Marnie (Susan Sarandon) lives an empty life after the death of her husband Joey. His death left her with more money than she needs. She moved from New York to L.A. to be close to her TV writer daughter Lori (Rose Byrne) and her grand-doggies. It's a struggle to fill her days and she is constantly trying to get into Lori's life. She's even going to Lori's therapist. Lori is suffering about her ex Jacob and from Marnie's meddling. Lori travels to New York. Marnie promises to pay for Lori's friend Jillian (Cecily Strong)'s wedding. She gives rides to Freddy from the Apple genius store. She volunteers at the hospital. Zipper (J.K. Simmons) is a retired cop working on a movie set that Marnie accidentally works onto.
This actually works better after Lori leaves town. Marnie's adventures are fun. Jillian's wedding feels a little Bridesmaids. There is an overload of funny women but it's fine. Jerrod Carmichael is a fun little appetizer but the main course is J.K. Simmons. I actually missed these characters when Marnie goes to New York. I would rather have an indie about Marnie with Jillian, Freddy, and Zipper. It's a bit depressing without them and I can only take so much.
