buying the same kind of things he buys – batteries, canned tuna – and when she pays with cash, he thinks he has found a kindred spirit. Instantly smitten, he contrives a way to meet her.

The presence of Blythe Danner might bring to mind other late-life romantic films she’s recently starred in, but if you are hoping for another I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS, you will be sadly disappointed with this film. Despite its strong cast, and even a little chemistry between Danner’s shy Ronnie and Lithgow’s bossy Ed, THE TOMORROW MAN is more a contrived double character study of two eccentric people, a film that has little grounding in real lives and often little story direction. It is filled with forced quirkiness that continually steers it away from anything meaningful or even entertaining, with a script that often makes little sense. It should be fun or romantic but often it is just puzzling or even unsettling.

With these two outstanding actors in the lead roles, one wants to like this movie but it just falls too short. It is a disappointing debut for writer/director Noble Jones, who also serves as cinematographer. What little credit can be given to this film comes from the talented cast, although it does have some nice photography and a pleasant small town Midwestern setting. What is lacks is a believable script or any connection with real people.

Ironically, Ed’s online name is Captain Reality, although there is little real about him or his world. He lives in home filled with objects from the past and is obsessed with the future, or at least his apocalyptic vision of it, but he has little to do with the present. Apart from an early scene that hints at racism, Ed’s obsession with doomsday preparation seems oddly non-political. He makes his daily run to the grocery store in his old Ford truck, pays with checks, and seems pretty much like he is just waiting for the end, when he sees Ronnie at the store.

There are moments of creepiness in this film, although it seems to be reaching for offbeat. The way Ed sets out to meet Ronnie has a creepy stalker feel to it, but Ronnie seems more puzzled by his interest in her than alarmed. She eventually agrees to go out and they start dating. It turns out Ronnie isn’t a prepper but she is an eccentric, dressed in a weird assortment of mismatched clothes.

Lithgow’s Ed and Danner’s Ronnie hit it off despite their separate eccentricities and for awhile, it seems like the film is developing into something interesting. Ronnie goes along with Ed’s obsession with doomsday preparations and does not seem bother by his mansplaining, and although she doesn’t quite get his arguments about the impending end of the world, she’s willing to go along. The couple weather a fractious Thanksgiving dinner with Ed’s son and Ronnie tries out

With these two wonderful actors in the lead roles, you want to like this movie, to see it succeed. For a brief moment, the film looks like it might set aside it’s contrived premise and forced situations, and just let these characters, finally, be real people. But the moment passes quickly, and we are back to the same old nonsense and unreal cartoon cutouts. Every time the films seems headed for the real, the script keeps going off in ill-conceived, sometimes odd directions, such as Ed and Ronnie bonding over vapid ’70s pop song “Muskrat Love.” Danner and Lithgow try their best but it is not enough to overcome the unfocused script, which can’t decide if it wants to be dramedy, offbeat rom com or even science fiction, and hence falls short of all of those.

As if all that weren’t frustrating enough, THE TOMORROW MAN ends with the worst possible “twist,” obviously intended to be quirky and funny, but more likely to evoke moans. Despite the two excellent leads, this disappointing film has little charm or sense.

THE TOMORROW MAN opens Friday, June 7, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

RATING: 2 1/2 out of 5 stars