Here is a horrendous Niagara of syrupy nonsense: sentimental, cliched and humourless.

Shirley MacLaine plays Harriet, a cantankerous and wealthy old dame who in the evening of her days decides to get someone to write her obituary, and bullies a local newspaper editor into letting one of his journalists do the job. This is Anne (Amanda Seyfried), and, like all movie journalists, Anne doesn’t seem to have much to do – except for this one extraordinarily labour intensive project that doesn’t seem to lead to anything in terms of words on paper or screen.

Of course, grumpy old Harriet turns out to be a marvel of life-affirming honesty and nonconformist integrity and she unlocks all Anne’s pent-up career frustration about wanting to be an essayist. Or something. But, even more adorably, and in the same defiant free-spirit mode, Harriet decides to mentor a local little girl, Brenda (Ann’Jewel Lee) who is African American – like Harriet’s help. The condescension and cutesiness are unbearable.