Diane Keaton...
Apparently, this is a 'high-concept' film, Hollywood making a movie about romance between post-teenagers. Who cares as long as we get to see Diane Keaton again.
The plot is Sleepless-In-Seattle meets The-Man-Who-Came-To-Dinner and though it takes a tad too long to tie up loose ends, the script manages to add variety and humor to the otherwise straightforward story.
Nancy Meyer's direction could only work with an excellent cast, and purportedly the script was written for Keaton and Jack Nicholson in mind. Happily, both take their jobs seriously resulting in deft performances which breathe honestly and intelligently, even during the plots necessary situational comedy.
In particular, it is a revelation to see Keaton playing what may just be a continuation of 'Annie Hall'. There she was an unsure young woman who matured during her relationship with Woody Allen, eventually leaving him. Here, she is a strait-jacketed older woman who needs to relearn the risk-taking needed to fully enjoy life (and to teach the same lesson to her daughter).
At one point, the parallels are quite strong -- during a rain shower on the beach, Keaton and Nicholson must run through the storm back to the house, just as she and Allen did when running through Central Park to the Natural History Museum. Her trademake 'la-di-da' doesn't reappear, but her character does stumble through her lines on occasion, as she struggles to be open and accept the relationship she's building.
The film tends to throw a few too many twists and barriers to their relationship, and those barriers tend to dissolve too easily. Fact is, we all know how the movie has to end.
I'm just thankful at having the chance to see Keaton, radiant, smart, and looking fabulous. As at the end of 'Annie Hall', it's great to see her again.