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Over the years, there have been several good age swap movies, From Big to 13 Going on 30, to more recent entrants into the sub-genre like Shazam! and Little. There has been great reception for these feel-good stories that shed more light on issues around self-acceptance and the disenchantment that comes with being trapped in a body you’d rather not be in.
Mack & Rita tells the story of Mack Martin (Elizabeth Lail), a 30-year-old lady who feels like an older woman stuck in the body of a young girl. To her surprise, at her best friend’s bachelorette party, she stumbles upon a “sound bath regression pod” and realizes she has been transformed into a 70-year-old. This new age comes with it a fulfillment she had never experienced as a young woman.
Mack and Rita is the latest film from the stables of filmmaker Katie Aselton after her previous success with Black Rock and The Freebie. Here's everything we know so far about the upcoming comedy film including cast, story, release date, filming info, and more.
Watch the Trailer for Mack & Rita
The trailer begins with 30-year-old Mack complaining about how she grew up feeling like an older woman trapped in the body of a little girl. The scenes that follow showcase her frustration with life as a 30-year-old. She struggles to fit in socially and this is a visible source of frustration. After a few friends cajole her into trying out a magical life regression session, Mack magically transforms into her future self. Looking in the mirror and realizing that she’s morphed into an older woman, she's initially perplexed but soon settles into living her best life.
When Is Mack & Rita Releasing?
Mack & Rita will get a theatrical release on August 12, 2022.
Who Is in Mack & Rita’s Cast?
Elizabeth Lail plays the 30-year-old writer who spends a weekend in Palm Springs and wakes up to magically realize that she is now a 70-year-old. These new ages come with new possibilities, a new career trajectory, and a budding romance. You might remember Lail from her role as Amy Hughes in the supernatural series Dead of Summer. She also had the recurring role of Anna in the fantasy adventure series Once Upon a Time. Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton plays the older Mack Martin "Rita” who has been transformed into an older woman as she has always wished. The recipient of an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and the AFI Life Achievement Award, Keaton’s most popular performance was as Kay Adams-Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. A regular face in comedy films, she played Ellie Griffin in The Big Wedding. She starred as Charlotte Cooper in the Christmas comedy Love The Coopers. Her other film credits include Love and Death, Harry and Walter Go to New York, and Manhattan.
Taylour Paige will play Carla, Macks's friend. She is known for her role as Aziah "Zola" King in the comedy crime film Zola. She played Jean Jones in the Jean of the Joneses. Her other credits include Grey's Anatomy, Ballers, and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Dustin Milligan plays Jack, Macks's dog-sitter who is smitten by her older version Rita. Milligan is known for his portrayal of Ethan Ward in the teen drama television series 90210. He also played Ted Mullens on the Canadian TV sitcom Schitt's Creek. He has also appeared in A Family Man, Shark Night, and the 2011 comedy-drama Sisters & Brothers. Simon Rex plays Luca, the guy manning the magical life regression pod that transforms Mack into a 70-year-old. Rex is coming off the best reviews of his career for playing the lead role in Sean Baker's Red Rocket. The other films he has appeared in include National Lampoon's Pledge This!, King of the Avenue, and Rise: Blood Hunter.
The other members of the cast for Mack & Rita are Nicole Byer, Patti Harrison, Loretta Devine, Wendie Malick, Lois Smith, Amy Hill, Martin Short, Aimee Carrero, Addie Weyrich, Stephanie Heaton-Harris, Dori A. Rath, Jina Panebianco, Madeline Walter, Paul Welsh, and Alex Saks.
What Is Mack & Rita about?
The film is centered around a 30-year-old Rita who has become disillusioned and disenchanted with life as a young woman. For the longest, she has felt like an old soul trapped in a young body feeling disconnected from her youth. During her best friend's bachelorette party, she runs into a life regression session and after a bit of prodding, she agrees to go in. She makes a wish, (more or less a rant about her frustration with life as a 30-year-old) and she is magically transformed into a 70-year-old. Initially taken aback by the transformation (be careful what you wish for), Rita settles into the life of her dreams and is soon having the time of her life. She finds herself an unlikely social media sensation and to top it all off a romance is brewing with Mack's dog sitter. As time progresses, the major question becomes whether this new life will be permanent.
The official synopsis reads:
A 30-year-old spends a wild weekend in Palm Springs and wakes up to find she has magically transformed into her 70-year-old self in this delightful comedy starring Diane Keaton.
Who Is Making Mack & Rita?
The film is written by Paul Welsh and Madeline Walter, with Alex Saks, Stephanie Heaton-Harris, Jina Panebianco, Dori A. Rath, and Keaton producing. The film will be helmed by Katie Aselton, though she is known primarily as an actress, she directed The Freebie and the horror thriller Black Rock. Keaton won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Annie Hall and received three Oscar nominations for Something’s Gotta Give, Marvin’s Room, and Reds. Her other acting credits include Finding Dory, Poms, Book Club, and the HBO limited series The Young Pope. An independent film, Mack & Rita has the following production companies behind it, Page Fifty-Four Pictures, Rhea Films, Hercules Film Fund, and CaliWood Picture. Page Fifty-Four Pictures is owned by Alex Sak. The film will be distributed by the LA-based Gravitas Premiere.