“Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional” – this adage has been plastered over many a mug and retirement home common area over the years, and it’s one of those motivational quotes that encourages us to remain young at heart, even when we progress in years. It seems like Stéphane Robelin followed this concept when he set out to make All Together (French: Et si on vivait tous ensemble?), a charming and adorable comedy that tells the story of a group of senior citizens living somewhere in pastoral France, who spend their days in each other’s company, taking advantage of whatever time they have left – but realizing that they may not have much of it left, they decide to fully embrace their older years by moving in together, taking up residency in a beautiful countryside estate, accompanied by a young university student who starts to realize this could be the perfect experiment for his ethnology course. A hilarious and heartfelt comedy that is not afraid to be slightly more complex when it is required All Together is a delight – it may not be particularly serious, and it can feel somewhat cliched at the best of times, but as we can see from the director’s body of work, his intentions are rarely to offer anything all that groundbreaking, but rather to draw on some fundamental issues at the basis for his stories, transforming them into wickedly engaging and often quite moving examinations of a particular side of humanity. Many fascinating ideas are evoked throughout this film, and the humour is fresh and entertaining, but also covers up some of the more serious conversations that emerge throughout the story – and while it is not a major work by any means, All Together is still a delight, and well worth the time, even when it is at its most direct and simplistic.

There has been criticism that the entire purpose behind All Together was to gather a few notable acting legends, giving the director and his crew the chance to work with some of the greatest actors of their generation. It isn’t even worth disproving this allegation, since it is very likely true, and is entirely understandable considering the nature of the film – there seems to be a steadily growing sub-genre of comedy films that gather together eclectic casts of older actors, placing them together and allowing them to turn in fun, effervescent performances that don’t push them or require too much from them other than having them be present in the film, which is as good a reason as any, especially since it has given many actors some of the most entertaining work of their careers, and while it rarely may be their best, its still solid enough to warrant our attention. Much of the film is marketed around the presence of Jane Fonda and Geraldine Chaplin, two actors who are not French but have enough lived experience in France, and who participated in a solid amount of French art over the years, to make their performances here at least somewhat understandable. Fonda in particular piques our curiosity – she had previously worked with Jean-Luc Godard (not to mention her marriage to Roger Vadim, which lasted nearly a decade), so she had a solid foundation in the culture, enough to convincingly play the role of this woman who realizes that she is rapidly dying but does her best to maintain a positive outlook as far as possible. Chaplin, who has been a longtime resident of Europe, is slightly more convincing, but she has the challenge of having the most conventional character, and thus is the only one of the central cast that doesn’t have a major arc of her own, but instead holds a place within every other story, which could be viewed as the most reliable aspect of the film. The three French veterans – Pierre Richard, Claude Rich and Guy Bedos – are all terrific and set the foundation for the film with their solid, complex and often very funny performances that are a lot deeper than a cursory glance may suggest.

In terms of the narrative, All Together is just about what we’d expect of a film with such a premise – it gathers the cast together gives each one of them a particular quandary or crisis, and follows them as they attempt to resolve it, often with slightly humorous, or at least quietly endearing, results that form the foundation for a lot of the more effective moments. Their journeys frequently intersect, which shows how they influence one another and offer something to their peers, even when it isn’t intentional. It’s a relatively lightweight comedy that does nothing we haven’t seen dozens of times before – but oddly, this is all part of the appeal, at least for those who can leap onto its wavelength and understand its intentions, which are made very clear from the start. This kind of small-scale, charming comedy certainly has its place within the culture, primarily acting as an opportunity to tell stories that feature older protagonists, and while it isn’t without some major imperfections of its own (such as in how it can sometimes be quite heavy-handed), the narrative itself is strong enough to push through the more dense storytelling, overcoming the flaws and becoming as delightful in execution as it seemed to be in practice. For those who aren’t willing to look beyond the glossy exterior, All Together could be somewhat frustrating, especially since a lot of the film is quite obvious, and it doesn’t seem to be doing anything particularly revolutionary for the most part, but it this willingness to just exist as a lovely little comedy without broader aspirations that gives the film its distinctive atmosphere, so it’s difficult to envision how it could have improved on some of its shortcomings without altering its overall identity.

However, once we look slightly deeper and set aside the more upbeat nature of the narrative, we start to see that there is a lot more to All Together than initially meets the eye, which is primarily found through the more serious subjects that form the foundation of the story. The film may be about a quintet of eccentric older friends navigating their senior years, but in the process, we discover that the film is about some very serious issues. Themes that are introduced throughout the story include ageing, marital strife, illness and death, all inevitable subjects that many people face, often without any guidance on how to navigate these challenges. Casting these actors was not only an effort to draw on their natural charms in the comedic moments but also the pathos that comes when one has been in the industry for over half a century. This isn’t to suggest that All Together executes all of its themes perfectly – if anything, the clunkiness of the story and the way it can sometimes veer towards being overwrought can lead to a lot of questionable commentary, and we find that it sometimes lacks refinement, which is understandable considering that many ideas needed to be fully expanded to be effective, but it can alter our experience with a film that is mostly built on seeing these older actors navigating various challenges that will resonate with many viewers. There is still a lot of excellent detail to be found in how the film handles some of its ideas, but it feels like it is constantly on shaky ground as soon as it starts to move towards the more serious side of the conversation, which is common enough to be a part of the overall experience, but not enough to derail it from being a delightful examination of the trials and tribulations of the senior community, which is all this film was aiming to achieve.

As entertaining as it may be, All Together is not an essential film, and any attempt to describe it as some major achievement is hyperbolic to the point of parody since there is nothing particularly bespoke or unique about this film, and everything that is contained within it has been seen elsewhere before. However, the reason we seek out this film, and will more than likely have a good time with it, is because we expect this to be just a charming affair, a simple and hilarious romp that gives a group of iconic actors the chance to have some fun, all the while offering us something truly lovely, which it does from beginning to end. It never once lays claim to be the definitive text on any of the themes found throughout, and it could even be viewed as somewhat simplistic in comparison to a lot of similarly-themed films – but these ideas still mean something, and the director navigates complex emotions with incredible sensitivity, always being aware of the narrow boundary between emotional catharsis and exploitation. There’s something profoundly moving about this film, which is a truly invigorating comedy that is as much about realizing one’s mortality as it is a celebration of life, a robust and meaningful comedy simmering with strong ideas, which are beautifully brought to life by a tremendous cast, who work in tandem to create these fascinating characters. Bold and heartfelt, and never anything less than endearing, All Together is an absolute delight and one of the more lovely comedies of this notoriously challenging era when it comes to finding new ways to have the same conversations about life’s enormous inevitabilities.