20th Century Women

Annette Bening was on Marc Maron's podcast the other day talking about 20th CENTURY WOMEN and they made it sound so good I decided to check it out.

20th CENTURY WOMEN takes place in 1979, with Bening as the single mother of a 16-year-old boy (Lucas Jade Zumann). She had the kid late in life and although she seems pretty hip to me, she's afraid she doesn't connect with her son's generation and therefore might not be able to raise him into the good man she wants him to be.

Bening is in the middle of renovating a big old house and has rented out a couple rooms to a hippie-fied handyman (Billy Crudup) and a 20-something artist facing cancer (Greta Gerwig). Bening enlists their help to mold her son into a respectable man, along with his long-time friend and recent unrequited crush (Elle Fanning).

The premise sounds a little contrived but it doesn't play that way and even if it did it's charming enough to stand on its own. The charming thing about it is that Bening is more than capable and her son is far from going down the path to the dark side, so we in the audience watch as basically good people strive to be even better. It's nice to watch them learn from each other and get involved in each other's lives.

There are plenty of funny and touching moments that criss-cross and bleed into each other. For instance, one scene starts funny with Zumann reading a feminist text about orgasms to his mother and ends on a dramatic note as Bening feels judged by it. Zumann's just responding positively to the influences of those around him (Gerwig in this case) but Bening can't help but respond viscerally from her own life experience. It's all fun and games until you start to think the joke's on you.

So, of course all the acting is great, and Bening is especially good, showcasing her knack for comedy along with her drama chops. Gerwig shines in maybe the least Gerwig-y role I've seen her in. And Crudup is touching as a generally nice, if somewhat airheaded, hunk.

For a moment after the movie was over I was jealous of the setup Zumann was raised in but then I remembered my mom, sister, babysitters and long time friends turned unrequited crushes were pretty great.