It’s always refreshing to see an aging couple star in a movie, and even more so when the couple in question is a lesbian couple, Stella and Dot (Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker)—the former liberates the latter from a nursing home so they can elope in Nova Scotia (it is directed by Thom Fitzgerald, after all) and flee from Dot’s domineering granddaughter. Fitzgerald’s script, based on his play, is witty (and raunchy) with plenty of room for Dukakis to shine in her role as a hysterically potty-mouthed woman—Fricker plays off this well. During their odyssey across the border, they pick up a young man (Ryan Doucette) hitchhiking from New York, who turns into more of a companion than tag-along. Cloudburst is a bit long, but makes for endearing and funny viewing.
