At the retirement home, everybody’s got problems — memory loss, cancer, loneliness — but these darker moments alternate with sight gags, punchlines and snarky wisecracks in a way that somehow feels cohesive.

Yet none of the furry or feathered stars of this meditative, wondrous adventure need to wisecrack their way into our hearts.

An early example shows Mahesh’s new landlord making a wisecrack that he might be a terrorist.

In an era when Islamophobia remains a pervasive set-up, he’s learned that elevating wisecracks over resentment is his preferred, and often only, path forward.

More powerful than any wisecrack was the space she left for anticipation not only of what she might say but how she might say it.