Doris shines!

I went to see "Hello, My Name is Doris," last night, mostly because of the reviews Sally Field has been getting.  She deserves the raves.  I like to say it's the money shots that actually make the movie, and she has four in which she's going for the gold.  She plays a sixty-something spinster who develops a crush on a thirty-something art director who transfers into her New York office from the LA office.  Notice how I say crush?  There's a difference between falling in love and having a crush on someone.  A crush tends to radicalize your behavior, takes you into that realm where the illogical becomes norm, where the extraordinary becomes possible.  Max Greenfield, who plays John Fremont, the handsome man who steals her eye, is there for two reasons:  to look pretty, and for Sally to play off of, and the two of them do that very well.  They mesh in an odd way which works, and as a result there are perfect moments when the age difference disappears.

The script is not the best, however, and there are a lot of minor characters who are amusing, and interesting, and unfortunately, for the most part unimportant.  Had more time been spent on Doris and John, this film would have gone from being good to being great.  There should have been more scenes like the restaurant scene, and the one in which they walk side by side as he's pushing his bicycle.

I will say I was surprised by how often the LGBT community gets a mention.  There's a gay man in her office who talks about marriage equality and takes a date he met on Grindr to a Thanksgiving dinner.  Sally has a conversation with a teacher who only teaches LGBT students.  She also joins a Lesbian knitting group on a rooftop.  In fact, for a while I suspected her love interest would end up coming out.  This didn't happen, in case you're wonder.

Honestly, it would not surprise me to see Sally Field getting mentioned a lot during award season, since it's that sort of money shot performance.  Doris is a nice person.  You like her, you really do like her, and as a result Doris shines.