#please ignore the fact that he’s intimate with Carol in the first one it’s an illusion

[xmenred2022]

Do you love the color of Scott Langs hair. Which one.

[independentartistbuzz]

7 From The Women is a segment here on Independent Artist Buzz where we ask some of the industries finest seven questions. During this time of accusations and the lack thereof, we think it’s important to give women a voice. We chose to ask seven questions to honor the seven Wiccan clans.

Kristen Rae Bowden is a beautiful turmoil of tenderness and willfulness. It’s a paradoxical sentiment also evident in her artistic sensibilities. In her upcoming debut, Language and Mirrors, she fluidly, and authentically, inhabits earthy Americana and majestic orchestral rock.

What have you been working to promote lately?

In November 2018 I released my first album, entitled “Language and Mirrors.” On March 15 2019 I will release my first music video from the album. The video is for my song “It Isn’t About You.”

I wrote “It Isn’t About You” while living in a screened-in-shack with no power on the Big Island of Hawaii. I was 22, fresh from college, excited by the idea of living “off the grid”, and very much in love with a young man whose family owned land in Hawaii. After we moved there, however, our relationship quickly deteriorated, practically turning to dust before my eyes. I felt powerless to save it, or leave.

I found myself on a metaphorical island, as well as a real one, and my feeling of isolation stemmed from my obsession with the unhealthy relationship. It became difficult for me to imagine myself outside of it; I no longer felt whole on my own.

Even without electricity, I remained a night owl. I stayed up alone in the tiny dark house on the edge of the jungle, drinking wine, and writing poetry by candlelight. This is how I wrote “It Isn’t About You”: as part of a long, freeform poem. (It is one of my only songs where I wrote the lyrics first.)

Later, I put the poem to music, after I finally got the courage to leave the relationship, and I’d steadied my mind. The song is about making that return to yourself and your own joys, strengths, and needs. It is also about taking responsibility for your own choices, so that you never feel (unnecessarily) like a victim, and you can move on.

The music video for “It Isn’t About You” will premiere on Facebook Premiere on Friday March 15 at 1:00 pm.

Please tell us about your favorite song written, recorded or produced by another woman and why it’s meaningful to you.

I think, after all these years, my favorite track written by a woman is still Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You”. The melody starts out conversational, understated, and then it soars! The simplicity of the instrumentation creates such an intimate experience, you feel like she’s in your living room, singing right in your ear. You hear every word, which is perfect because her lyrics go straight to the heart.

The beauty of the poem alone overwhelms me. Joni has a way of writing lyrics that are very specific to her own experience, and full of imagery, but when I listen to them, I feel like they are about me too. Much like an abstract painting where different people will see different things, Joni’s artful words allow you to color them with your own experience. This makes me feel truly known, and comforted somehow as a human being, because I know I’m not alone.

What does it mean to you to be a woman making music/in the music business today and do you feel a responsibility to other women to create messages and themes in your music?

When I decided I wanted to become a career musician, I didn’t think at all about my gender. I just knew I wanted to make music; that’s all I thought about.

Now, I believe that as a woman in the music industry, I have the opportunity to showcase a more feminine (as in the divine) incarnation of strength. As a culture I think we view strength in a very masculine way; it often means hardness, stoicism. I believe we tend to ignore the strength that it takes to be vulnerable... the strength that lies in open-heartedness and flexibility. After all, a branch that cannot bend is more likely to break. In my songs, I find myself wanting to express this: how brave one must be to remain open-hearted. I think it is something I have to offer that has to do with my womanhood and femininity.

When I write I honestly don’t feel a responsibility to create certain messages and themes in my music. I write according to my feelings, so those end up being the messages and themes. However, when I write a song about a certain moment in my life, I definitely listen critically to the song and ask myself what kind of message it is going to send into the world.

Once I wrote a song about a previous boyfriend cheating on me with a girl who I really thought was my friend. They both lied to me about it for several weeks. It was overwhelmingly hurtful. Some men say they have a “bro’s code” to not let women come between them. So, I wrote this song about the lack of a “girls code”, and basically sang about how I knew my boyfriend at the time was going to lie to me, that was obvious. But I never expected my woman friend to be a part of it, sneaking around and lying to me also.

Later I realized I couldn’t release the song, because of the message one might take from it. My lyrics ended up sounding too much like a woman who blames the other woman when her significant other lies to her, instead of holding him responsible, and also taking responsibility for the choice she has made to be with him. What that particular “friend” did to me was unkind, but I don’t ever want to sound like a woman who puts other women down as a group. I didn’t want to risk being interpreted in that way.

I hope to be a voice of catharsis, empowerment, and empathy.

What is the most personal thing you have shared in your music or in your artist brand as it relates to being female?

My most personal song is “My Father’s Daughter”. My Dad was an extremely charismatic, artistic, and captivating man. He was also quite the womanizer. He passed away when I was 18, and I still miss him every single day.

I think as a girl, when you grow up with a Dad who is your absolute favorite person, but over time you learn about some of his negative proclivities, you’ll have some kind of emotional reaction. And the reaction will be based (at least in part) on how you are his daughter. If you were his son, you might respond quite differently.

“My Father’s Daughter” is really about me getting into a relationship with a man who had also lost his artistic (and womanizing) father. He had a daddy-backstory similar to mine, but he had responded in a completely different way. We could understand each other better in some ways due to the similarities in our respective Dads’ personalities, but in other ways we really had no hope of ever understanding each other.

The song also has to do with the fact that sometimes, there is no stronger bond than shared grief.

I think this is the most personal thing I’ve written as it relates to being female, because it’s specific to what we would call “Daddy issues”. Anyone can have Daddy issues, regardless of their gender, but being female definitely effects how these complicated feelings play out in one’s life. This is true for me, at least.

What female artists have inspired you and influenced you?

So many! I’ve already mentioned Joni Mitchell. I just finished reading “Just Kids” and Patti Smith is a poetic hero. Others include Joan Jett, Nina Simone, Bonnie Raitt, Aretha Franklin, Patsy Cline, Erykah Badu, Zap Mama, Emmylou Harris, Iris DeMent, Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Stevie Nicks, Carole King, Amy Winehouse, Bjork, Lady Gaga, Billie Holiday, Ani DiFranco, and Tracy Chapman.

Who was the first female artist you saw that made you want to create music / be in the business?

When I was 19, my sister and I went to see Ani DiFranco. I remember loving how the audience was overwhelmingly female, right as I walked in. I noted to myself how rare it is to be in the company of mostly women, at least for me. Ani sang her songs and I think everyone in the theater was affected, you could just feel it in the air. I laughed and I cried. I marveled at how she connected with each member of the audience personally ; she made each of us feel like we’d met her. Each of her songs consistently blew me away with her confessional storytelling. She stirred my emotions and completely inspired me.

The next night I went into a practice room at my college, played the piano, and wrote my first real song. I didn’t mean to write it ; it surprised me. It was about my Dad dying, which had happened about a year before. I scribbled it on a cocktail napkin that I’ve saved ever since.

Do you consider yourself a feminist? If so why and if not why?

I definitely consider myself a feminist. Women deserve equal rights and bodily autonomy, period. I grew up very privileged, in a community/culture that told me I could be anything I wanted, so I have to admit I was rather shocked to find out that some people still think women aren’t supposed to do certain jobs or have certain roles in life. I also grew up in a very homogenous community. For a long time I was very ignorant when it comes to the idea of intersectional feminism, and I still have a lot to learn about how feminism can exclude the experiences and points of view of women of color and LGBTQ women. It is important to me to be an ally to all women, especially those in minority communities, as they are the ones who are most effected by sexism and discrimination. Learning how to be a good ally is an ongoing process, and I consider it my responsibility to educate myself about issues outside of my personal experience. All in all, I am a feminist because women are still so marginalized, all over the world. Women’s rights are human rights, and as long as things remain unbalanced, this deserves our constant attention.

Connect with Kristen online:

https://www.kristenraebowden.com

https://www.facebook.com/KristenRaeBowden/

https://www.instagram.com/kristenraebowden/

https://twitter.com/bowdenrae?lang=en

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0PPhdmifjwxW8fkF_CxIoQ

https://kristenraebowden.tumblr.com/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2mi6KqRPH72KiS6r1A9ePI?nd=1

https://soundcloud.com/kristenraebowden

https://kristenraebowden.bandcamp.com/releases

[peterpparkrr]

(Veronica x Reader): It’s a Quintessential Rite of Passage

Summary: The Drive In is closing and everyone is going, it’s a rite of passage to go with a date after all. Reader has a crush on Veronica and is trying to figure out how to make it a date and admit her feelings.

Word Count: 2716

Warnings: (Kissing I guess)

Author’s Note: This gets a little bit rambly in the readers thoughts but I figured that’s pretty on brand for the character but it is a little hard to read (apologies for any spelling/grammar mistakes)

You were sitting in your booth at Pop’s with the rest of the gang, minus Archie, you were squeezed in on one side of the booth by Jughead and Betty, Kevin and Veronica were across the table from you. You’d been picking at your fries as Jughead angrily ate most of them while complaining about how the drive-in was closing. Everyone else was listening quietly, no one really cared as much as Jughead, but all of you were trying to be supportive. 

“The Drive-In’s closing is just one more nail in the coffin that is Riverdale, in the coffin of the American Dream.” Jughead stammered, “As the godfather of indie cinema, Quentin Tarantino, likes to say-”

Kevin finally interrupted, “Please, God, no more Quentin Tarantino references.” He begged, causing you to look up at him with a grin, trying not to laugh.

“What? I’m pissed.” Jughead replied angrily, “And not just about losing my job. The Twilight Drive-In should mean something to us. People should be trying to save it.”

“In this age of Netflix and VOD, do people really want to watch a movie in a car? I mean, who even goes there?” Veronica asked.

“People who want to buy crack.” Kevin answers.

“And cinephiles, and car enthusiasts,” Jughead retorts, “right Bets?” He adds, turning to Betty.

Betty looked up, she obviously wasn't listening, “Huh?” She asked, confused before realizing that she needed to answer, “Totally.”

Kevin rolled his eyes and you had to continue to hold in laughter.

“Anyway,” Jughead interjected, ignoring the fact that Betty isn’t really listening, “it’s closing because the town owns it, but didn’t invest in it. So when an anonymous buyer..”  

Veronica looks over at you, smirking slightly as Jughead continues his rant, making a face in effort to make you laugh.

“Also, you guys should all come to closing night.” Jughead says, looking around the table, “I’m thinking American Graffiti, or that too obvious?” he asked.

“I vote for anything starring Audrey Hepburn, or Cate Blanchett,” Veronica replied, which snapped out out of your own thoughts, you love Cate Blanchett, especially in Carol.

“Or the talented Mr. Ripley,” Kevin adds.

Veronica rolls her eyes before glancing over at you again, “What about you (Y/N)?”

“I don’t know,” You said with a shrug. You would never tell Jughead this, but you were surprised the Drive-In hadn’t closed sooner.

“Betty, your choices?” Kevin asked, snapping Betty out of he daydream again.

“Um…” She stalled, you looked over at her, concerned.

“Are you okay Betty?” You asked, furrowing your brow and glancing over at Veronica and Kevin, trying to figure out if they knew what was up.

“Yeah, I’m just thinking,” She replied, dismissing you, “Maybe Rebel Without a Cause?” She offered, causing Jughead to breakout into a grin as they both snickered.

You heard the bell above the door jangle, you turned around and were surprised to see Archie with his dad and Ms. Grundy. You’d sat in when Betty and Jughead interviewed Dilton Doiley and he told them that he’d seen Ms. Grundy’s car. You had your own suspicion that Archie and Grundy had probably been together at the river on the 4th of July and probably were… y’know...together.

“Wait. What’s happening?” Kevin asked confused as Betty got up to walk over to their table while both you and Jughead tried to get her to stay, knowing that she was going to try and confront Archie.

“What’s happening out there? Do we know? Is it about me?” Veronica asked as Betty and Archie walk outside.

“I have a strong inkling, and no.” Jughead replies, his ever mysterious and cryptic self, “Also, I’d let it go.” He adds, seeing the look on her face.

You nod in agreement, “I wouldn’t get involved, Veronica.” You tell her with a shrug.

“Yes, but you’re you, and I’m me. You do you, girl, I’ll be back.” Veronica replies, giving Jughead a killer look, and you one that’s almost apologetic, before getting up and following Betty and Archie outside.

Jughead slid down in his seat and rolled his eyes, making you laugh slightly, before realizing that might be a bit insensitive and trying to cover it up the best you could with a cough.

“What was it like before she go here?” Kevin asked the two of you in a slightly stunned tone as he watched Veronica walk out ,“I honestly don’t remember.”

You laughed slightly, “Neither can I.” You tell him, shaking your head before punching Jughead sharply, “Stop talking my fries.” You tell him as he sheepishly shrugs, his mouth full of them.

You watched the trio from the window, obviously something was going on, you couldn’t quite see their faces, but you could tell it was something bad, they were arguing and before you knew it Betty got into her mom’s car and they drove off.

Veronica and Archie came back inside after a few minutes and Archie waved to us awkwardly before going back to where his dad and Ms. Grundy were sitting.

“What happened?” You asked Veronica, the moment that she sat back down, Kevin nodded his head eagerly in agreement with you.

“Nothing important,” She said dismissively, you could tell she was lying, but you knew better than to push her, you already had your suspicions so you just sat back in the booth and you all sat in silence for a minute before Kevin cleared his throat.

“Well, I gotta get home,” He said awkwardly.

“Me too,” Veronica replied, getting up, “(Y/N)?” She asked.

“What?” You replied, confused, “Oh! Right, sorry, I forgot I was you guys driving you home.” You replied, blushing slightly, “Do you need a ride, Jug?” You asked as he stood up to let you out of the booth.

“No, I’m going to stay and write,” He replied, sitting back down once you were out.

“Well, I guess you can have my leftover fries.” You told him as you walked out the door and out to your car.

You drove Kevin and Veronica home, absentmindedly talking about school and work.

“It’s like this, quintessential rite of passage, making out with your boyfriend or girlfriend at the movies.” Kevin explained while you sat on one of the couches in lounge next to Veronica.

“Why don’t we all go together?” Veronica asked, “I can’t promise you any action, Kevin, but maybe we’ll bring you good luck.”

You was about to say something when Cheryl walked in.

“Veronica, it’s so devastating to me that you mother had to sink to such unspeakable lows just to keep those knockoff Hermes bags on your arm. What’s next, selling her hair extensions?” Cheryl started, making you more upset than you would have expected, what right does Cheryl have to talk to Veronica that way?

Veronica just rolled her eyes as your hands tightened into fists in your lap. “My mom’s a waitress, Cheryl, not Fantine.” Veronica replied, “And your faux concern reeks of ulterior motive, what is it?”

“Only to remind you of your place at this school, nay, the town’s social hierarchy.” Cheryl spat back.

“Threatened much? Don’t worry. You may be a stock character from a ‘90s teen movie, but I’m not. And what does any of this have to do with my mom being a waitress?” Veronica asked.

“It’s just that I saw her talking to a southside serpent last night, in the alley behind Pop’s.” Cheryl explain, causing you to glance over at Kevin, who raises his eyebrows in response, “They were having an extremely heated, intimate discussion. See for yourself.” She said as she pulled up a photo on her phone.

You and Kevin got up to look at it, once you have Cheryl just smirks and sashays out of the room.

Once she’s gone Veronica turns around to face you, “Who or what is a Southside Serpent?”

You and Kevin share a nervous glance, “They’re this gang of bikers who pretty much stay on the south side of town.” He tells her.

“And thank God, ‘cause they’re sort of dangerous. Drug dealers and petty thieves.” You add.

“Then what was my mom doing with one of them?” Veronica asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

You and Kevin make eye contact again, sharing another look, unsure of what to tell her. All that you know is that there is no good reason to talk to a Serpent.

She shakes her head dismissively when neither of us answer, “Well, class is going to start. Bye Kevin. Bye (Y/N).” She says before walking out of the room.

You slump back down on the couch, “I don’t want to get all sleuth-y, but it’s definitely not a good thing for Veronica’s mom to be talking to a Serpent, right?” You ask Kevin, who sits down on the couch next to you.

Kevin shrugs in response, “I don’t know, (Y/N), but I don’t think you should be the one to figure that out, Veronica should do that herself, don’t you think?”

You nod, “I just- I hate seeing her like that, you know? I just want to help her.”

Kevin smirked ever so slightly as he nods.

“What?” You ask, somewhat defensively.

“You really like her, don’t you?” He replies, grinning even more, causing you to blush profusely, “Oh my God! You totally do! Why didn’t you ask her to go to the Drive-In with you?”

“Several reasons,” You reply, crossing your arms over your chest, “First of all, I was going to ask her, you messed that up when you started complaining about how you didn’t have anyone to go with and she felt so bad that now we’re all going as friends. Second of all, I don’t know if she’s...into girls. Third of all, what if she doesn’t like me.”

“Of course she likes you!” Kevin tells you, “She’s always looking at you, laughing at your terrible jokes, and putting up with you more than the rest of us ever could.”

“Are you sure? I mean- Should I talk to her? Ask her out?” You ask him, suddenly getting very nervous. You’d always thought about asking her out, but you never considered it being an actual option.

“(Y/N)...” Kevin replies, shaking his head, “I don’t know, it’s up to you. You know she kissed Betty at Vixen tryouts, right?”

“Seriously?” You ask, trying to figure out what that means, “Kev, you’re the only person I’ve come out to other than my parents, do you think I should do it? What if she tells people?”

“What if she tells people because you’re together? You shouldn’t worry about what other people might think, most people are fine with it here.” Kevin tells you, and you nod.

“I think I’ll talk to her about it at the Drive-In, that way we can all still go together, Okay?”

“Okay (Y/N),” He says as you pack up your stuff and stand up to leave, “By the way,” He adds, “I think she’ll say yes.”

“Kevin is going to pick me up to go to the Drive-In,” You tell your parents as they make dinner for themselves a few days later, “I’m going with him.” You leave Veronica out of the equation, anytime you do anything with a girl, even if it’s just Betty, they ask if you’re dating them or want to date them.

“Honey, isn’t there a nice gay girl at school you could take?” Your mom asks, “we’d let you take the car.”

“Mom, I am the nice gay girl. The only other member of GSA is Kevin, that’s why I’m going with him.”

“Okay (Y/N), don’t stay out too late, and make sure Kevin keeps his hands to himself.” You dad jokes, causing you to roll your eyes but smile as you phone buzzes.

“Kevin’s outside, see you later,” You say as you give your mom a quick hug before grabbing your bag and heading out the door.

You hop in the passenger seat, “Ready to suffer through Rebel Without a Cause?” You ask him as he pulls away from your house and starts heading towards Veronica’s.

“I still can’t believe he chose Betty’s suggestion,” He scoffs as he pulls up in front of Veronica’s house, “I mean, imagine if he had taken Veronica’s suggestions. Oh my God! What if he’d played Carol, that would be so cute and then you could totally hit on Ver-”

He stopped mid sentence as the door to the pick-up opened up and Veronica’s head popped in, “Hey,” She says as she climbs into the back seat, “What are you guys talking about?”

“Nothing!” You reply a little too quickly, earning yourself an eye roll from Kevin, “Just um… talking about movies that would be better than Rebel Without a Cause. We just think it’s a bit boring.” You add, trying to salvage the conversation.

“Yeah,” Veronica replies, “I think that Rebel is a good movie, I just wish Jughead had picked something like Carol. You know, Cate Blanchett and all that.”

The moment she says Carol you get beet red and Kevin has to keep his eyes on the road to keep himself from laughing.

“Yeah...that would have been a good choice.” You reply, trying to remain calm.

“Well, I think something more like Brokeback Mountain would be good,” Kevin adds.

You somehow spend the ride to the drive-in talking about LGBT movies and trying not to freak out, there’s no way that Veronica would know about all these movies if she wasn’t attracted to girls, Right? I mean, you discuss everything from Blue is the Warmest Color to Moonlight. The only reason you’ve seen most of these movies is that your parents bought a bunch after you came out, or, you watched them with Kevin after you admitted you’d never seen movies like But I’m a Cheerleader or watched The L word.

You felt thoroughly convinced that Veronica was less than straight when Kevin pulled into a spot at the Drive-In.

“I thought that we could sit in the hatchback, I brought blankets.” He tells you and Veronica, “Could you guys grab all of the blankets and stuff and set them up? I’m going to go get some snacks.” He tells us both, winking at you before walking away.

“Ronnie?” You finally say, your voice cracking slightly as you rearrange the blankets in the back of Kevin’s truck, “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what’s up?” She replied, glancing at you, more curious than anything else.

“I’m not really sure how to say this, but… Are you-Do you- Would you-”

“(Y/N), Do you want to go out sometime?” Veronica asks, cutting you off, looking you dead in the eyes.

You look at her for a moment, processing what she just said as you blush (again), “Um, yeah, th-that would be great,” you respond, smiling as you nervously run a hand through your hair.

“Awesome, we can make plans later,” She says as she climbs into the hatchback and sits down,  “sit next to me?” She asks, patting the spot next to her.

“Yes.” You say definitively as you scramble in after her and sit down next to her, nervously putting your arm around her shoulders, “Is this okay?” You ask her nervously.

“Yup,” She says, turning to look at your face, “This is definitely okay.”

“Good,” You say as you lean in, softly kissing her on the lips.

“Good news, I’ve got enough popcorn for like fifty people-Oh!” Kevin says as he walks around the truck and sees you two, “My bad!”

You quickly break away from Veronica, blushing slightly as you look down at your lap.

“Don’t worry about it,” Veronica says with a lighthearted laugh, “Come one, get settled in with us.” She tells him.

“Alright,” He says, handing you the food as he hops in, sitting down next to you, “Didn’t take you long at all, did it.” He says jokingly, causing you to poke him aggressively in the stomach.

“You know that means that now we’re going to try setting you up with someone, right?” You respond, fully prepared to get him back.

“If you find someone, I’m more than okay with that.” He responds jokingly as you all settled in for the movie.

[mrmichaelchadler]

Book Club

When I learned that “Book Club,” Hollywood’s latest bid to please the senior-discount demo with a glittering array of big-screen notables of a certain age, was partly inspired by the “50 Shades of Grey” trilogy—aka “The Joy of Sex” for semi-literates—I shuddered a bit. Please, don’t waste the estimable talents of Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen, all acting together for the very first time, on kinky cosplay.

But except for a pair of wayward Spanx that threatens to strangle one of the ladies, there is mostly talk and no real S&M action. Turns out that the steamy bestseller simply serves as an ice-breaker. Instead, this fairly laugh-packed comedy aims to address the desire for intimate companionship in older adults, an increasingly topical issue as more Americans live into their nineties. “Book Club” might not be able to resist stooping to a cheap extended Viagra gag, for which Craig T. Nelson deserves a good sport medal. But it generally strives to maintain the dignity of its seasoned cast while making hay off of their collective chemistry.

After being a producer behind many of Robert Redford’s latter-day projects such as “A Walk in the Woods” and “All Is Lost,” Bill Holderman appears to be re-energized by this up-for-anything crew of funny females in this, his directing debut, as well as a motley mix of would-be suitors that includes Don Johnson, Richard Dreyfuss, Andy Garcia and Wallace Shawn. He also is no fool, since he has a woman sharing in the writing and producing duties—Erin Simms, a fellow Redford alum. Together, they capture some of the throwback sisterhood spirit of “The First Wives Club,” while aging it like a fine wine whose cork is ready to pop.

Speaking of which, much vino is consumed as the central quartet hold their meetings. Each character represents a distinctive romantic stage of older womanhood. Fonda’s Vivien is a never-wed, fabulously successful luxury hotel owner who has a huge appetite for sex but steadfastly shuns commitment. Keaton’s Diane (yes, they wrote the part for her) is a recent widow after 40 years of marriage. Her two grown married daughters (Alicia Silverstone and Katie Aselton) never consider that maybe she wouldn’t want to spend the rest of her days in the elder-care-ready basement in one of their Arizona homes. Bergen’s Sharon is an outwardly intimidating federal judge who hasn’t had relationship of any kind, save with her cat, ever since her divorce 18 years ago. But now that her ex (Ed Begley Jr.) and son are both engaged, she decides to give online dating sites a try. Steenburgen’s Carol is the only one of the bunch whose marriage is still intact as she lives out her dream as a successful chef with a bustling eatery. But she and hubby Nelson haven’t enjoyed any bedroom activity ever since his male pride took a dive after he retired six months ago.

Of course, all eventually ends well. Fonda’s old flame Johnson shows up to rock her world, Keaton becomes smitten by Garcia’s suave pilot (just ignore the fact that they were nephew and aunt in “The Godfather III”), Bergen gets busy in a car’s back seat with Dreyfuss, and Steenburgen and Nelson re-ignite their desire for each other on the dance floor to the strains of Meatloaf. It’s best not to spoil how they get to each point, but keep an eye on Murphy Brown—she’s a secret spitfire who speaks truth to power and deservedly gets the right to utter the lone F-word.

There are Easter Eggs to be mined that serve as tributes. Fonda dons thigh-high “Klute” boots, Steenburgen does the same tap routine that she did in her Oscar-winning role in “Melvin and Howard” and Keaton’s snazzy menswear-inspired wardrobe screams Annie Hall goes granny. And kudos to cinematographer Andrew Dunn (“Gosford Park,” “The Butler”) for lighting this over-50 crowd just right.

Now for a few bugaboos. The upper-class milieu of these primarily Santa Monica residents is almost as blindingly vanilla and cushy as those found in one of Nancy Meyers’ perfectly curated confections. But, as they say, money can’t buy you love, so let’s not be too judgmental. Besides, an event for No Kid Hungry, an actual charity that Steenburgen backs, is featured so there is that. And, although it might be tacky to bring up a woman’s age, it’s odd that the lead foursome is described in press material as being in their sixties. Steenburgen is the only one who qualifies at 65. Diane claims she was born in 1951, but Keaton herself just turned 72. Bergen is 71. And Fonda? Forget about it. At this point, her driver’s license should truthfully just say “timeless.”

Oh well, age is just a number. Besides, you wouldn’t want to recast these parts with anyone else.

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