Mrs. Washington Goes to Smith (2009) Reviews

• This movie was awesome!

  betsybkendrick2010-05-19

  Maybe many of you do not appreciate what it is like to be a middle aged woman who is facing empty nest syndrome, and you wonder if life as we know it is over? I saw Mrs. Washington Goes to Smith 3 times. The first time, I wondered - could I do this? The second time I saw it, I watched with my husband and he was proud that I eve considered thinking of going back to college. My 18 year old son said he could see how it would inspire me. My older daughters certainly understood, and both expressed an interest in hoping they may be able to try something like this...they are ages 33 & 36. The last time I watched it, it really planted that seed of hope! I am now a college student majoring in psychology to work with primarily with women on "women's issues" like abuse, menopause problems, chronic pain like fibromylagia, and anorexia...which does affect older women! So, I thank Cybil Shepperd for her wonderful acting in this movie! And, if you do not recall Cybil Shepperd in her modeling days, then it is no wonder some of you are only posting negative comments. She is a beautiful example of a woman positively accepting the aging process with an open mind. Betsy from Georgia

• Mrs. Washington Goes to Smith With All Her Wits About Her ****

  edwagreen2009-08-02

  In 1939's "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," James Stewart becomes that naive senator through appointment. There's no naivete for Cybill Shepherd as she returns to college following her husband leaving her and her children are all grown. In college, Alice Washington (Shepherd) is soon able to live a college life. She meets up a with a room-mate with an attitude, who will be cured with some motherly love. She finds love, and not just a crush on her English teacher. The film is really a tribute to all those people who return to college later in life. We have to take our hats off to them, while realizing that it is life's experiences that have made them better people. Cybill Shepherd is a much more mature actress now and she gives a wonderful performance. Naturally, only in motion pictures does the academic year go by so quickly. Yes, the film is very much cliché, but it's worth it.

• Another review from a Smithie

  jenzaquinn2011-01-21

  We rented this film because of it's connection to Smith and were sorely disappointed with it from the start in regards to that aspect. I hate it break it to everyone, but the UCLA campus is not a good replacement for Smith's beautiful campus and nothing about it or Westwood look like the grounds, dorms, and classrooms at Smith or the town of Northampton. It's sad that they only felt the need to show actual shots of the college when it was cheaper to get stock video of the snowy campus than to cover the UCLA campus in fake snow. I feel like the screenwriters also didn't do a good job at research (or any research at all) about the feel at Smith and the romantic triangle was ridiculous. Really, they could have picked any sort of all women school and done this movie as the only links it had to Smith was the Ada Comstock program and the mention of one dorm. There was a good deal of the plot that wouldn't have worked if they had done research, like the fact that seniors rarely actually have roommates considering the amount of single rooms and that the Ada Comstock students have a house reserved for their use. The lack of traditions too is sad, even though I know a good deal of the traditions I remember are being phased out, but still, no Illumination night and Ivy day before graduation? Unheard of. All that said, it was a pretty predictable movie and I wish they had focused even more on the Ada Comstock program and the other students in that program. It is inspiring to show that this program is open to people and everything. I just wish they had done more research before slapping Smith College's name all over it.

• You are never too old to learn and love

  scclay742009-08-01

  I saw the title and immediately knew it was a take on the old movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." So, I decided I would watch. Imagine my surprise to see a wonderful story unfold before me. Alice Washington (played by Cybill Shepherd) is a recent divorcée who decides she is going to get the degree that she gave up to be a wife and mother 30 years before. In the beginning she is old looking and cranky. Her roommate Zoe (played by Corri English) is wild and exciting and not too thrilled to see her. Over time, they become true friends. You would expect Alice to be overly motherly to Zoe, but that does not happen. Zoe, who is in desperate need of some mothering, learns to accept her roommate and learn a bit about herself in the process. Alice also realizes that she is not too old to love again. She develops a crush for her English professor Mr. O'Neill or Terry (played by Jeffrey Nordling) as she calls him. These are feelings that Terry are more than happy to reciprocate. I found the movie to be simply delightful and cute. Cybill Shepherd is still hot!

• High Time

  boblipton2009-08-02

  This Hallmark Channel Movie -- the modern home for B movies with a human story -- is actually a gender-switching variation of the 1960 Bing Crosby vehicle, HIGH TIME, with Cybil Shepherd, dumped for a trophy wife, returning to Smith after a quarter of a century for her BA -- although without the flashy chapter cuts that director Blake Edwards put into the original. Miss Shepherd does her usual competent, straightforward job and long-time TV movie director Armand Mastroianni and DP Patrick McGinley manage to shoot the photogenic Smith campus and performances well enough. Corri English, taking the role of Miss Shepherd's roommate, has the ingénue role and she is very good, despite her occasional post-Valley-girl accent. But the script by Susan Rice is a little soft and easy, with too many things unsaid, too many conflicts solved by a short statement to make things particularly interesting. Still, the issues are real and, as with most of these well-cast Hallmark movies, it's a pleasure to watch the old pros steal scenes from the hot-looking youngsters.