I’m very excited about this: There are more and more movies available about people our age. Although a regrettable number of them star the latest “It Girl,” Dee Mentia, many do not. In any case, here’s a sampling:
Grace and Frankie, starring Lilly Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Sam Waterston, and Martin Sheen. It’s a series on Netflix – you can binge-watch the whole first season right now. Although it’s not deep, each half-hour episode makes me laugh, and it’s an interesting premise.
I just watched Still Mine, a neat movie – based on a true story – about hanging on to the good stuff while dealing with a changing world. Stars Genevieve Bujold (unbelievably good) and James Cromwell (also wonderful). Bring hankie.
Not yet out is the love story I’ll See You In My Dreams, starring Blythe Danner and Sam Elliott. When Elliott was interviewed on The Today Show, he said about his character (I’m paraphrasing the following because I couldn’t write fast enough):
He’s reached a point in his life – he’s where he wants to be, where he doesn’t have anybody depending on him and he can live his life the way he wants to live it.
(Update on I’ll See You: I didn’t care for it. Too much cliche’ and stereotyping. The only “good” people in this movie are the ones who try to act like like younger ones. All the relationships were stilted and lacked chemistry. If my old age looked like this I’d off myself.)
There’s also The Intern starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway, in which young and old learn to appreciate and depend on each other. Here’s the trailer:
I’m excited about these movies because they’re more than just caricature and complaint. Older people have astonishingly rich stories to tell – not the stories of their younger years, but the ones they’re living every day. I’m tired of youthful coming-of-age stories (kids becoming adults). There are elder coming-of-age stories to be told. Like how a person moves past the death of a spouse. How a person dates and falls in love when older. How a smart older person learns to use society’s contempt for old people as a Get Out of Jail Free card, to spin that into a kind of new freedom. These stories are starting to appear, and they’re a rich vein to mine. I can’t wait to see more of them.
According to an article in the New York Times,
“…the sight of Sandra Bullock mastering the universe as an astronaut in “Gravity” or Ms. Streep fronting a rock band this summer in “Ricki and the Flash” is almost revolutionary. In an earlier era, they would have been washed up or dried out.”
I hope and believe that, as with the movie The Intern, people will come to see that humans of all ages have their value; they all have stories to tell. As more women and older people sit in the director’s chair, I hope we’ll get to see more of them.
What about you? Have you found any good titles recently about older people? Books, movies, TV shows? I’d love to hear from you.
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I just finished watching all of the Grace and Frankie episodes. Loved them and can’t wait for next season! I enjoyed watching Still Mine a few months ago. Thanks for the other recommendations. Seems we have similar tastes in Netflix!
Linda, I just had an idea: let’s leave glowing reviews of G&F, so Netflix sees people appreciating it and does more like it. I’ve seen it reported that older people don’t “go to the movies” so let’s let them know we did.
And thanks for stopping by. Hope you are well and loving life.
All of these sound like great movies! Thanks for the heads-up.
You bet.
Thank you for the recommendations! Although you didn’t specifically mention it, I hope none of these have the much older male hooking up with the beautiful young woman fantasy that so many movies about older people include in the plot. I love it when movies celebrate age-appropriate and realistic relationships among those of us with a few wrinkles.
That’s what’s fun and cool about Grace and Frankie. They act their age, yet still fully alive! And they’re pretty honest with each other, which is enjoyable. For me, I’m really excited about the Intern, because it looks like maturity will be celebrated. Thanks for stopping by, Janis!
Thank you for bringing all of these movies and TV shows together in one post for our perusal, Lynne!
Now, my next “tech achievement” will be how to get set up for Netflix.
I SO APPRECIATE having YOU “in my life!”
Thanks!
Sue
PS…
I love your reference to the latest “It Girl.” I had no interest in reading or seeing “Still Alice.” I have heard that both are excellent, but I know as much about Alzheimer’s as I believe I will ever need to know.
It reminds me of the movie “Titanic.” I know people who went to the theater to see it, sometimes more than once. I saw it in bits and pieces on TV later. I didn’t want to go see something that I KNEW was going to end badly.
Yes, Sue, they’re all over dementia right now, and it’s real, but it’s like 1/10 of our reality. I want to enjoy stories about the rest of our 90%, and I’m thrilled that it looks like film makers are moving that way. So exciting!
Thanks for sharing the trailer for THE INTERN too…it looks great! Looking forward to seeing that one.