Impeccable comic timing in ‘Wild Oats’

Shirley MacLaine (left) and Jessica Lange

The story of Andy Tennant’s “Wild Oats” may be silly: In it, Eva (Shirley MacLaine) and her best friend, Maddie (Jessica Lange), embark on the adventure of a lifetime on Spain’s Canary Islands after the former encashes a $5-million check on a $50,000-life policy—the result of a computer glitch.

But you’ll have a grand time seeing how MacLaine and Lange’s formidable acting chops make everything seem breezily plausible.

MacLaine’s comic timing remains impeccable (recall how funny she was as a “lovable” curmudgeon in “Steel Magnolias”) and, without skipping a beat, Lange wisely takes her cue from the 82-year-old acting legend. —RITO ASILO