Some Kind of Heaven- Villages documentary

[shumbapie]

I just saw the Some Kind of Heaven movie in Mt Dora. Save your money and your time. In my opinion it's a hit job and not indicative of The Villages at all. They keyed on two people with problems and a couple who had problems. I walked away wanting to jump off a bridge (sarcasm). It should not be considered a documentary on The Villages. Instead it should be considered a documentary on octogenarians with problems that takes place in The Villages. OK, I'm off my soapbox!

[JohnN]

maybe fewer people will move here. that might be alright. the movie is about making $$$ for someone, nothing to do with reality

[John41]

I just saw the Some Kind of Heaven movie in Mt Dora. Save your money and your time. In my opinion it's a hit job and not indicative of The Villages at all. They keyed on two people with problems and a couple who had problems. I walked away wanting to jump off a bridge (sarcasm). It should not be considered a documentary on the Villages. Instead it should be considered a documentary on octagenarians with problems that takes place in The Villages. OK, I'm off my soapbox!

Thanks for the warning. At least it wasnt on VD as the book. Dont think it would play well in The Villages theaters. Now if it was on the couple that had sex one night on the LSL square......

[Bay Kid]

Hollywood. Just spreading there own agenda.

[wwdgd]

It never claimed to be a movie about the villages. It is a movie about several people that live in the Villages. A subtle but real difference.

[shumbapie]

It never claimed to be a movie about the villages. It is a movie about several people that live in the Villages. A subtle but real difference.

Read Dennis Harvey's review in Variety. He claims it is about The Villages.

It's an awful movie. If you see it you will be saying "there is two hours of my life I will never get back"

[wwdgd]

Read Dennis Harvey's review in Variety. He claims it is about The Villages.

It's an awful movie. If you see it you will be saying "there is two hours of my life I will never get back"

I did see it as part of a focus group and heard the director speak about the movie. I stand by my comment that it is not about the villages. I also found that it offered me a chance to appreciate my own life and feel empathy for others.

[Bilyclub]

Most of the reviews take a shot at TV.
Some Kind of Heaven - Movie Reviews (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/some_kind_of_heaven/reviews)

[ckbenjamin]

My son, a movie trailer editor for Warner Bros., sent me the trailer link a few days ago. He called it a "mockumentary". I didn't want to hurt his feelings but I called it crap. IMO mocking someone is just another name for bullying. I've seen enough of that on the news every day. I sure wouldn't pay good $$ for it.

[ckbenjamin]

Tried to delete a comment but apparently once you post it's there forever. Sorry guys.

[Bwolf1]

Tried to delete a comment but apparently once you post it's there forever. Sorry guys.
No need to delete. Good comment.

[Ealdrich]

The surest way to tell if somethings successful is if people want to attack it. Personally, I am too busy taking advantage of all of the activities to waste my time watching a movie telling me I shouldn’t be thrilled to live here.

[Goodi70]

Where in Mt. Dora did you view this film?

[photo1902]

Where in Mt. Dora did you view this film?

Epic Theatres (https://epictheatres.com/location/mount-dora)

[caljeff]

I just saw the Some Kind of Heaven movie in Mt Dora. Save your money and your time. In my opinion it's a hit job and not indicative of The Villages at all. They keyed on two people with problems and a couple who had problems. I walked away wanting to jump off a bridge (sarcasm). It should not be considered a documentary on The Villages. Instead it should be considered a documentary on octogenarians with problems that takes place in The Villages. OK, I'm off my soapbox!
For all who may b interested, "Some Kind of Heaven" is to be available for streaming beginning on 15Jan21. That is the extent of what I know. Not sure of the streaming service/protocol nor cost.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

It's pretty typical of movie makers with an agenda. They go and find a few extreme cases that are not at all representative of the whole and present it in such a way to make people think that that is what's going on.

I would be surprised to find that the people that made this have some sort of beef with the developer.

It's the same as that stupid book that came out a few years ago. When I moved here I heard from my family about all the sexually transmitted diseases. What a load of crap.

[Paula]

I just saw the Some Kind of Heaven movie in Mt Dora. Save your money and your time. In my opinion it's a hit job and not indicative of The Villages at all. They keyed on two people with problems and a couple who had problems. I walked away wanting to jump off a bridge (sarcasm). It should not be considered a documentary on The Villages. Instead it should be considered a documentary on octogenarians with problems that takes place in The Villages. OK, I'm off my soapbox!

Haven't seen the movie, but after reading about it, my impressions are the same. There was a pre-conceived intention, and then they found people who fit. The setting could have been anywhere. It reminds me of the book Leisureville.

[Boston1945]

For all who may b interested, "Some Kind of Heaven" is to be available for streaming beginning on 15Jan21. That is the extent of what I know. Not sure of the streaming service/protocol nor cost.

It should be on Netflex Friday Jan 15 th.

[Bay Kid]

It should be on Netflex Friday Jan 15 th.

Sounds like it wouldn't be worth watching for free.

[merrymini]

Decent people are boring...will never get attention...ignore these idiots and they will not have an audience and go away...it is called shunning.

[DAVES]

All the posts prove my point.

We all are drawn to negatives. Worked on me too as I obviously read this.
Would people see a movie? The villages is great, most people are happy etc etc etc.

Reality.

[butch69]

I read a review and assumed that same thing you discovered. Doesn't cover living in the Village the way normal people do.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

It's pretty typical of movie makers with an agenda. They go and find a few extreme cases that are not at all representative of the whole and present it in such a way to make people think that that is what's going on.

I would be surprised to find that the people that made this have some sort of beef with the developer.

It's the same as that stupid book that came out a few years ago. When I moved here I heard from my family about all the sexually transmitted diseases. What a load of crap.

The agenda is:

This movie isn't just for Villagers to watch. It's not just for people who are thinking of retiring to the Villages to watch. This movie isn't intended to be an advertisement for the Villages. It's intended to make money, as a movie. How do movies make money? By being interesting, entertaining, heartwarming, and/or thrilling enough that people will pay to see it.

No one is going to pay to see a movie about how wonderful the Villages is. They give that stuff away free on their website.

This is about how wonderful the Villages is to most people, BUT that behind the scenes, off-camera (and now on-camera), there are people who struggle here, just like in every corner of the country. No matter how wonderful things are, nothing is perfect. That's something we can all relate to. And that's what will sell this movie.

[Aces4]

I agree with your basic premise but this movie was made by a native Floridian.

I believe that it began as a college project.



I think it common knowledge that most “native”, (which means they’ve been here a little longer) Florida residents dislike The Villages.

[Haole boy]

I did see it as part of a focus group and heard the director speak about the movie. I stand by my comment that it is not about the villages. I also found that it offered me a chance to appreciate my own life and feel empathy for others.
Totally agree with you. The movie was a perfect opportunity to do a hit job on TV. Instead it was a story about real people dealing with real issues. Who couldn't feel for Barbara as she thinks she's making progress and then sees hotshot Lynn the margarita man acting like the cock of the roost. Or Anne as see manages to forget about how Reggie is consuming her life and is able to give herself over to the music in the square. Also, I can't understand why the Villages movies haven't reopened yet. Seems to me people would be jumping at the opportunity to see themselves on the big screen.

[jklfairwin]

i read a review of the movie in the Washington Post and in the Guardian. Both spent a lot of time talking about TV, but both, especially the Guardian article, did say that the documentary was really just about the people and TV was just the backdrop. The WAPO article had a comments section where people were lined up disparaging TV with some amazingly nasty and bad comments.

[Joe V.]

I think it common knowledge that most “native”, (which means they’ve been here a little longer) Florida residents dislike The Villages.

Actually those of us who were born here are "native" (whatever that term means) Floridians. All you who came after being born somewhere else, you are not.

[terenceanne]

We got something on the Internet that let us watch it for free.
As others have said the Villages is only the setting for the story - we did feel that the villages were not shown in any particular light. Bad or good.
I believe the movie was produced by the New York Times - so take what you will for the motivation of the production.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I did see it as part of a focus group and heard the director speak about the movie. I stand by my comment that it is not about the villages. I also found that it offered me a chance to appreciate my own life and feel empathy for others.

So the title, "Some Kind of Heaven" doesn't refer to The Villages?

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I think it common knowledge that most “native”, (which means they’ve been here a little longer) Florida residents dislike The Villages.

The gut that made it was born in Miami but went to Harvard.

[Aces4]

The gut that made it was born in Miami but went to Harvard.


Doesn’t make much difference where he went to school, if he’s from FL he probably doesn’t like The Villages.

Travel around FL and don’t tell people you live here but bring The Villages into the discussion. Not a lot of high opinions will be coming forth.

[Bilyclub]

Doesn’t make much difference where he went to school, if he’s from FL he probably doesn’t like The Villages.

Travel around FL and don’t tell people you live here but bring The Villages into the discussion. Not a lot of high opinions will be coming forth.

I know some people in Orlando that have never set foot in TV that were shocked to find out we bought a house here. I brought one up for the home inspection and he sort of changed his tune. Most people in Florida have never been here and only know the negatives and myths promoted by the media.

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

We got something on the Internet that let us watch it for free.
As others have said the Villages is only the setting for the story - we did feel that the villages were not shown in any particular light. Bad or good.
I believe the movie was produced by the New York Times - so take what you will for the motivation of the production. proof of that , I’m really interested in knowing

[UpNorth]

Yep, co-produced with THE NEW YORK TIMES. Do you think there is an agenda behind this?

[RobbyHarris]

For all who may b interested, "Some Kind of Heaven" is to be available for streaming beginning on 15Jan21. That is the extent of what I know. Not sure of the streaming service/protocol nor cost.

Pay streaming only. NOT on Netflix. Where to Watch Some Kind of Heaven Documentary (https://decider.com/2021/01/14/where-to-watch-some-kind-of-heaven-doc/)

To watch Some Kind of Heaven, you can head to the theater or watch from the comfort of your own home. The film will be available to rent across multiple platforms starting tomorrow. If you’re looking to stream Some Kind of Heaven on services like Netflix or Hulu, though, you’re out of luck. For the time being, the film is only available to at-home audiences through digital rental.

[Bilyclub]

To rent the film digitally, turn to iTunes, Prime Video, Redbox, Google Play, FandangoNow, Playstation, Vudu, Microsoft, YouTube, Verizon Fios, or Xfinity. Some Kind of Heaven will also be available on demand through AT&T, Optimum, Spectrum, Xfinity, Cox, DIRECTV, Redbox, and Suddenlink.

[Bay Kid]

It will be free to see by next week.

[Papa Muzzy]

Really didn't have anything to do with The Villages except for the fact that it was filmed here. It focussed on 4 people. A couple with marital and drug problems that got caught and had to go to court. A nice middle aged women that her husband had died. The last subject was a homeless person living in his van from California looking for a rich women. He didn't succeed .
Aside from not being about The Villages, it seemed a very unfinished film that really had no point and was really quite boring'

[EdFNJ]

Aside from not being about The Villages, it seemed a very unfinished film that really had no point and was really quite boring' It was categorized as a a documentary and not meant to be "general entertainment". I guess they succeeded with that. :) I found it embarrassing and it made me cringe just from watching the trailer. I guess if I didn't live here and read all the BS posted about T.V. I might have thought it was just lousy and not cringeworthy.

[Klatu]

There is no money or notoriety to be gained by showing happy and active people enjoying the retirement years. If you can cherry pick a few people with problems or peculiar habits, you can generate buzz and please the scoffers, the cynics, the sneer crowd. Let the movie sink and fade....we have things to do!