Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut, "Eleanor the Great," falls somewhat short of great. It offers after-school special plotting and a simple takeaway message — always tell the truth — and if not for the performance of June Squibb at the movie's center, there would be nothing to recommend.

Squibb, 95, plays the titular Eleanor, who lives with her best friend Bessie (Rita Zohar) in Florida. When Bessie dies suddenly, Eleanor returns home to New York, where she moves in with her daughter Lisa (Jessica Hecht) and her grandson, Max (Will Price). Not knowing what to do with her, they shuffle her off to the local Jewish community center, where she joins a meeting of Holocaust survivors.

Eleanor is not a Holocaust survivor; she's originally from the Midwest. But Bessie was, and Eleanor sha

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