Sometime Other Than Now (2021)

An underserved genre in film is the meet-cute romance for folks over 50. That’s what’s most appealing about “Sometime Other Than Now,” a boilerplate love story / drama about two lost souls who discover in each other what they never knew they needed.

Lonely wanderer Sam (Donal Logue) finds himself stranded in a small New England town after crashing his motorcycle on the beach. Seeking refuge to wait out the repairs, he rents a room from Kate (Kate Walsh), the proprietor of a run down motel. Sam’s presence causes a stir around town, and an air of mystery follows him wherever he goes. It’s later revealed that his estranged daughter Audrey (Trieste Kelly Dunn) lives nearby, and Sam decided to come visit after running out on her 25 years ago. Faced with the mistakes of his past and a surprise grandchild, Sam tries as hard as he can to bridge the gap with his family, learning that reconnecting isn’t going to be easy.

There’s nothing particularly fresh about the story, but it’s terrific to see a film written for two mature lead actors. Walsh and Logue have a charming chemistry, and the film is perfectly cast with a strong sense of place. Writer-director Dylan McCormick is best when he explores the ideas of second chances and redemption, but his romantically angled writing seems forced. It’s great that Sam and Kate find love and acceptance, but the story of their whirlwind romance isn’t solid enough. It serves a purpose plot-wise, but that’s about it.

The film starts out so promising, but it flounders by the end as the substance of the story fizzles out. It definitely isn’t memorable, but movies like this aren’t really supposed to be. “Sometime Other Than Now” is a standard romantic drama that is perfectly fine for a Sunday afternoon at home, but it could’ve been so much more.