Mack & Rita (2022)

Mack & Rita has a disarming, wish-fulfillment spark: it takes the familiar “body swap” idea and turns it into a warm, Palm Springs-sunlit riff on what it means to feel out of step with your own age. Diane Keaton brings breezy charisma and lived-in wit to Rita, while Elizabeth Lail and Taylour Paige keep the movie buoyant with real friendship chemistry, so the comedy lands with a surprisingly tender undercurrent. Director Katie Aselton keeps the vibe light and fizzy—part girls’ weekend chaos, part modern social-media satire—without forgetting the small, human ache underneath the jokes. It won’t be for everyone if you want a sharper-edged fantasy or big laugh-out-loud set pieces, but if you’re in the mood for something charming, energetic, and gently affirming, this one goes down easy.

Mack & Rita is clearly aiming for a breezy, feel-good body-swap comedy about self-acceptance and the pressure to “have it all” at 30, with Diane Keaton brought in to sell the charm. The problem is it feels like a familiar premise running on a thin script: the rules of the magic are fuzzy, the character beats land softly, and a lot of the jokes play like recycled setups rather than sharp punchlines. Keaton is game and likable, and there are a few sweet moments in the friendship and low-stakes romance, but the movie rarely commits hard enough to being either genuinely heartfelt or properly funny. If you’re looking for clever fantasy logic, standout comedy, or deeper character work, this will probably test your patience; if you just want a light, harmless watch powered by Keaton’s vibe, you may coast along fine.