I almost feel as if I should disqualify myself from reviewing this film because of a conflict of interest. It’s darn near impossible for me to be objective about a movie that was shot in a house I know and love, and features two dear friends. Add that to the fact that my Mom resembles the star, Blythe Danner, as well as her character Carol, who is also a single, retired school teacher with a beloved Labrador Retriever, committed to a routine that works for her. These factors make I’ll See You In My Dreams almost a personal obsession.

This sweet indie, filmed in Andrew and Jeanne Epstein’s Colfax Meadows home (you can’t fail to note the magnificent draught resistant landscaping, which has garnered Andrew quite a bit of fame) is the story of a widow who finally decides it’s time to stick her toe back in the dating pool. It doesn’t start out well. The septuagenarian version of speed dating is exceptionally awkward and hysterical, and not only because my friends Max Gail (Barney Miller) and Arthur Roberts are cast as a couple of the bachelors.

Subtly sublime, Danner moves ambivalently forward into the dating foray, egged on by her friends in the senior center, played by Rhea Pearlman, Mary Kay Place and June Squibb–all are terrific. Do things get more complicated, or do they actually become more clear when two very different men enter Carol’s life: the rakish bachelor (Sam Elliot), and the thoughtful slacker pool boy, played by Martin Starr, whom you might recall from This is the End and Knocked Up, and whom you just might be currently enjoying in the HBO Comedy Silicone Valley. Starr is the dour Gilfoyle.

Funded by Kickstarter and filmed in a mere 18 days, I’ll See You In My Dreams is surprisingly powerful and elegant for such a small film. It’s also a surprise that Director/Writer/Producer/Editor Bill Hayley, a young filmmaker in his 30’s, would choose to make a film about people in their Golden Years, and do it so tenderly and accurately. Younger audiences will be amused by Starr and Malin Akerman as Carol’s daughter, as well as the insight they’ll gain about their parents and grandparents. Boomer audiences will be charmed by the entire production.

Pray that I’ll See You In My Dreams comes to a theater near you soon. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and retirement will take on a whole new meaning–for both you and your parents.

Rated PG-13

1 Hour 49 Minutes

I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS Review