"Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding" is a comedy-drama with a simple story but a big cast. Diane (Catherine Keener) is a high-powered lawyer blind-sided when her husband (Kyle MacLachlan) asks for a divorce. Diane flees to her estranged hippie mother Grace (Jane Fonda) and drags her kids Zoe (Elizabeth Olsen) and Jake (Nat Wolff) with her. The family is overwhelmed with the hippie/free-spirit lifestyle that Grace and her friends are part of but soon each find love (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chace Crawford) and maybe what they're missing.
I admit that overall the script here is filled with stereotypes and predictability, but the cast really took the material and made the most of it. Jane Fonda, for example, seemed to have fun with her over-the-top hippie role as Grace and I thought she had nice chemistry with Catherine Keener in their mother-daughter roles. Elizabeth Olsen and Nat Wolff also have good performances too and I was surprised to find I liked the Olsen/Crawford romantic pairing. Watch for small appearances by Rosanna Arquette and Katharine McPhee. The themes here are trite and a bit tired ("leave the big town to find love in the small town" and "find love where you least expect it") I thought the theme about accepting failed parents as people to actually be effective and moving.
Don't expect a lot new here but enjoy the cast and performances - B
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