In this sci-fi sequel, director Daniel Petrie strains far too hard to recapture the touching whimsy of Ron Howard's original film and succeeds only in producing a mawkish melodrama. Although the dapper Don Ameche reprises his Oscar-winning role of Art Selwyn, there is much less of a spring in his step, and fellow old folks Wilford Brimley and Hume Cronyn are clearly equally uncomfortable with a script in which an emphasis on the joy of living has been overlaid with a glum resignation to the consolation prizes of old age. The performances remain endearing, however, and it can still raise a tear if you're in the mood.

The reinvigorated elderly group that left Earth comes back to visit their relatives. Will they all decide to go back to the planet where no one grows old, or will they be tempted to remain on Earth?