[herman0522]

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

[Oceancouple]

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

[Debbraham]

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!

[ithos]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

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

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."

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?

[LG999]

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.

[LG999]

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?

[ithos]

Originally Posted by LG999

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.

[BruggsNC1]

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.

[LG999]

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

[mrf6969]

Originally Posted by JohnN

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

EXACTLY !! looks ridiculous.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

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.

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.

[jimjamuser]

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.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Silliness

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

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

[manaboutown]

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.

[Bilyclub]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

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

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.