Mack & Rita tackles the culturally relevant issue of many 30-somethings feeling out of step with current fads, trends, and the ever-changing economy. With life constantly shifting, it is easy to feel left behind and, dare one say, old.
Mack (Elizabeth Lail) is a self-professed old soul, which is code for someone who has an appreciation for books and is not hip with the current youthful lingo and fashions. Raised by her grandmother, Mack grew up appreciating all the things that make older women fun and quirky. She wants to be a serious writer who doesn’t have to sell out for brand sponsorships that are foisted upon her by her influencer-obsessed agent. Mack, desperate to slow things down and find that sense of peace older women have, gets her wish when she lays in a repurposed tanning bed that ages her into Diane Keaton.
The screenplay, by Madeline Walter and Paul Welsh, adequately captures the anxiety Mack experiences. Being an “old soul” can be coded language for a myriad of superficial idiosyncrasies, but the challenge of facing the digital world is something many people are struggling with. The film loses its way when it reaches for its meaning and forgets to be a comedy. The body-swap situation aims to critique the notion that one is never “too old” for anything, despite jokes about a 30-year-old man skateboarding. While the sentiment is sweet, the film could have taken a different path, one that just leans into the absurdity of the body swap, with Mack unabashedly embracing her strange new life. For that to be the case, Keaton had to be the top choice to play Mack (or Rita as she is called).
Keaton is clearly having fun, more fun than Taylour Paige (as Carla), who delivers her lines through a clenched jaw and a look in her eyes that suggests this is possibly not where she wants to be. The rest of the ensemble features some heavy-hitters, but they aren't given much to work or have fun with. Elizabeth Lail does her bit by playing the oddball author pre-transformation, setting up Keaton to take the big acting moments she is used to delivering. This role seems tailor-made for Keaton. Rita exhibits all of Keaton’s known traits — she sounds like she is constantly exacerbated, is dizzyingly awkward, witty, and widely exuberant. It very quickly becomes clear that Keaton is entertaining in a film that can't quite reach her level.
Mack & Rita follows a recent string of Keaton-led films designed to push against Hollywood’s practice of driving women over 50 out of the picture. Poms, Book Club, and Mack & Rita have a singular mission: Make being older cool. Keaton plays into it perfectly. Does that mean Mack & Rita is great? No. Does Diane Keaton’s performance make it slightly enjoyable? Yes. Mack & Rita is not only saddled with a lackluster script that has a heart but minimal laughs, it sadly looks like it belongs on NBC. The sitcom nature is understandable once one sees the writers’ prior credits, but visually the film is astoundingly bland, flat, and lifeless. Without the big laughs and something worth being excited about, Mack & Rita just comes across as a bloated sitcom pilot.
Mack & Rita could have been a Golden Girls-esque comedy to fill the hole left by the series. Book Club was better at conveying its message and being funny with a fully engaged ensemble cast. Thankfully, it is getting a sequel. Mack & Rita, on the other hand, is an underwhelming comedy with good intentions that doesn't land despite Keaton’s Herculean efforts to make something that not only excites her, but entertains all.
Mack & Rita released in theaters and on VOD Friday, August 12. The film is 95 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for some drug use, sexual references and language.