Funny, engaging and at times emotional, The Meddler is an extremely entertaining comedy-drama that stars Susan Sarandon as a meddling mother who drives her daughter (Rose Byrne) batty but brightens the lives of everyone else around her (i.e. she’s like most normal moms--annoying as hell at times to you, but not to anyone else).

Sarandon plays Marnie, a well-off woman whose approach to dealing with the loss of her husband two years earlier is to focus on the lives of everyone else--especially her daughter’s. But when her daughter has to go to New York for business, Marnie is left to her own devices--and forced to confront her grief.

The Meddler is surprisingly funny, largely thanks to Sarandon’s stellar performance and a solid screenplay by writer/director Lorene Scafaria. It’s a movie that on the surface appears to cater primarily to women and older audiences, but the film is shockingly accessible.

The movie is smart, well made and highly entertaining; while it goes on a few minutes too long, it largely hits all the right notes. Highly recommended.

Review by Erik Samdahl. Erik is a marketing and technology executive by day, avid movie lover by night. He is a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society.