A generation game

>When Harry (Jack Nicholson) has a heart attack at the beach house owned by his girlfriend's mother and is instructed to rest there a while, mom Erica (Diane Keaton) finds herself confusedly attracted to the ageing rogue whose relationship with her daughter Marin (Amanda Peet) she so disapproves of. Where The Mother dealt with the subject of older women's sexuality with a sometimes squirming poignancy,

Something's Gotta Give is played for laughs with Harry and Erica and their various neuroses about virility and physical attractiveness messing things up to great comic effect. And, in a pleasingly balanced twist, Harry's young doctor (Keanu Reeves) also falls for Erica.

This could have been great, but it isn't quite: writer-director Nancy Meyers does sour much better than sweet, so the mushy moments frequently disintegrate. Still, this is an adult take on ageism with as many hilarious moments as winceworthy ones - not to mention a big Hollywood film with nary a bore nor a bimbo in sight.

Something's Gotta Give
Cert: cert12A