Protraph Lack of good storyline.

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

rudyardk An utter, utter disappointment -- clearly, no-one involved with this production had any idea about what made the original MTM series work. After a moderately amusing update of the MTM show theme by Joan Jett, the film goes immediately downhill, with one witless, dull scene following another. Stars Moore and Harper try hard, but are completely at sea when faced with pedestrian direction, a bland, unmemorable supporting cast, and -- worst of all -- a truly awful script by one Katie Ford. Sadly, Ford seems to think she's writing the reunion movie "Lucy and Ethel", and apparently has been told to 'make it clichéd and dramatic ... but not too dramatic'. Tellingly, not a single person from the original 70s classic series (aside from the two lead actresses) had any involvement with this reunion. James L. Brooks and Allan Burns don't even get credited for creating the original characters! Of course, looking at the finished product, it's entirely possible they petitioned to have their names removed from this film. If so, they made the right decision.

llihilloh Alright, I have to admit that I have never seen "Rhoda" and only one or two episodes of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Even though I don't know anything about this duo of comedic talent, I still liked this movie a lot.Mary goes back to work. Rose tries her luck at being a comedian. Rhoda struggles with a photography career. And Meredith...what exactly does she do again? These three stories that we follow over two hours are amusing and entertaining in their own way. When the two long time friends reunite, it only makes the film better. I was surprised about how good the writing was. The little jokes thrown in by Mary and Rhoda were funny. The script itself was very well put together. I had seen Moore and Harper in other movies over the past few years and thought that they were very good. But I had no idea that they worked this well as a team. While both actresses do their share to fulfill the title of this movie, they never seem to let me down. (During the run of this movie.) Joie Lenz and Marisa Ryan play their roles okay but nothing great. The rest of the cast like Jonah, Cecile and....everybody else also works well together.Being that this is a reunion, you would expect for a fan of either show to enjoy this. From a non-fan I still enjoyed this little get-together. Good story lines for each character and the two main characters is what makes this film very good. (The newer version of the MTM theme song doesn't hurt either.)

Cyprus386 Really, I liked it. The premise was good, the story fit where both respective series left off, and here's my favorite part. Mary and Valerie aren't bitter! They aren't like others who become synonymous with a certain series and then refuse to talk about it, or do possible reunions (A prime example is Susan Dey, "The Partridge Family"). In fact, Valerie was saying that she'd be thrilled to do another movie, and then Mary said the same thing later, so I would be on the look for another...but if that doesn't quite work out, then they can re-run this one.

Jack Yan Most TV reunion movies don't do well: The Brady Bunch Reunion, Return to Mayberry, Dynasty: The Reunion. They fail to capture the spirit of the originals but nostalgia drives us to watch and makes us enjoy.I love The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I think Rhoda is excellent. So logically Mary & Rhoda should combine the best of both, 20 years on, and also show us how women in their late 50s and early 60s would fare. Both of the original shows were fairly realistic in 1970s sitcom-land, dealing with many issues, which is why they have their fair share of a youth audience as well. And, we knew that Frasier and Everybody Loves Raymond were amongst star and executive producer Mary Tyler Moore's favorites so it was probably fair to expect some sassy and fun writing.After viewing it in mid-February, all I can say is: bring back creators James L. Brooks and Allan Burns. This movie needed them.It's not too bad when one doesn't view it as a comedy or expect the same spirit that made the originals so popular. I might not be 60 but Mary & Rhoda doesn't seem to ring as true as the originals which dealt with life for a thirty-something before thirtysomething. OK: so we don't watch TV for realism. It's about entertainment.Maybe it's my expectations, but I didn't find too much entertainment, either. The brilliant Valerie Harper was severely underutilized: in 2000 she is the one who turned the movie on with her smile and had by far and away the best lines. But why wasn't she on more often? Mary Tyler Moore gave a good and honest performance but both women would have excelled given a more humorous script by Katie Ford. I know fellow fans found the daughters (Joie Lenz, Marisa Ryan) a little less than pleasing but they weren't too bad, with a pleasant screen presence. Put simply, the script lacked irony, sassiness and humor. Or even originality. The angle Mary & Rhoda took on the news business has been done before in Murphy Brown (and director Barnet Kellman is best known to me for his contributions to that series); the stand-up comedy sub-plot was again a case of been-there-and-done-that-better-by-others. I know Mary Tyler Moore works tirelessly for causes such as homeless animals but the homeless dog scenes seemed an afterthought.There were some fantastic lines although there was no mention of Joe Gerard, Brenda, Lou Grant or any of the original characters, even for two friends reuniting after 20 years.The score by David Kitay was too noticeable. The issue of royalties aside, a few instrumentals of the original theme would have worked in places where we had to put up with Joan Jett's rendition of Love Is All Around – while popular amongst many viewers I found it too different! The production design wasn't perfect: Mary's 'M' in her apartment was reversed – looks like someone failed Typography 101.It's not that nice touches were absent. The photography and editing were acceptable. The two actresses are clearly friends off-screen as well although more interaction between the two would have been welcome. They deserved so much better than this.