Cinema of our Golden Years

My “On Faith and Media” column in the September 2012 issue of St. Anthony Messenger

Erma Bombeck (1927–1996), the popular Catholic humorist, captured a Christian attitude about the afterlife: “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.’”

Bombeck also had a keen sense of what often drives cinema’s storytelling about aging: “Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.”

Growing into one’s senior years offers creative people—including screenwriters—significant fodder for storytelling. While baby-boomer actors often age out of the system, some have become Hollywood royalty, such as Meryl Streep, Martin Sheen, and Glenn Close.

Senior audiences, however, are often not respected as the entertainment industry is skewed toward youth. Television advertisers aim at younger audiences who spend impulsively, even in a troubled economy.

This summer’s sleeper hit film among older audiences is The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, about retired people from the UK who answer an ad for retirement living in India. They discover that life is not yet over. The gentle comedy has proven to be a huge success with audiences.

Will the success of films about our golden years translate into more movies for the aging audiences? Maybe. It is more probable that older characters will be included in stories about younger people. And if the stories are engaging and the characters are both funny and wise, the films will satisfy.

Here are some movies that show us that it’s never too late—period.