Wild Oats (film)

Plot

When a retired high school teacher Eva (Shirley McLaine) loses her husband, she accidentally receives a life insurance check for $5,000,000 instead of $50,000. Her friend Maddie (Jessica Lange), whose husband has just left her for a younger woman, convinces her to keep the money and they both depart to have a good time in a resort, the Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands. There, Eva is courted by an older gentleman who accompanies her in town. In the local casino she wins almost half a million euros despite knowing nothing about card games. Eva ends up in bed with him, enjoying lovemaking after a 7-year dry period with her husband. Her friend Maddie loses money, but finds a young, virile man who has just lost his girlfriend, and happens to like older women. Their sex rejuvenates her, but in the process he's strained his back. In the meantime, the American insurance investigator is on Eva's trail, together with her mostly estranged daughter, to get back the $ 5,000,000 for the Insurance Company, but they are trumped by the Company's European representative who accepts a bribe to let her escape rather than sending her to the worst woman's prison in the Spanish-speaking world. Maddie realizes that the older gentleman is a scam artist, and with the hotel detective finds out that he's working for Don Carlos, the richest man on the island. Eva and Maddie escape from the insurance investigator and her daughter to go to Don Carlos, who is feared by everyone who knows him except his firecracker of a Brazilian second wife, who tears into him when his bodyguard, who is her lover and the father of her child, is disturbed by the guard's gratuitous gun fire. Besides cheating old women Don Carlos also swindles wine snobs by selling them inferior and old wine with nice labels from classy estates that they sometimes don't get to drink because the bottles are dropped by the older gentleman, who is known under various names including Bix. The story ends on a happy note because Don Carlos gives Eva back her winnings: it turns out that Don Carlos was an exchange student in Liberty, IL, where Eva was everyone's favorite teacher, as has been said by various people who help her along during the movie. Maddie stays behind with her virile lover, while Eva goes back to the US where she ends up marrying the insurance investigator in a ceremony where all of the characters happily meet again.

Cast

Production

On April 9, 2012, Dimension Films acquired the film, Howard Deutch was set to direct the film with Shirley MacLaine, Jacki Weaver and Alan Arkin joining the cast. On May 17, 2012, Jack Black joined the cast, but later dropped out. On October 17, 2013, Andy Tennant was announced to direct the film. On May 9, 2014, Jessica Lange and Sarah Jessica Parker joined the cast. On June 11, 2014, Demi Moore replaced Sarah Jessica Parker after she dropped out. On June 21, 2014, Matt Walsh joined the cast of the film.

Filming

Principal photography began on June 10, 2014, in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands (Spain), and ended on July 15, 2014.

Release

The film premiered on Lifetime on August 22, 2016. The film was released in a limited release on September 16, 2016.