It’s rare the Nosy Parker family goes to the movies. For a lot of reasons, we mostly prefer to wait until we can watch movies at home. We sometimes make exceptions for the likes of Dame Maggie Smith. Today we saw her star in The Lady in the Van and she did not disappoint.

I really didn’t know much about the “mostly true” story before we went. Maggie Smith is the main character — the cantankerous, hilarious and beautifully flawed lady living in her van. It’s a far stretch from her Downton Abbey role and she nails it!

The other main character turned out to be a writer and caregiver who talked to himself and wrote about his adventures in caregiving. So that felt familiar. I loved the way talking to himself was portrayed. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, so I’ll just say that it was the perfect representation of a writer’s inner voice. By the end of the movie, he had some great realizations about a caregiver’s life, which gave it a nice feel-good finish despite the bumpy roads.

So the movie was about a writer/caregiver and his relationship with a crazy old lady, who happens to be brilliantly played by Maggie Smith. What’s not to like? Well, the plot was a bit slow, but I enjoyed the content very much.

There were some especially memorable moments. Favorites included her crazy yellow van painting, flying down the street on her wheelchair in glee, and her “vagabond nobility” as she was raised on the wheelchair lift. That look said it all.

The Lady in the Van may not be for everyone, but the Nosy Parker family is clearly within the target audience and we really enjoyed it! Frankly, even if we hadn’t, going to a matinee movie with Mama was a fun treat and certainly today’s #OneGoodThing!

Day 49 of 366.