The nineties retro-New Wave group, The Rentals, sang, “I need to figure this out and find my place here… sweetness, oh, sweetness… I need some tenderness.”” Kyra Sedgewick and Kevin Bacon’s characters in Michael J. Weithorn’s new film, “The Best You Can,” could use those lyrics as their mantra.

Nowadays, it is rare for a film to deal honestly with the ups and downs of moving toward one’s sixties. Most American films that take on the pressures of moving into our sixties make people seem like buffoons by setting them in sitcom-level situations that snowball into cartoonishness. Aging is a serious business, to be sure, but there is undoubtedly a comedic edge to be found in how humans deal with it. There is a way to balance the drama of such a time in a person’s life with good-natured comedy. It must be done with care to make a real connection with its intended audience. Weithorn’sWeithorn’s film does it right.

“The Best You Can” finds Sedgwick as Cynthia Rand, a New York-based urologist in her fifties, married to the much older Warren (Judd Hirsh), a respected and retired Watergate prosecutor. The two share a beautiful home in Brooklyn and, on the surface level, seem content and happy. As Warren is in his later years, the signs of his age are beginning to manifest in troubling ways, constantly becoming lost and forgetting what he is working on. Dementia is closing in.

When we first meet Cynthia, she is on the defense regarding her and Warren’s age gap. They met when she was in her thirties, and Warren was pushing sixty. Cynthia explained that her initial attraction was his stature and accomplishments. Of course, there is love and mutual respect, but the reality of old age has caused a gap that, while not unexpected, has caused Cynthia to examine her future a bit more thoroughly. The character’s opening dialogue (Weithorn also wrote the screenplay) speaks to the many May-December romances that begin when one partner is young but is so enamored of their older lover they can’t see the bigger picture: a future where the body and mind break down.

Bacon is Stan Olszewski, a fiftysomething private security guard who is floating through his future. He doesn’t have much of a life outside of his liaisons with CJ (Olivia Luccardi), a younger woman who he mistakenly perceives is keeping him young. Stan is trying his best to support his daughter Sammi (a winning Brittany O’Grady), a struggling singer/songwriter who is also his roomie. She definitely has the talent, but suffers from a lack of confidence; a trait handed down from her father.

Stan’s daughter isn’t the biggest fan of her father’s sarcasm and mostly avoids him, allowing him a lot of alone time that he doesn’t want. As Cynthia and Warren’s house is located on his route, Stan stops an attempted robbery one night, leading to a strange “meet cute.” Of course, Stan has prostate issues and Cynthia is a urologist, ergo an ongoing connection and a very funny/uncomfortable moment where Stan goes in for his exam.

Cynthia and Stan find a real connection that is strengthened through many phone and text conversations. There is a natural flow to the beginnings of their friendship that doesn’t feel forced, thanks to Weithorn’s humorous screenplay and the unavoidable chemistry between real-life mates Sedgewick and Bacon. The two actors have made their respective careers based on their natural talents in finding characters and films that made their characters relatable to the audience. The two actors make their scenes together warm and cozy, finding the truths about life within Weithorn’s intended themes. Anyone who has seen Sedgewick and Bacon’s Instagram posts knows they have an infectious charm, and their scenes together in “The Best You Can” are no exception. Even when the comedic situations get contrived, the couple makes it all work and never loses the connection with the audience.

Writer-director Michael Weithorn comes from a long career in television as a head writer or executive producer on many popular shows such as “Family Ties,”  “The King of Queens,” and “The Goldbergs.” There are some sitcomesque jokes within this film, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are funny. Just about every laugh hits, and the cast easily traverses each comedic beat.

Weithorn’s screenplay is full of interesting characters and situations. Warren’s daughter Rosemary (Heather Burns) feels her father should be moved closer to her to a care facility in  Cleveland, Ohio. Warren does have a caregiver named Pramila (Meera Rohit Kumbhani) who (to save face for her patient) says she is a research assistant. Honoring Rosemary’s wish, Cynthia plans to go to Cleveland to visit the facility. Stan joins her, and the trip takes their friendship to more romantic levels. For Stan and Cynthia, the trip and time together is a reprieve from their respective realities. It has been too long since either one has bonded with someone of the opposite sex who is also in their age bracket. These moments are important for each character and will shape their futures, perhaps lighting fires within them that neither thought were possible this late in life.

This is the main thematic crux of Weithorn’s film: It is never too late. Life will change us all, and it is never a good thing to simply roll with life’s punches. With time and aging, our lives need adjustment, and happiness is the goal. Do so accordingly.

“The Best You Can” is a sweet and spirited film with a warm and funny atmosphere. Guided by two terrific performances from Kyra Sedgewick and Kevin Bacon, this is an honest look at a time when most of us hope to have it all figured out. Has anyone ever achieved such a lofty goal? We all try. Each of us can only give it the best we can.