Old Crush

HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS (A-minus) - This earnest romantic comedy mixes smart cultural observations with borderline-corny gags, and it's carried flawlessly by the endlessly engaging Sally Field.

Gidget is now a geriatric -- well, Field is 69 -- and she plays Doris Miller, an aging office drone and eccentric who has just buried the mother she lived with and cared for in that New York borough with the ferry and the fewest hipsters, Staten Island. Doris has a meet-cute in the elevator with her company's new artistic director -- John, who is about half her age -- and she develops an irrational crush. John is conventionally square-jawed and handsome without being too far out of reach; Max Greenfield (TV's "The New Girl") does a believable job of walking the line between studly and shlubby. Doris swoons during office fantasy sequences like a biddy Walter Mitty.

Director Michael Showalter (the spoofy "Wet Hot American Summer") co-writes with Laura Terruso (who has mostly written and directed shorts, including an early version of this film), and their sensibilities mesh well. They have a good ear for dialogue and a keen eye for the clash of cultures that ensues when Doris (by signing up for Facebook under an assumed name) worms her way into John's world. This is very much a story about friendship and about fitting in, and it's anything but a silly fish-out-of-water farce.

Whereas a movie like Noah Baumbach's "While We're Young" used all-caps and italics to emphasize the generation gap, "Doris" is sly and shaded about the topic. Doris is a total square on Staten Island, but she's just another hipster with cat's-eye glasses, clashing layers of clothes and poufy hair extensions in Brooklyn. She's an old-school OG blending in to the Old School movement. Like the young Williamsburg denizens, she knits sweaters, covets discarded household items, and bakes cornbread. When she shows up to a club in a neon yellow jumpsuit, the band invites her backstage after the gig and asks her to pose for their next album.

None of that is forced. It feels warm and natural while fraught with dramatic land mines. John gets a kick out of Doris and seems genuinely drawn to her, even if we can't imagine him developing romantic feelings for her. When Doris finally dolls herself up with makeup and a slinky black dress for a Thanksgiving gathering at John's loft, the impending heartbreak is palpable. In order to attend that feast, Doris must spurn the traditional get-together at the home of her dear friend, Roz (Tyne Daly), and it threatens to fray a relationship in which they interact like old spouses. Roz's teen granddaughter Vivian (voice actress Isabella Acres) provides just the right amount of agitation (and pure energy), abetting Doris' online subterfuge and earnestly cheering the old gal on in the dating world.

The supporting cast is key to giving the movie dimension. Stephen Root ("Office Space," TV's "Newsradio") brings depth to the role of Doris' brother, who shows genuine concern about the hoarding that has gone on in the home of Doris and their mother. Talented comedians like Natasha Lyonne (Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black") and Kumail Nanjiani (HBO's "Silicon Valley") play snarky co-workers who serve as a droll Greek chorus. Nanjiani gets off one of the best lines in the movie when, amid gossiping co-workers who are mostly confounded by Doris' quirks, he says about her: "I think she takes a boat to get to work."

But it's the tour-de-force performance by Field that makes the film and helps Showalter and Terruso join forces with a new generation of filmmakers working to subvert and evolve the rom-com genre. Field commits to the character, calling to mind her turn 28 years ago as the housewife turned standup comedian opposite Tom Hanks and John Goodman in "Punchline." Her Doris is an emotionally damaged, vulnerable older woman who has the courage to come out of her shell and (day)dream an impossible dream.

You root for Doris and you brace yourself for the inevitable tumble back to reality. The denouement here -- regarding her pursuit of John and her brother's concern for her mental stability -- feels rushed and too neatly resolved, but a clever ending makes it all right again. We don't know what eventually becomes of Doris, but it's a joy hanging out in Brooklyn for Gidget's sweet coming-out party.