Boynton Beach Club

The female stars of Boynton Beach Club, a new film by the director of Desperately Seeking Susan, are not the best or most iconic actors of their generation. But as the 1960s gave way to the ’70s, all three memorably appeared in touchstones of that heady time: Dyan Cannon in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Sally Kellerman in MASH and Brenda Vaccaro in Midnight Cowboy. In Boynton Beach Club, a comedy about the denizens of a fictional Florida retirement community, the trio gamely confronts their own senior citizenship. The experience—for nostalgic audiences, as for the ladies themselves—can only be described as sobering. You’ve come a long way, baby.The title refers to the Boynton Beach Bereavement Club, a support group for the recently widowed. The film follows six members as they seek new love and, yes, sex after 65. Given Hollywood’s typical indifference to this demographic, you have to applaud Seidelman for tackling the subject matter. Yet Boynton BeachClub misses the sweet spot of screwball comedy and too often, despite good intentions, treats the old-timers as “cute.” This spry cast still has the chops; it’s the director who dodders. (Opens Fri; Paris.) — Tom Beer