You may go into Hanging Up expecting to laugh, but don’t be surprised to come out of the theater in tears – and cheap ones at that. Meg Ryan, Lisa Kudrow and Diane Keaton star as sisters who are caring for their ailing father (Walter Matthau), but the movie bypasses any interplay between the three actresses to focus on the strained and depressing relationship between Matthau and Ryan. Too bad Matthau’s an embarrassment (he even pinches a nurse and says “coodgie-woodgie” at one point) and Ryan is forced to repeatedly run around in a state of exaggerated exasperation (she’s like a chicken riding a merry-go-round with its head cut off).
