I just finished watching It’s Complicated, and I gave it 5 stars on Netflix even though my actual score is more like 4 or even 3 (I liked it, but I save 5 stars for “OMG I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW MUCH I LOVED THAT!!”). The bonus star or two was to skew the Netflix recommendations so I’d get MORE MOVIES LIKE THIS PLZ KTHANX. Movies about people older than me? having relationships just as if they continued to be real people after their twenties were over? and dealing with issues involving their children? THERE IS A MARKET FOR THIS, I THINK.
I ALSO like movies about attractive single people in their twenties finding Obviously True Deep Real Lasting Love with other attractive single people in their twenties (“We’re REALLY attracted to each other, so we MUST be eternal soul-mates!”), but it’s nice to see some VARIETY in human relationships. And, just as I enjoyed the “romance in their twenties” movies in my teens and the “having a baby” movies in my early twenties (it’s exciting to imagine What’s Ahead in life), NOW I would enjoy seeing movies about people navigating things in middle age.
And perhaps they can deal with problems I’m more familiar with than the “Do I think the bad-boy guy is too hot to give up for the obviously-better-choice Nice Guy guy who is also really hot?” theme. Like, maybe the husband could say that he’s going to do the dishes every night, and maybe he even kind of cheeses his wife if she tries to do them. And she SUPER LOVES that he is going to take over this chore, and praises him mightily and regularly. But then, like, some nights he doesn’t do them. Which is fine! It’s FINE! It’s FAIR to share this chore! But in that case, he should mention it to his wife, because then she wants to take her option to do them herself, because waking up to a dirty kitchen and dried-on food and no clean sippy cups makes her want to give up and just heap the dirty dishes in the TRASH. But she’s already mentioned this several times, with careful explanations, and still she is sometimes waking up to a dirty kitchen, and HOW CAN MERYL STREEP SOLVE THIS PROBLEM IN A WAY I CAN APPLY TO MY OWN LIFE??
I have the same issue. I’d love more movies that deal with mid-life issues. How about a mom(chick) flick about trying to get together with your friends while you are all juggling 2-4 kids & their activity schedules. It could be called “Meet You for Coffee…Someday” and be all poignant & stuff. A feel good movie about the triumph of friendship over differing soccer practice schedules
I really love when you write about purely hypothetical situations like this. ;)
hahahaha! Where is Meryl Streep when you need her?
Well…there is about to be a movie of “I Don’t Know How She Does It” by Alison Pearson…with SJP. So that will be right up our alley! And I did like It’s Complicated, too, but it made me a little sad that they raised all these children and then were divorced. Even though Meryl DID have a fabulous kitchen…
I love that last paragraph and I WOULD WATCH THAT MOVIE. Well… Wait. I have to admit the “hypothetical situation” you described made me a bit hyperventilate-y because it just hit way too close to home. So maybe I would NOT watch that movie, the way I couldn’t watch anything about war when my brother was in Iraq.
Am I comparing war to dish-washing issues? Hmm. I may have to rethink this comment.
P.S. I think I have to start saying “WWMSD?” in everyday life.
I love Meryl Streep. Also Diane Keaton and Diane Lane. Beautiful, smart women who play “real” women in the movies. Have you watched Something’s Gotta Give? It’s a little bit goofy, but I liked that one too.
The dish thing? Oh my. My husband and I made a deal a few years back that if I cooked (which I do, exclusively) he’d be in charge of cleaning. What happened though is that I learned that his idea of cleaning (load the dishwasher and leave whatever doesn’t fit) and mine (just wash them all, then wipe the counters and sink so it’s all pretty) were totally different. So if I wanted it done *my* way, I’d better just do it. Or let him do it his way (the wrong way) and shut up. It didn’t make it any less frustrating though, it was a total let down for me in so many ways.
I love, love, love this post.
If I remember correctly, I also enjoyed this movie but maybe it ran on too long?
I would also like there to be more movies about how middle-aged-married women do not all want sex because my husband is under the mistaken impression that he is the only husband on the planet who suffers from this horrible marriage condition.
Did I just say that out loud? Movies. We’re talking about movies.
Oh, you know, I liked that movie, too. A realistic portrayal of a formerly married couple having what appear to be reasonable issues and encompassing mature adult children? FICTION, I TELL YOU. FICTION.
I kind of, in some ways, felt the same way about One Fine Day, that old (“old”) George Clooney/Michelle Phieffer movie. Yes, they were impossibly attractive and had too much money, etc, but I loved the reality of the craziness of: joint custody, working moms, kids schedules, etc etc.
I would watch both the movie you have described and the one put forth by ComfyMom.
Wither the movies dealing with 40 something marrieds who still love each other, but who also argue about such critical issues as wiping off the damned counter after making a sandwich, which parent is going to help the child with their homework without it becoming a battle, and playing the “whose work is more important and who is going to stay home with the sick child today” game. I’m sure MS could handle these issues with aplomb!
You must watch City Island, and Win,Win.
These fall under the “future after 20s movie”
City Island is a gem, a bit of everything! Win win made me love Paul Giamatti! He is so endearing eventually!
Did you see Dan in Real Life? I really liked that one, for a post-twenties romance. It was a while ago, though.
Shal- Added to queue on the spot!
Jenny- Yes! I remember liking it!
I love me some Steve Martin.
J.
“revolutionary road” w Leonardo decaprio and Kate winslet. Confronting and also a bit “I realted to that part. Oh God, is this us?!”
Be careful with Revolutionary Road—good movie, but depressing (to me).
So, the dish thing. Today I cooked pasta sauce and angel food cake for the ENTIRE family to swing by and pick up for their dinner tomorrow night. Mr. P assured me he would clean up. After waiting. And waiting. And thinking about your post, I just cleaned up myself to avoid my shrill voice in the morning.
I just a read a good book that is about a woman who turns 50 and is dealing with stuff….it’s from 1996 so you may have already read it….The Pull of the Moon, by Elizabeth Berg. It was a very quick read and I felt like I related to SO much of what she said because she kept referring back to when she was younger and had a small child and how she would have done things differently or thought differently if she had known then what she knows now…
HAHAHA, I love the ending of your post ;) Have you seen the modern family where Cameron goes on and on about how Meryl Streep can do no wrong? Very true ;)