Satisfy your Golden Bachelor-inspired fix with these inclusive movies.
If the success of The Golden Bachelor proved anything, it’s that viewers 50 and up are a seriously untapped market for reality TV — but that may be about to change. A reality show centered around a group of friends in their 50s is in the works, and while we wait for word on the status of a potential Golden Bachelorette, we’ll just have to get our fix from romantic movies.
Luckily, Hollywood is ahead of the trend when it comes to creating age-inclusive content. There’s recently been an increase in lighthearted movies about women over 60 and there are a decent amount of rom-coms about people over 40 you can watch right now. Sure, they might not be real dating stories, but they have a guaranteed happy ending. Satisfy your Golden Bachelor-inspired fix with these inclusive movies.
Something’s Gotta Give
Starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson, Something’s Gotta Give is a classic later-in-life romance. It’s about Harry, a 63-year-old record exec in New York City who only dates women half his age — including his current girlfriend, Marin. Harry and Marin take a trip to the Hamptons when an unexpected guest shows up: Marin’s age-appropriate mom, Erica, who’s a successful playwright. After Harry suffers a heart attack, he’s instructed to stay behind in Erica’s care — which brings them a lot closer.
How Stella Got Her Groove Back
This classic stars Angela Bassett as the titular Stella, a successful 40-year-old stockbroker and single parent who’s unlucky in love. She decides to book a spontaneous vacation to Jamaica, where she meets the handsome — and much younger — Winston, who’s also on vacation. Their up-and-down relationship survives long distances, the death of loved ones, and new jobs, but the 20-year age gap might be the thing that sinks Winston and Stella for good.
Hope Springs
Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones star in this 2012 rom-com/drama about two empty nesters who need to revive the spark in their relationship. Kay and Arnold Soames have been married for 31 years and are sleep-divorced, but when their youngest goes off to college, they’re left all alone with each other. Kay pays for them to undergo a week of intense couple’s therapy, which Arnold resists — until their dynamic starts to change for the better.
It’s Complicated
Another Streep hit — in which she falls for a (gasp) age-appropriate man! This time around, she plays a bakery owner and single mom who becomes embroiled in an entanglement with…wait for it…her ex-husband (played by Alec Baldwin). As if that wasn’t complicated enough, things get even dicier when our leading lady starts falling for her architect, played by Steve Martin…
Just Wright
Leslie Wright (Queen Latifah) is looking for a man but constantly finds herself in the friend zone. After a New Jersey Nets game (remember when the Nets were in New Jersey?), Leslie encounters Nets superstar Scott McKnight at a gas station and they strike up a conversation. That conversation leads to a birthday party invite, which leads to a love triangle between Scott, Leslie, and her best friend.
Last Chance Harvey
Harvey Shine (Dustin Hoffman) is a divorcé who writes jingles for a living; when he arrives at London’s Heathrow airport for his daughter’s wedding, he encounters Kate Walker (Emma Thompson), who’s collecting data from passengers. Harvey initially ignores her, until fate brings them together again at the airport and they spend a whirlwind 48 hours together.
Bros
Billy Eichner co-wrote this rom-com (which he spoke to Katie about) that takes place in Manhattan about two gay men who are a little afraid of commitment. Bobby Lieber is a 40-year-old radio host and Aaron Shepard is a lawyer who’s “hot but boring” — the latter is not his profession, but an important qualifier nonetheless. In typical New York dating fashion, they have an on-again, off-again relationship that’s filled with hilarious misunderstandings along the way.
Ticket to Paradise
Think of this like a reverse Parent Trap: Divorced couple David and Georgia (George Clooney and Julia Roberts) must team up. But they’re not working together to forge a romance — they’re trying to sabotage their daughter’s wedding. This one’s set in Bali, so even if the dialogue is corny at times, it feels like taking a mini vacation.
Laws of Attraction
Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore are two of New York City’s top divorce attorneys, and polar opposites when it comes to their working styles. (You can probably guess: He plays it fast and loose; she’s a stickler for the rules.) They end up battling each other on a high-profile divorce case, which brings them to an overnight stay in an Irish castle. You don’t need to be a psychic to guess what happens next.
Always Be My Maybe
Sasha Tran is a famous chef and Marcus Kim is a hometown musician, and the two were childhood friends (with a romantic past) who’ve since gone separate ways. A chance encounter 15 years later puts them back on each other’s radar, but the timing is anything but perfect, since they’re both dating other people.
The Parent Trap
Okay, so this might not be a traditional rom-com, and Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson are technically supporting characters to Linsday Lohan’s Hallie and Annie. However, at the end of the day, the entire switching-lives plot revolves around reuniting Nick and Elizabeth James, so in our view, it fits the bill. And hey, if you thought going on reality TV to find love was extreme, can you imagine having your twin daughters switch places?
This Is 40
Though it’s right on the cusp as far as the age and subject matter, since this film’s about a married couple who are each turning 40, we’ll include it. It’s less of a rom-com and more of a sequel to Knocked Up — kind of — in which Debbie (Leslie Mann) owns a boutique and Pete (Paul Rudd) owns his own record label. Despite their cool-sounding jobs, their lives are anything but relaxed, with 8-year-old and 13-year-old daughters pushing boundaries constantly. Yes they’re wealthy, but can their relationship go the distance in the latter half of their lives?
Cloudburst
This one isn’t your average rom-com — it’s about Stella and Dottie, an older lesbian couple, who embark on a Thelma and Louise-esque road trip to get married in Nova Scotia after Dottie’s granddaughter puts her in a nursing home (after Stella helps her break out, of course). En route, they pick up a hitchhiker who’s headed to Nova Scotia to visit his dying mother.
5 Flights Up
Diane Keaton is basically the queen of this movie category, and she stars alongside Morgan Freeman, who’s no slouch in the cinema department, either. This comedy-drama centers on married couple Alex and Ruth, who want to move out of their five floor walk-up into an elevator building (relatable). But after having spent decades in their current place, pulling up stakes is no easy feat. (And the complexities of New York real estate in particular? Don’t get us started.) The movie follows their search for a new home, the sale of their old apartment, and them navigating thorny marital issues that crop up along the way.
Book Club and Book Club: The Next Chapter
We love Book Club because it offers some much-needed representation of women over 60 — both in showcasing their love stories and highlighting their female friendships. Both Book Club movies star Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen, all queens of the 60-plus entertainment world. In the first film, they read Fifty Shades of Grey, which changes how they view their relationships, and in the sequel, they jet off to Italy for a girls’ trip. Sign us up for a double feature!
Beginners
This romantic comedy-drama is based on writer and director Mike Mills’ father’s story of coming out at 75. Oliver Fields, played by Ewan McGregor, reflects on his relationship with his late father Hal, who came out six months after Oliver’s mother died. Oliver examines how his parents’ loveless marriage contributed to his relationship issues. He also meets Anna, an actress, and they begin to fall in love, but their baggage and attachment styles threaten to jeopardize their budding romance.
