Harriet Lauler (Shirley MacLaine) is an opinionated controlling rich old lady. She's retired after running an advertising company. Her family is estranged and nobody likes her. After OD'ing on her meds, she starts being concerned about her obituary. She hires newspaper obit writer Anne Sherman (Amanda Seyfried) to write one for her.

After talking to the at-risk girls, the story end point is more than obvious. There is also an obvious route for this movie. It's two great actresses on a road trip to self-discovery. Shirley MacLaine has made a career out of this character. This movie just needs some good writing. The writing is sometimes good standard stuff but sometimes gets clunky. The two leads usually are able to work out some good chemistry but some scene falls completely flat. For example, Anne is on a date when Harriet confronts her about her writing. It's an important moment but the date keep budding into it. He's a third wheel who keeps causing them to drive off course. Then there is the main third wheel, the little girl. She's the quintessential sassy black girl. She gets overshadowed despite the movie wanting her to be the breakout star. Harriet's reconnection with her daughter ends with a weird fake laugh. The audience is just like the other characters, looking at Harriet side-eyed. At the end of the day, I just want this to be better. The writing needs to be better.

Wealthy woman, a former business titan living a very precise and orderly--and lonely--existence in her nearly-empty manor, wants the final say on her future obituary. Having kept her local paper alive for many years with her advertising dollars, she self-assigns the obituary reporter with the task of putting an optimistic spin on her life. What begins as a very thin character study of a straight-talking yet annoying harridan slowly blossoms into the much more rewarding story of a pushy old lady who manages to transform her bitter existence with friendship. Granted, friendship doesn't come easily to this control-freak, but what transpires on her journey to personal redemption is surprising and rewarding. The sassy dialogue in Stuart Ross Fink's screenplay doesn't ring true (and some of the actors cast in the smaller roles haven't a hope in hell of making it sound natural),but leads Shirley MacLaine and Amanda Seyfried develop a pleasing scratchy-and-smooth rapport (they also co-executive produced). MacLaine has yet another turn at playing a stubborn, impossible woman (she's making it a habit). While her Harriet here isn't necessarily a plausible creation, she's certainly a colorful bouquet of quirks, tied up with a cackle and a smart retort. ** from ****

Lovely film about a cantankerous, controlling widow Harriet (Shirley MacLaine) who reads obituaries talking about the good deeds of hateful people and decides she should have a good one herself. She approaches the writer responsible, Anne (Amanda Seyfried) and asks her to write her obituary.

Along the way, both women learn some important lessons.

Wonderful performances, especially from scene-stealer AnnJewel Lee Dixon, who is a scream.

Enjoyable, on the predictable side, but very well done.