Thursday, December 10, 2020

Thursday Movie Picks #335: Movies for Seniors / The Elderly

 


Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Movies for Seniors / The Elderly

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I've been noticing, say in the last ten years or so, that there are more movies where the main character or an ensemble of characters are the elderly and touching on issues that are part of aging which I thought were clearly targeted at seniors. Rightly so, I guess, since there are quite a lot of places experiencing an aging population where these seniors have both the buying power and the time to watch movies and wouldn't they want to see themselves reflected on screen. Studios have got to tap that market right? Plus there are those senior citizen discounts movie theaters tend to have to get seniors into theaters. Anyway here are the movies I like.

Our Souls at Night (2017)
Two old neighbours who have each lost their spouse some years back have had little contact with one another until out of loneliness one of them seek companionship from the other. I had actually happen to have seen Barefoot in the Park (1967) starring Fonda and Redford which had played on TV just before this premiered on Netflix. 50 years later and I think both of them still have pretty good chemistry.

The Meddler (2015)
A widow moves to Los Angeles to be closer to her adult daughter after her husband's death. When her daughter rejects her over-mothering, she plays the mother role to her daughter's friends and an employee at a store she frequents. I like this one, it's quite sad and sweet too. Susan Sarandon plays the widow, who's lonely and a little desperate to do something and be needed hence the over-mothering which her daughter just doesn't want. So she sort of have to find her own place in a new city and make new friends.

Quartet (2012)
Set in a home for retired musicians, a group of residents' preparation for a concert is disrupted by the arrival of a new resident. I don't remember this as much since I haven't seen this for quite some time. But I remember enjoying it and thinking it was just very charming and funny.
 
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11 comments:

  1. Hi there. Interesting picks! I tried to watch Our Souls at Night but found it quite slow going. I'll give it another try sometime.
    I enjoyed Quartet, and The Meddler sounds like it's worth a watch - love Sarandon and Byrne!

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    1. I thought the pacing of Our Souls at Night was ok.

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  2. I don't have Netflix so I haven't been able to catch up with Our Souls at Night but it's near the top of my list of things I want to see. Love both Jane and Bob Redford. The always paired well never better though in the enchanting Barefoot in the Park.

    Both The Meddler and Quartet were okay films but I've never felt a pull to return to them.

    So many films about and for the elderly seem to be dreary or deeply depressing, not that there aren't some fine films in that category, but I chose to go towards a trio that looked at the lighter side of things.

    Cocoon (1985)-A group of seniors in a Florida rest home stumble upon a swimming pool that because of an alien "cocoon" hidden within has become a fountain of youth. After taking a dip they are rejuvenated and have a great deal of fun during their second fling at being young. Don Ameche won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role.

    Out to Sea (1997)-Charlie and Herb (Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon) are retired long time friends. Schemer Charlie manages to convince Herb to take a cruise as a chance to meet women but what he doesn't tell him is that they are to be dance instructors on board! Complications ensue!

    Louisa (1950)-Hal Norton (Ronald Reagan) suggests to his sweet but somewhat meddlesome mother Louisa (Spring Byington) that she should find some other interests outside their home when she gets too involved in the lives of his wife and kids. Louisa takes his advice and starts dating the local grocer Henry Hammond (Edmund Gwenn-Miracle on 34th Street's Kris Kringle). All is well and good until Hal's boss Abel Burnside (Charles Coburn) takes a fancy to her too and suddenly the Norton's placid life takes a crazy turn with Louisa in the middle of a late life love triangle! Sweet film with delightful performances by the three leads.

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    1. Our Souls at Night did have a limited theatrical run, but I suppose that was just in the big cities?

      I saw Cocoon when I was very little...I just remember it was about aliens and old people.

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  3. Got me there. Haven't seen any of these. For a moment, I confused Quartet with A Late Quartet, lol.

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  4. I haven't seen any of your picks this week.

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  5. So, I got this theme wrong because I thought it was about what kind of films the elderly would choose as their favourites not about the elderly. Oopsie! I would really like to see the Redford/Fonda film because they have great chemistry from Barefoot In the Park to The Electric Horseman. I haven’t seen the Sarandon film but did see Quartet which was good but not great and I was hoping for more.

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    1. They were in two other movies together that I'd like to see.

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  6. I have seen none of them.. though I know the first one.. when the Irish pronounce it it sounds a bit different. :D :D

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    1. Do you mean the pronunciation of our that sounds like ar*e?

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