Back in the day, I liked Diane Keaton as an actress, since she is a very likable, appealing, kind of kooky performer who proved herself savvy at drama as well as comedy. She seems to be working harder than ever in recent years, with Hampstead, Book Club and now Poms showing her range and versatility. She is the heart and soul of this raucous, crowd-pleasing comedy.

Zara Hayes’ film is part Boynton Beach Club, part Bring it On!. Keaton plays Martha, a woman who moves to a stodgy retirement community to live out her final days. As a lark, she and energetic neighbor Sheryl (Jacki Weaver) try to start a cheerleading club, but find annoying opposition to the idea. They do it anyway, enlisting women like Pam Grier, Rhea Perlman, Phyllis Somerville, Patricia French, Carol Sutton and Ginny MacColl to shake their groove things. Then there’s a competition they enter, and the fur really flies.

Like Bring it On!, there is an element of raunchiness (and bullying) that I didn’t feel needed to be so stridently applied. On the other hand, the film is funny, even when it is overtly silly. There is little subtlety here, especially involving the community bigwigs who oppose the club (Celia Weston, Bruce McGill). But the story is also touching, especially at the very end, when it is shown that Martha’s madness has made a lasting impact on the community.

Like Book Club, this is a crowd-pleasing movie, with moments intended to bring its expected older audience members to tears of laughter. It’s nice to see a movie directed toward older folks that knows exactly what buttons to push to score its laughs. Again, some of it is tasteless, but overall the formula works very well. ☆ ☆ 1/2. 29 July 2019.