Monday, December 01, 2008

By Pat Clark
pclark@modbee.com

last updated: June 20, 2008 09:30:46 AM

Look! On the screen! The big screen! It's a woman! It's a man! They're over 40! They're over 50!

Great googly moogly! One even is over 60!

What in the name of cinematic bliss is going on here?

Well, kids, whatever it is, I like it. I like it a lot.

First "Iron Man," in all his over-40 glory, hit the screens to save mankind. OK, so at age 43, star Robert Downey Jr., isn't exactly ready for the rocking chair. But darned if it isn't nice that a guy who's at least standing at the top of the hill, if not sliding down it, is playing the action hero for a change.

But that was nothing compared to a group of over-40 women starring in — Women? Over 40? Starring in? — the "Sex and the City" movie, who then went on to shock the 20-year-old-boys-rule-the-

screens industry by raking in millions and millions of female-power dollars.

Who knew women over 40 had money? Or liked movies? Or would spend their money on movies they liked?

I'll tell you who: women over 40. We simply were waiting for a movie that appealed to our sensibilities that didn't star a bunch of twentysomething nymphets.

Then, Indiana Jones returned, showing the world that a 65-year-old guy in a fedora not only still could look good, he also still could kick serious butt.

And, amazingly, he still could be attracted to a woman in his own chronological ballpark. Bless Steven Spielberg and George Lucas for having the good sense to bring back Karen Allen, age 56 and gorgeous, to rekindle a heart-melting, age-appropriate romance.

The best news is that this baby boomer boon at the box office isn't over. The previews for "Mamma Mia" suggest the film starring a 59-year-old Meryl Streep will be almost as much a grown-up chick flick (I refuse to use the term cougar flick. For now, anyway.) as "Sex and the City." She has a life and friends and a secret, involving people — gasp! — her own age.

Also coming up is "Nights in Rodanthe," giving moviegoers a 58-year-old Richard Gere in a love story with a woman who, quite shockingly, is not in her 20s. She isn't even in her 30s. She's 43-year-old Diane Lane, who, I might add, seems quite content to show the world her age.

I'll give you that the 15-year age difference there is significant. It's not, after all, a 58-year-old romancing a 56-year-old. But we're talking Richard Gere, who, let's face it, still could attract a teenager.

More significantly, we have had so many love stories shoved down our throats featuring men in their 50s, 60s and even 70s romancing women who could be their granddaughters, let alone their daughters, that even with a 15-year difference, "Rodanthe" looks like a refreshing breath of realistic air.

How lovely is it that Gere's character is matched up with Diane Lane rather than, say, 25-year-old Anne Hathaway (I'm talking to you, "Get Smart" producers)?

After "Sex and the City" started bringing in the bucks, all sorts of stories and commentaries made the rounds declaring how surprising it was that women of a certain age actually wanted to see movies starring women of a certain age. How surprising that people over 40 have money to spend on movies and popcorn. That they still can see at night and drive cars.

OK, I made that last one up. But it's always been ridiculous that nearly every marketing group in nearly every category looks to appeal to the age 18-38 demographic — a demographic with far fewer spending dollars than those age 40-60. Somehow, becoming mature and financially stable has been synonymous with becoming irrelevant in the marketplace.

It's ludicrous.

So I'm lining up for "Mamma Mia" and "Nights in Rodanthe." Heck, I'm going back to see the fabulous forty- and fifty-something foursome of "Sex and the City," too.

We over-40s have to keep the box-office momentum going.

Scene editor Pat Clark can be reached at pclark@modbee.com.

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