Entertainment
These Movies Are A Reminder That Love Happens At Any Age
If there's one thing I know about love, it's that, when it happens, it does so without reason. And that can also work out pretty great, because it means that love happens at any age. That might seem like a total d'uh statement, but most pieces of entertainment tend to only show attractive teens and 20somethings falling in love. Really, we all deserve to see romantic movies that show older couples falling in love, or at least love stories featuring diverse age ranges and unconventional romances. Whether you're in your golden years yourself, know someone who is, or are just anticipating the future, representation is very important.
It can be all too easy in your 20s, for example, to starting panicking over whether you're ever going to meet someone special or whether you're just going to be swiping away faces on Tinder for all eternity (Seriously. The horror). And movies don't help by showing that everyone's falling in love forever at a young age. Honestly, we could all do with having some patience. Love is unexpected, ladies and gentleman, and it hardly arrives in a way that fits our grand designs for life. It will come and go, and ebb and flow, and it'll happen whenever the hell it likes, at any age. These movies will prove that.
1'Harold And Maude'
Sure, on paper, a movie in which a 79-year-old woman enjoys a romance with a morbid 18-year-old man might sound sketchy. But Harold And Maude is sweet, thoughtful, and darkly humorous. The movie also highlights the idea that love (and death) can arrive at any age, so take a damn chance already.
2'When Harry Met Sally'
Proof that some love stories only fully bloom over several years and at a later age.
3'Hello, My Name Is Doris'
Sally Field is an absolute boss, end of. But this is especially true in Hello, My Name Is Doris, when her 60something character decides to romantically pursue her ridiculously hot 20something co-worker (played by Max Greenfield, so who can really blame her).
4'Shirley Valentine'
You might not have heard of this British romantic-comedy, but, in my mind, it's a feminist essential. Showing the frustrated middle-aged Shirley leaving her ungrateful husband to pursue love and her own private sexual revolution in Greece, the movie is full of hilarious and endlessly quotable lines.
5'How Stella Got Her Groove Back'
Similar to Shirley Valentine, a Jamaican vacation leads 40something Stella (played by Angela Bassett) to enjoying a life-changing love affair with a local man, 20 years younger than her. Love is ageless, you guys. And, as Taye Diggs also proves, it can also be very handsome.
6'It's Complicated'
Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin play a divorced couple who rediscover their (very complicated) love for each other, proving that there's always hope for reigniting an old romance.
7'Mamma Mia'
Sure, the love between Amanda Seyfriend and Dominic Cooper's characters was the inciting force of the movie. But it was the friendships between, and respective romantic relationships of, Streep, Christine Baranski, and Julie Walters' characters, that truly gave us life.
8'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'
A pack of retired British people move to India to enjoy the rest of their life and to rediscover love. They may have retired their work duties, but The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel serves a great reminder that you should never retire your heart.
9'The Holiday'
I mean, it's about two 30something women who happen upon love when they trade homes after they both experience bad breakups. It's a movie that insists that we can all bounce back from heartbreak and find fulfilling relationships at any time. What's not to love about that?
10'Love Actually'
If you look at it as a whole, then the entire story of Love Actually shows that love is powerful, essential, and achievable at just about every age possible. Including childhood.
11'Moonrise Kingdom'
Speaking of which, the genius of Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom is that it uses a childhood romance to remind the audience of the ageless innocence of true love. And that's pretty beautiful.
12'Moonstruck'
Yes, honey. If anyone can remind all of us that love can happen at any age, then it's definitely Cher. In her Oscar-winning turn as a 37-year-old widow who messily falls in love with her fiancé's chaotic brother (played by Nicholas Cage), she served up a reminder that love is an evolution, not an ending.
13'13 Going On 30'
The ultimate reminder that love can happen at any age, but that it never stops being just as mysterious and complicated as it feels when you're a teenager.
14'As Good As It Gets'
As well as reminding audiences of how true love should make us all want to be the best version of ourselves, As Good As It Gets provided a crucial reminder that love can be totally unexpected as to if and when it arrives.
So, if you're still looking for love, then just sit tight. It's totally coming for you, as these movies prove.
