Life Begins at 40 Review: Will Rogers is a total mood

If you want a cozy Sunday afternoon movie that feels like a warm bowl of oatmeal, Life Begins at 40 is absolutely worth your time. But if you can't stand slow 1930s pacing or folksy rambling, you will probably want to throw your remote at the screen. ☕

Honestly, I put this on expecting a dusty old melodrama and ended up smiling at how gentle the whole thing is.

The story is simple enough. Will Rogers plays a small-town newspaper editor who decides to help a kid who just got out of jail for a bank robbery he probably didn't do.

The local banker is the bad guy here, and boy, he has that classic "I own this town" sneer down to a science.

Will Rogers is the main reason to watch this. He doesn't really act so much as he just exists on camera, mumbling jokes and playing with his spectacles.

It feels like he forgot his lines half the time and just made up better ones on the spot.

There's this one scene where he's trying to write an editorial and he keeps getting interrupted by people with ridiculous complaints. It goes on forever but I didn't want it to stop.

Some of the supporting cast are wild. Slim Summerville plays this guy who is trying to find a way to never work again, which honestly, same.

His interactions with Rogers are the highlight of the movie for me. They just bounce off each other like two old guys on a porch.

But let's be real, the romance subplot with Richard Cromwell and Rochelle Hudson is pretty boring.

They are both very pretty but they have the chemistry of two wet cardboard boxes.

Every time the movie cuts back to their drama, I found myself checking my phone or looking out the window.

It is a far cry from the silly, fast-paced energy of The Naughty Flirt, choosing instead a very slow, rural rhythm.

Here, everything moves at the speed of molasses in winter.

There is also a weirdly long bit about a pitchfork or some farm tool that I didn't quite catch. It didn't matter though because the vibe is just so comfortable.

Jane Darwell shows up too, playing her usual warm-hearted self. She has this great, comforting presence that makes you feel like everything is going to be okay.

Things I jotted down while watching:

• Will Rogers chewing on a piece of grass is peak cinema.
• The banker's mustache deserves its own acting credit.
• I am 90% sure Slim Summerville was actually falling asleep in one scene.

The ending is exactly what you think it is. There are no big twists, just a nice resolution where the bad guy gets his comeuppance and everyone goes back to their porch.

It's a shame we don't make movies this quiet anymore.

If you need a break from loud explosions and CGI, give this one a spin.