Pun Salad

OK, so it's kind of a chick flick, but I liked it anyway.

Jennifer Lopez plays widow Jean, on the lam from her abusive boyfriend with her young daughter in tow. She's at the end of her rope, so her only option is to move in on Einar, the irascible father of her dead husband, played by Robert Redford. There is much bad blood there, because Einar blames Jean for his son's death. Morgan Freeman gets thrown in as Mitch, a crippled ex-cowboy living with Einar. There's also a bear.

I found things a little melodramatically predictable, but the movie works fine anyway. The script is witty, the characters are well-developed, sympathetic, and interesting, and all the actors turn in first-rate performances. That's to be expected from Redford and Freeman, of course, but J-Lo is a real pleasant surprise, going toe-to-toe with the old pros.