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A Simple, Satisfying Adventure In An Unusual Land

Land Ho! is a very gentle, enjoyable escape from the boredom of the old routine, as we accompany a couple of retirees on a vacation trip across (of all places) Iceland and encounter a series of mild adventures that are as satisfying to us as to them-- in spite of a lack of real excitement, and a lot of smiles and chuckles instead of laughs and guffaws.

The stars are Paul Eenhoorn and Earl Lynn Nelson, and I may very well have them confused, but I'm going to call the doctor Eenhoorn and you can correct me if I'm wrong. Eenhoorn is the leader and initiator and Nelson is the follower, but Nelson is the more grown up, Eenhoorn being a bit of an adolescent still, especially in his concentration on sex.

Not that there's a lot of sex in Land Ho!, which features skirting the edges of what you usually expect of buddy movies, with approximations of pickup dates, and nights in motels, and secluded swimming scenes, and drinking and pot smoking, but the "R" rating is surely for language, though it is pretty antiseptic by current standards.

This all sounds less than exciting, but in fact reflects life pretty closely, and all the characters are attractive and individualized, so you just keep chuckling along and enjoying your popcorn until it's over too soon.