The
B-17 “Flying Fortress” is the iconic plane of WWII. The Memphis Belle was one.
It is also what Pete Williams and his comrades flew. They survived the war, but
not unscathed. With time running short for Williams, his old captain John “Eagle”
Pennell will try to assemble what is left of the crew for a final hurrah in Bo
Brinkman’s Last Man Club (trailer here), which releases
today on VOD.
Williams
suffered from long bouts of depression after the war (he had good reason), but
Pennel lived a relatively happy and productive life. Yet, despite his close
relationship with his grandson Taylor, he has yet to bounce back from his
beloved wife’s death. However, when he gets a letter from Williams putting the
onus on him to reassemble the crew, it might be exactly what Pennel needs. Of
course, he will have to sneak off without his family’s approval, but he will
quickly team up with Romy, a woman on the run from her abusive gangster
ex-boyfriend. Soon the Feds and the mob are tailing them, as they make
pit-stops to pick-up additional crew members sharing Williams’ disappointment
in their golden years.
Expanded
from Brinkman’s 2002 short film of the same name (starring the late Charles
Durning), Club is achingly
well-intentioned and faultlessly respectful of the Army Air Corp veterans.
However, the narrative essentially recycles elements of films like Tough Guys and the original Going in Style. Frankly, the subplot
involving Romy’s criminal past is half-baked at best, but Kate French develops
some nice friendly-flirtatious chemistry with all the flight crew veterans, especially
James MacKrell as Pennel. However, among the crusty old salts, it is probably
Barry Corbin (Northern Exposure, WarGames) who fares best as Williams.
