The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vincente Fernandez

Memories of Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn in On Golden Pond haunt this adoring, if not exactly groundbreaking send-off for another trouper, the late Ernest Borgnine, who is onscreen for practically the whole film (not bad for a 94-year-old). Borgnine stars as Rex Page, a retired radio DJ of some renown, who now languishes in southern California harboring a lifelong regret that he never broke into Hollywood films, especially cowboy pictures. When failing health lands him in an ill-managed nursing home, Page is at first a curmudgeon towards the downtrodden Hispanic nurses and orderlies—until they learn that the old guy once met the titular Fernandez, a Mexican mariachi-music icon. Page's celebrity status among the staff puts him at odds with his family in this talky film that is all over the map (a mock neo-Western, codger comedy-drama, and sunset tearjerker), but still pulls off a sweet magical-realism sentimental conclusion. A strong optional purchase. (C. Cassady)