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What kind of movies do older women like? It’s tempting to stereotype us: We go in for steamy romances or lighter, romantic comedies. And while that occasionally may be true, our taste in movies is so much broader. We are smart, curious and willing to engage with new themes and ideas.
So here, then, is a list of movies set during the summer, geared toward discerning older women. Sure, some of them are steamy. And some of them are fluffy. But look for some surprises. And a note: All of these movies — like us — age well.
● The Seven-Year Itch
Who can forget the iconic scene in this 1955 film in which Marilyn Monroe stands over a subway grating while the hot air blows up her dress? (An oversized statue of that pose, long a subject of controversy because of its perceived sexism, was recently moved from outside the Palm Springs Art Museum.) In this comedy, the hapless Tom Ewell, who plays Richard Sherman, ships his family off to the beach for the summer, while he fantasizes about a relationship with Monroe, who has moved into his apartment building. Plenty is left to his imagination when she tells him she keeps her undies in the icebox to keep cool in the summer heat. This was directed by the great Billy Wilder, whose work pops up further down on this list.
● The Notebook
Best movie kiss ever is in this film adaptation of the best-selling book by Nicholas Sparks. By a lake. During a thunderstorm. Electrifying, when the stars are Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. James Garner and Gena Rowlands round out the cast of this 2004 movie, directed by Rowlands’s husband, Nick Cassavetes. The surprise ending you may or may not see coming. Either way, it’s worth a watch.
● The Long, Hot Summer
Based in part on three short works by William Faulkner, this 1958 movie, filmed in a small town in Louisiana, features a breakout performance by Paul Newman and his real-life wife, Joanne Woodward. From their first on-screen meeting, the sparks fly. The sense of class and racial inequality permeates this film by director Martin Ritt, who was eventually blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Orson Welles, himself a legendary filmmaker, also stars.
● Something’s Gotta Give
Director-writer Nancy Meyers treats a late-in-life romance between Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson with dignity and humor. The film also stars Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand and Amanda Peet. Keaton, quirky, smart and always interesting, won a Golden Globe award for her role in this 2003 film. It is a poignant and powerful illustration that romantic love has no expiration date.
● Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight
Richard Linklater’s semi-autobiographical trilogy, filmed between 1995 and 2013, follows two young travelers who meet in June on a train from Budapest. Ethan Hawke is an American who is headed to Vienna; Julie Delpy, a French student, is returning to Paris. They spend the night talking about life and love, and realize they are quickly developing feelings for each other. Not much action and a lot of talking. You either like that sort of thing or you don’t. I did.
● Body Heat
This sexy noir thriller checks all the boxes, with William Hurt as a sleazy lawyer who falls in lust with Kathleen Turner. If you saw Double Indemnity, the 1944 thriller with Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck, this is a 1981 remake of that. Start with Double Indemnity, where director Billy Wilder helped set the standard for noir film — menacing black-and-white photography and unlikable protagonists. If it’s too wet to plow, as they say, pour yourself a Scotch on the rocks and make it a double feature.
● Goodbye, Columbus
A smart and funny adaptation of Philip Roth’s novella of the same name, this 1969 film explores issues of class and cultural assimilation as Richard Benjamin, an Army veteran and Rutgers graduate who lives in the Bronx with his aunt and uncle, falls for Ali MacGraw, a wealthy Radcliffe student who is home for the summer. If you lived during the sexual revolution, you’re going to be able to identify with the question of what it is “good” girls can’t do. This was MacGraw’s film debut.
● Field of Dreams
Regret is part of the human experience. This baseball movie gives its characters a shot at redemption: A disgraced team (the 1919 Chicago White Sox) that broke the rules; a broken relationship between a father and son. Kevin Costner plays the farmer who hears voices: “If you build it, they will come.” The movie was nominated for three Academy Awards, including for 1989 Best Picture. Despite its mixed reviews, I thought it was magical. Filmed in Dyersville, Iowa, the field is still there, and is a tourist attraction, drawing up to 100,000 visitors a year.
● Witness
This 1985 film starring Harrison Ford is set in the Amish country of Pennsylvania, and takes as its title a word with two slightly different meanings — to witness by seeing, and the broader notion of bearing witness. A young Amish woman and her son are out “among the English” when a police officer (Ford) discovers that the little boy can identify a murderer. Ford, who is wounded, is cared for and protected by the Amish. In the meantime, he falls in love with the boy’s mother, played by Kelly McGillis. The movie went on to be nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor. The dreamy Pennsylvania countryside is almost itself a character.
Finally, a surprise:
● Jaws
Sure, it starts off with the horror movie trope of the teenage girl who is punished in the most gruesome way for her promiscuity. And there’s blood and gore and moments you might jump out of your seat. But at its heart, like every Steven Spielberg movie, this is about the primacy of human relationships, from buddies to members of the nuclear family. Set during the Fourth of July weekend on Martha’s Vineyard, “Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water” is still a meme, 50 years after the movie’s release. It’s a quintessential drive-in movie. If only there were still drive-ins.
If you’re in the mood for a pure nostalgic kick, channeling memories of slumber parties, foam hair rollers and 45-rpms, you can still occasionally stumble across the Gidget flicks on classic movie channels. As the films had alternate Gidgets, played by Sandra Dee, Deborah Walley and Cindy Carol, James Darren was their steady Moondoggie.
How many of the above have YOU seen? Which is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
