'SOME KIND OF HEAVEN' You Can Watch It Now
 

Here is your info!

Some Kind of Heaven Is On Amazon Prime - YouTube

It costs $6.99

You don't need Amazon Prime. It is also available for rent on many of the streaming apps that rent movies.

The trailer was more than enough to tell me that I'm not interested.

Yea, but you have to rent it. It's not part of any of those services for free. Probably can be found on USENET. :D

They should have given it away for free. The movie was terrible and not an accurate representation of the people that live here in The Villages enjoying their life.

It will be free to watch by next week.

Nobody wants to see a movie about people enjoying their lives. Where is the drama in that? Movie making is about what the audience wants to see. Watching people playing shuffleboard and playing cards wouldn't go far.

We rented it on Amazon Prime last night. I thought it kind of dragged on. The film makers kind of meandered from one story to another.

Ditto.

If that's your takeaway, then you totally missed the point of the movie.

I rented it this morning. It isn't ABOUT "people that live here in The Villages enjoying their life." That's not what the movie is supposed to be about. It's not a movie about The Villages. It's a movie about a set of people living in The Villages. And I'd say it isn't even truly about people living in The Villages. You can substitute that for any close, planned community of people who are trying to spend their lives being happy.

There's a planned eco-village in Missouri where residents live free on the land, striving for zero waste (and doing a pretty good job of it), living in a semi-communal community. The press they present to the public is that of happy people living happy lives in a happy place. And for the most part, that is true. But not everyone is happy all the time. Sometimes, stuff happens that creates a rough period in your life. Meanwhile, you're still living in a place that prides itself in being a "happy place." So that makes you a square peg in a round hole. How do you manage to experience your depression, or addiction, or sadness, regret, mournfulness, anxiety - how do you manage that, when you are being surrounded by people who insist on informing you that you're happy happy happy and life is wonderful and just line-dance your way through the best years of your life?

Right now, I'm feeling pretty good about my life. I still hate Florida as a state, but I'm loving the Villages Lifestyle. What happens though, if some tragedy were to strike and I'm not feeling so good anymore? Who will say "okay you know what? I GET that you need to not put on that fake smile and pretend life is wonderful. I get that, and you can count on me to GET that, and not make you feel like you need to do that."

Or will they all just say "c'mon, let's go for a margarita, you'll feel better after a night out in the square?"

This movie is about people for whom a night out in the square, or line dancing, or watching a golf cart parade, isn't going to fix what's wrong.

That's what the movie is ABOUT.

For everyone else, they aren't experiencing anything "wrong," or what's wrong, is easily fixed by a night out or watching a parade.

But the people in the movie - need something that can't be fixed by simply living in the Villages. That doesn't mean the Villages is a bad place to live. It just means that it isn't the medicine that cures all ails, and these are examples of life in the Villages for a few people for whom the Villages is not a cure. For all of the people focused on in the movie, what needs to change is themselves. And they CAN be happy in the Villages - once they make those changes.

That's what the movie is about.

The movie would never have been made if the location was On Top of the World, Lakewood Ranch, or Spruce Creek. They chose TV because it's the biggest and most successful. Then there also is politics involved with the NY Times kicking in cash to make it. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the characters were imported just to spice things up. just like the scripted reality shows.

I agree. I think that Community Watch would have booted Dennis (the guy living in his van) pretty quickly.

Save your money
 

It's horrible. Save your money!

I watched it the other night. I had very low expectations after watching the previews but I was pleasantly surprised. The footage of some of the quirky stuff that goes on here was great. The stories of the four people it focused on were interesting. I only sympathized with the lady married to to crazy guy; the other “stars” of the movie were entertaining but not very lovable. I realize that with clever editing and catching the right footage the film maker can tell the story any way he wants. Nevertheless, I enjoyed his version of the story. On a scale of 1-10 I would give it a 7. If I didn’t live here perhaps less.

Some Kind Of Happiness
 

DO NOT WASTE YOU TIME. It is only about the bad in the Villages. It is terribel

Don’t waste your money and time. We saw the movie in Eustis theater.

Absolutely the worst “movie” I have seen. Not a representation of the villages...about 3 people...one a depressed single woman, a man with dementia and his wife, and a homeless man in a van trying to find a rich good looking woman to sponge off of. Not the villages I live in...it started with the fact that people come here and feel younger, mainly because they get involved in healthy activities and don’t sit around doing nothing and people socialize instead of feeling so isolated. Isolation is also a state of mind...you can chose to be unhappy or you can do something about it...lose weight and get healthy, meet people, join groups, even go for a walk in decent weather! So ****ed that this movie even had the cup villages name on it!

That would be an interesting thread to start. "Why I hate Florida".

Would it be possible to have a retirement community like The Villages in a high tax state with massive bureaucracy and regulations like CA, IL or New York?

I haven't seen the movie. Having read fifiebon’s critique above, I probably wont. All of us have to go thru bad times through out our lives. Sometimes where we are or who we are with can help or even help a lot. But really we just have to slog through it no matter where we are. Since it is a personal journey it usually is boring to others.

Ithos,
I don’t live in FL so there are probably many things about it I am unaware of.
What are the reasons you dislike it?

I love Florida. I am just curious as to why people hate it.

I hope it is not too far off topic but I am interested in why someone would decide to retire in a state that they despise.

Watched Some Kind of Heaven Last Night
 

3 peoples story about troubles they are going through in life who just happen to live in The Villages. Stories could have taken place anywhere (even outside of a retirement community). Movie had almost nothing to do with The Villages.

Thats a good question.
I am planning to retire to FL.
So far, I like most of what I know about it

EXACTLY !! looks ridiculous.

Great review! When it becomes free, I will watch it. It is interesting..... that hatred of Florida as a state. It must be more than the summer heat? I would prefer that The Villages was located in Oregon of Arizona myself. But, I have gotten too committed to TV Land to relocate.

Great review! When it becomes free, I will watch it. It is interesting..... that hatred of Florida as a state. It must be more than the summer heat? I would prefer that The Villages was located in Oregon of Arizona myself. But, I have gotten too committed to TV Land to relocate.

Community Watch is NOT a very effective group - they miss a lot of crime and etc.

I had heard about the guy who lives in a van, is not a Villager, but a bum who hangs out at the pools, probably where he showers and does his personal hygiene business. Yuk! This was prior to the China Coronavirus pandemic hitting us.

I disagree. I came thru the gates at least 5 or 6 times between 1 - 5 AM last year and every time a community watch truck rolled past my house a few minutes after I got in my driveway. Somebody is watching those gate cameras.

How about having to be near elderly family members that are no longer capable of total independence but refuse to leave their home or accept outside assistance. Isn't that what the documentary is about ? Sometimes things are not "all" what they appear to be.

It's totally, completely and entirely off topic and has nothing, zilch, zero to do with the movie.

Why are some people absolutely obsessed with my opinion of the state of Florida (which I've gone into great detail about in other threads, which they can find for themselves if they really wanted to), instead of actually discussing the topic - which is a movie that has a rather unfortunate trailer?

(the trailer was not good. It didn't capture the point of the movie and made the Villages look like some evil villainous entity of the plotline when in fact it isn't any such thing).

Just watched this movie. Profound on many levels. Only those that drank the kool aid years ago would think this is a movie against the villages.

Reasonable people from all over the country thank you :)

Dismal Film
 

I rented it on Amazon and it was a total waste of money. We could only get through half of it. Why did they focus on such dysfunctional people!! One of the worst films I have every seen

Garbage!

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It's also available on iTunes for those who have an AppleTV:

Some Kind Of Heaven - Movie Trailers - iTunes

I personally really enjoyed the documentary... first off, it did show some really great shots from around The Villages... with scenes of several unnamed Villagers, doing what people do in The Villages... in all our complicated glory as we navigate the final chapters of our lives. If you enjoy hearing people's stories, this may be a film for you.

As the most successful retirement development in the county, there certainly is plenty of fodder for parody here in The Villages. I'll note, in American society it's easy to play older/retired folks for laughs. We seem to worship youth. I thought this film was pretty kind in that regard. The documentary really focused on the lives of 4 people as they try to navigate the later stages of their lives. It especially spoke to the human need for connectedness, of community, and the need to continue to grow and develop. If you are looking for a film that generates some inner thought, this may be a film for you,.

That said, it's not an extended advertisement for The Villages. Reminds me of the old adage, you can't run away from your problems, you take them with you. If your looking for validation of your purchase of a home in The Villages, this may not be the film for you.

I don't know if the film provided any answers... but for those approaching retirement age, it does give awareness and perhaps some pause to begin contemplating the complicated questions of just what do you want in retirement?

As always, YMMV.

Leo

I watched the 2 minute preview and I found it kind of true to life, although not interesting enough to want to rent and watch. It also reminded me of a cheesy film I saw last year called POMS. I remembered it played at LSL Theater and I think it was on Netflix, it was a fictional story. It had some good stuff, but not enough to give it a grade higher than a 5 out of 10.

Poms (2019) - IMDb

It was filmed at a retirement community in Georgia, but it could of easily been made at here. Everybody drove around in golf carts and went to rec centers and hung together like they were back in high school. Diane Keaton was the star, she was from NYC and was single and went to the community to be low key and retired. Then she ran into woman who was a real dynamo, she was a cheerleader, she taught in school, she had card parties with the guys at her home, all kind things going on. Eventually Keaton gets in the groove and they all become cheerleaders.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_9kqFk4VfAQ/maxresdefault.jpg

The Villages movie
 

I watched it. Okay, where in The Villages is that sandy beach and ocean? Been here 7 years and haven't ever seen it. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

One cool part was the interview with the legendary Harold Schwartz. I hope he gets to see the movie up in whatever part of paradise he's residing in now.

It's supposed to be a DOCUMENTARY (disctionary.com defines documentary as: a movie or a television or radio program that provides a factual record or report and not fiction) so that beach must be here somewhere. Maybe it's on the 6th floor of the Eisenhower Rec Center just like the pool we were told as a high school freshmen that was down in the 2nd basement just below the private McDonalds restaurant that only seniors had access to! :D