User reviews

I am a fan of Keaton, so when I read about Arthur's Whisky and also that it was a British Comedy I knew that I would have to give it a go.

Hodges, Keaton, and Lulu are fantastic in the older versions of themselves. Joan (played by Hodges) is married to an eccentric inventor of nothing very useful until one night he perfects a youth serum and, in the process of his celebrations gets killed in a freak accident. Joan's friends (Keaton and Lulu) gather around for moral support and upon cleaning out Arthur's shed discover what they think is a bottle of whisky. After downing nearly the whole bottle they wake up the next morning in their 20's.

The idea is fantastic. However, it was lacking something. The actresses playing the younger versions were barely tolerable in their roles. They were way over the top in their characterizations.

The story did however deliver a few good messages - we should live life to the full, not have any regrets, and don't be pressured by what we deem society expects us to be like.

The movie had a great cameo by Boy George, so that was a highlight.

Thought I would give it a go, wondering what accent Lulu was foing to be today, as she changes from being Glaswegian ( where she came from I know. ) to hoity, toity Londoner! But watching the start I knew it was going to be utter tripe! Switched it off when they started reverting back to middle aged women! Why I gave it that amount of time beats me! Very demeaning for Diane Keaton after liking her in Father of the Bride. But Lulus uber Scottish accent took the biscuit! Patricia Hidge has always had a cut glass accent, theres no pretending with her. She is what she is, but Lulu forgets her roots on a day to day basis! No this film wasnt for me sorry.

There is an age beyond which one makes oneselves look kinda pitiful and one becomes sort of a laughing stock when one wants to look young when one is over 70 years old! But that doesnt stop Hollywood!

This is yet another cringefest movie with seniors who want to LOOK young again, but only end up looking laughable (in a bad way, not the comical way).

I adore actress Diane Keaton, she has made so many great movies, and she still does act well, but why oh why doesnt she simple retire gracefully so we as fans dont have to cringe when making the mistake of trying to watch this cheaply made product.

Not any good then? It's not mindnumbingly terrible for sure. It'll perhaps do as wallpaper when one is doing the dishes and this is running in the background.

You wont get offended by it, but you will most likely fall asleep when (trying) to watch it...

Arthur's Whisky (2024) is a mess of movie despite the cast. Badly written and directed and with that annoying non-stop Disney pixie music.

Yet another story where three old friends meet at a funeral (apparently older women only meet at funerals, at school reunions, or when they go on road trips) to bury Joan's eccentric husband. Joan (Patricia Hodge) has never been especially happy. There's also Linda (Diane Keaton) and Susan (Lulu) who are also alone. When they decide to clean out the husband's shed (where he invented things) they come upon a bottle of whisky and of course quickly drink it.

The plot starts way to fast. We have no real idea who these women are. So with virtually no backstory, we learn that the whisky turns them into 20-year-olds. Off to the clubs we go. But the transformation only lasts 6 hours.

From there on we get a bunch of disjointed narratives about wasted lives and lost youth and then we end up in Vegas at a Boy George drag show. Nothing flows. Nothing makes much sense. We never know who these women are except at the end when the Hodge character meets up with an old friend (Hayley Mills).

Wasted talent in a film that was never developed.

A movie with a strong Scottish connection turning out to be as bad as this......oh how that pains me. Let's put it this way......you have a scale for whisky related movies stretching from 0 to 100. The "100" spot is occupied by the original Whisky Galore. The "0" spot will now forever be occupied by Arthur's Whisky. Lord only knows what the makers wee aiming for, but if it wasn't a contender for the most vapid and banal movie of the 21st century, then they failed miserably.

A decent payday could be the only reason a small group of fairly accomplished actors would agree to put their names to this tripe. The one upside is that the "elixir of life" subject matter will never extend itself to this movie, and in a month or two, it will have hauled itself off into a corner to die peacefully (hopefully).

My review contains no spoilers, but this movie is almost guaranteed to spoil the day of anyone unfortunate enough to give it 90 minutes of their valuable time.

A truly appalling piece of rubbish.

When you have the conceit of a middle aged Asian man trying to date a girl who looks about 14 and are supposed to accept that as a viewer as being 'charming' you know this is a seriously misjudged pile of garbage. Who thought that would be acceptable? Top it off with the usual modern message pushing (the only white male characters are shown as buffoons) and a complete failure to entertain and you have the result of one of the worst films I have ever had the misfortune to view.

Save yourself the outright pain of this abomination and go and find an older film to view. Painful, horrendous, creepy mess. The makers of this film should be ashamed.

The worst thing I have witnessed with my eyes this year so far and will ultimately hold that title until 2025.

Acting is dire. Storyline doesn't flow well at all. Unbelievably rubbish. Zero chemistry between main characters. Lulu looks totally out of place. The relationship between lulu and her older man just looks wrong. Utter b011ocks.

And while we're on the subject of being out of place....boy George? No need for him to appear in it, nothing beneficial to the film, the storyline etc. Would he even get a set anywhere in Vegas? Suppose there had to be a song so lulu could unleash her budgie voice!

Three friends enjoy a tipple of whisky after a funeral, what they quickly realise, is that the whisky has special powers, the ability to turn back the years....for a short few hours, the girls must use their limited stash wisely.

I get the criticisms about this film, and I'll start with the gripes, and there are several, it is so syrupy, it's enough to give you diabetes, and of course it ticks every single box under the sun, imagine Disney renaming Death becomes her, but removing the magic.

The efforts to create Las Vegas were a little cringe worthy, even Murder, she wrote fans would raise an eyebrow.

However, it's hard not to enjoy the wonderful cast, Diane Keaton, Lulu and the magical Patricia Hodge, the talents of the trio manage to make it watchable for me.

A real waste of Bill Patterson, Hayley Mills and Joanna David, none of them had enough to do.

It could have been so much better, as it stands it not bad, it's sweet, it's well meaning, if only it had focused more on the actual story telling.

I'll give it a very generous 6/10.

I enjoyed this but it didn't flow. It's hard to say why. In parts it felt like a BBC kids tv show - the sort where they have a ripping adventure. Things happened with little preamble and a lot of jaunty music, then we were off to the next thing. The conversations often seemed brief and slightly stilted, as if the actors were simply conveying information. I think that was down to the script rather than the acting. "I hate you, mother. You don't know what it's like to be me." "When you were six, you had meningitis and I would have done anything to change places with you." "Righty-ho, mother. I don't hate you so much now. Cheerio." I'm exaggerating, of course, although it's not too far off the mark. However, the premise was good and there were some genuinely funny moments. I'd sum it up as entertaining but a little awkward.

Arthur's Whisky is what it says on the tin - so to speak - a lovely film with recognisable names and while there is an undercurrent of acknowledgement about age and the aging process - the idea as far I am concerned was to kick off the shoes, pour a glass of wine, sit back and watch an enjoyable film. Interesting that the film critic reviews were all about the same - with the operative word being enjoyable. And it was great to see three really talented ladies working so well together. The cast and what a wonderful cast, especially the three leads - Diane Keaton, Patricia Hodge and Lulu - all looked as if they were having a good time - and this is down to the direction.

I tried to watch this film while on a very long flight, so really I had nothing to lose, it was free and would kill some time. Unfortunately this was not a film I could finish. I lasted half way and even then struggled to continue. It felt cheap, silly and the acting was OTT. I like Patricia Hodge and it is a shame she agreed to be in this mess. Diane Keaton was out of place, and Lulu's character was very odd. When the young actors took over the storyline after they drink the elixir, the film went even further downhill. It felt like they were doing impressions of the older actors. It was also not funny, just stupid. Give it a miss.

As a Scot from Glasgow, watching Lulu, a Scot from Glasgow, trying to put on a Scottish accent and refer to Glasgow as Glasga was like a punch in the stomach.

The premise seemed funny but the film really didn't hit the mark.

The younger casting really was off too. Patricia Hodge and Diane Keaton are great actresses. Their younger counterparts not so much.

Lulu hasn't done a lot of acting, and it shows, again the accent was really painful.

The script was pretty dire, which is a shame because in the right hands this could have been quite a good little comedy film, however it was just a bit embarrassing.

So this has to be one of the worst movies ever made , the actors are barely in it , they obviously agreed to some quick easy bucks , their younger counterparts are absolutely nothing like them ... don't even sound like them either . Acting is so over the top and the scenes are just cobbled together . Worst of all Diane Keaton is by far the most over the top annoying actress in Hollywood and this role is no exception, apart from being woody Allen's most ardent fan ( enough a reason alone to cancel her ) she adds a annoying cheesy ness I've always found like nails on a chalk board ... this film sucks and it's a shame cause the idea is kinda cool.

Super dumb, yet it somehow kinda worked for me.

'Arthur's Whisky' is a very low budget picture, I mean just look at that unintentionally hilarious attempt at portraying a visit to Las Vegas (!!). The plot is very silly and, obviously, nonsensical but in the end I kinda dug it, to be honest. The film does plateau at around the hour mark, though the heartfelt conclusion brought it back to win me over.

I guessed the general vibe (slow paced story of oldies being oldies) of this movie based on the poster and I was mostly correct, though the opening minutes of this made it look like a proper adventure/fantasy was on the way - it evidently wasn't, so quite the jarring beginning!

Diane Keaton, Patricia Hodge and Lulu lead onscreen events and the trio do well enough, as a three they worked better than they did individually. What actually probably helped this for me was the three that played their youngers. Genevieve Gaunt, Esme Lonsdale and Hannah Howland are good. Adil Ray's whole subplot with Lulu/Howland is very cringe, mind you.

Looking around, this has not been received all that positively - though a deeper look around does suggest a more even split of opinion, it does work for some. Just look at that expired tomato website - 80%/14% for critics/audience! Fascinating, really.

Not sure I understand the harshness of many of these reviews. Not every movie has to be life and death. This is just a simple little movie, telling a little simple story about three women...their dreams....their hopes ...their disappointments....and maybe a second chance. This is a movie to just take a breath...slow down ...and just watch three exceptionally fine actresses tell a story. No need to tear it apart and critique it. There is no need to. How about simply spending a nice quiet hour and a half enjoying a nice story. This is that kind of movie. These are those type of actresses. Just enjoy the movie.

Despite previous reviews, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I enjoy a believable story line, yeah I know a magic potion is rediculous but somehow it's carried off well! Good acting helps, well directed, editing and production etc, all good. Maybe I'm more tolerant of some of the subject matters as I'm a bit older now, had a near miss health scare and all subjects in this cleverly written story are very relevant to me. Also of course I'm a sucker for a RomCom. If you are too, I highly recommend this film. It's got travel, romance, a great story, happy times and some not so happy, and lots of famous actors. Hope that helps.

IN A NUTSHELL: The story is about three elderly ladies drink a magical whisky which makes them younger. The movie was directed by Stephen Cookson, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Andy Davie and Julia Stuart.

THINGS I LIKED: The cast is filled with actors that the target audience already likes (mostly Brits) such as Diane Keaton, Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, Hayley Mills, Patricia Hodge, David Bromley, and David Harewood. The young actresses who play the main starlets are Genevieve Gaunt, Hannah Howland, and Esme Lonsdale.

If you're a fan of Boy George, you'll get a kick out of seeing him in this. The three older woman are invited to perform with him, which is odd since none of them sing.

Lawrence Chaney plays himself as a famous drag queen.

The more I age, the more I can relate to this story! Hmmm...what would YOU do with a younger body transformation?

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Diane Keaton seems to be obsessed with the wrinkles on her neck because she guards and hides her neck carefully in every scene with turtlenecks, buttoned-up shirts, and scarfs. She's always dressed like the same character in Annie Hall. One of the characters sees it and calls it "French chic." The plot doesn't always follow its own rules and doesn't give us much backstory to truly root for the three main women.

Cliched dance scene at the end of the movie during rolling credits.

The movie is very woke, something I'm not sure the target (older) audience will appreciate.

I wonder why they chose Boy George to be the Las Vegas performer in the film. He wasn't exactly the Golden Generation's musical icon.

Ultimately, the movie could have been much better.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Kids will be completely bored.

Talk of a lesbian relationship. We see lesbians kiss.

A drag queen performs in Vegas.

No profanity. Yay!

!

I do think this film has been unfairly underrated it is a sky cinema film starring lulu, Patricia Hobbs and Diane keating classic old but great actresses the actress who play there younger self's are great actors who really make the film work.

It has a lovely morale that you should appreciate and love yourself as you are and don't spend your life worrying about unnecessary things when you are young as when you get older you have regret about wasting your life.

No spoilers were posted just my opinion on what this movie means.

Enjoy this movie for what it is and don't expect too much and you might be pleasantly surprised I found this movie enjoyable.

Absolutely loved this film - perfect for relaxing Sunday evening viewing. I was particularly impressed by the younger cast members who held their own alongside the likes of Diane Keaton and Patricia Hodge.

I ended up watching this in the New year with my family and the story resonated with a broad spectrum of ages. It was enjoyed by my 75 year-old great aunt and 15 year old cousin in equal measure!

I highly recommend this film if you are in the mood for a relaxed rom-com. I feel that there is a scarcity of light-hearted feel-good films at the moment and, despite the somewhat bitter-sweet ending, leaves you with a smile on your face!