Review of The Hot Flashes (2013) by Thomas W — 10 Feb 2014

This is one of those "someone wrote this?" kind of movies. Someone decided to fund this movie? These stars read the script and wanted to be in this movie? The Hot Flashes might mean well but it isn't a good or well-made movie.

Brooke Shields stars as a 40-something former high school basketball star who has botched the paperwork for her late friend's non-profit traveling mammogram-mobile which has caused the health service to cease to be.

Horrified at what she has done, she recruits a batch of old friends to play basketball against the Texas high school basketball state champions to raise money for charity. The film is poorly written and it is full of clichéd characters and awful stereotypes -- the self-righteous hypocritical Bible thumper, the lesbian, the town tramp etc.

These are all stock characters in generic situations. As bad as the film is, one cannot help but root for this group of one-time winners because they are good people wanting to do something good for others.

It sounds awful, but this film is a benign lump -- it isn't good but it could have been much worse.