Terrific blog in a second. but first:
BREAKING NEWS: TRUST ME is $1.99! by Red Hank's psychological thriller was on all the best-of lists as one of the year's buzziest books--the starred review from Booklist said: "A knockout." Anyway! May we say: grab it now? Here's the link.
And now back to our regular programming!
BREAKING NEWS: TRUST ME is $1.99! by Red Hank's psychological thriller was on all the best-of lists as one of the year's buzziest books--the starred review from Booklist said: "A knockout." Anyway! May we say: grab it now? Here's the link.
And now back to our regular programming!
 |
| John and Lucy at Marigold Hotel |
John Brady (aka Mr. TopRetirements): Coming of age movies like The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, Easy Rider, and 2001: Space Odyssey became cultural icons for us baby boomers, back in the day. Producers of these blockbusters found huge audiences among our generation. Hollywood is still making movies for us today. Many aspects of the plots and characters are the same (love and loneliness, finding yourself), everybody is just a lot older!
Here are my top 10 movies (including one TV series) for baby boomers that touch on the topic of retirement. I hope that you will add your favorites too. I started the list with more recent movies, then go on to some oldies but goodies. Most are classics, definitely worth watching again.
The Quartet (2012) Once-popular opera diva Jean Horton (Maggie Smith) creates a stir with her arrival at Beecham House, a home for retired performers. No one feels the uproar more than Reginald (Tom Courtenay), Jean’s ex-husband, who still smarts from her long-ago infidelity.
Cocoon (1985). An all star cast includes top-drawer stars like Jessica Tandy, Don Ameche and Hume Cronyn. Fabulous story of people in a retirement home who discover a fountain of youth – courtesy of aliens who have invaded a swimming pool. Directed by Ron Howard
In Her Shoes (2005) Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, and Shirley MacLaine). Based on the novel by Jennifer Weiner, a lost adult daughter comes to live with her mother in a Florida retirement community. She definitely livens things up for the old guys as she finds herself. Meanwhile her relationships with her mother, sister, and grandmother go in many different directions.
The Bucket List (2007) Old guys out for some last kicks before one of them, terminally ill, checks out. The Bucket List is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Rob Reiner, produced by Reiner, Alan Greisman, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, written by Justin Zackham, and starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.
Under the Tuscan Sun is a 2003 American romantic comedy drama film written, produced, and directed by Audrey Wells and starring Diane Lane. Based on Frances Mayes’ 1996 memoir of the same name, the film is about a recently divorced writer who buys a villa in Tuscany on a whim, hoping it will lead to a change in her life.
Mr. Belevedere Rings the Bell (1951). An urbane, sharp-tongued expert (Clifton Web) on how to stay young interrupts a lecturing tour to prove his theory at a dilapidated old people’s home. We haven’t seen this one but our movie expert friend Deb said: “I highly recommend Mr Belvedere Rings the Bell. It is much of a mindset on retirement years. I saw it when I was 15 and it made a huge impression on me”.
What are your favorite movies that have some kind of retirement theme? (And another PS from Lucy, John is happy to answer any of your questions about retirement today, too.)
And you can sign up for TopRetirements free weekly newsletter here.
And you can sign up for TopRetirements free weekly newsletter here.
Favorite retirement-themed movies? “The Five People You Meet in Heaven,” “Up,” “Cocoon,” and “High Noon.”
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestions Joan. I'll have to put "Up" on my list. Never thought of "High Noon" as a retirement movie but that is what it is. Grace Kelly's breakthrough as the May-December bride to Gary Cooper's sheriff. And the joy of Tandy and others in "Cocoon" at recapturing their youth - priceless!
DeleteI'm not much of a movie watcher, but TopRetirements sounds like an awesome idea! At my old job there were a couple people in my office close to retirement age, and that's pretty much all they talked about. They would have loved your site, John!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Marla, lots of folks are really interested in retirement so I get in some interesting conversations. One of the guys who works in our town planning office is a huge fan and tells everyone about my site. Then there are the "FIRE" people, Financial Independence and Retire Early, who obsess with the "number" - how much they need to retire early.
DeleteOoh, I love the FIRE acronym!
DeleteThanks, John! I have seen many of them. I'd add Top Gun (2018) starring Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek. Redford plays a career bank robber and prison escape artist, and even though he tries to retire, he just can't stay away. It's delightful.
ReplyDeleteHI Edith, great suggestion. So this is a new Top Gun (with 2 of my most fave actors). The Tom Hanks older one could qualify as coming of age too.
ReplyDeleteI guess I never saw the older one!
Deletethat one starred the other Tom--Cruise
DeleteWhoops, you are right Lucy. It was the other Tom, Tom Cruise. Along with Kelly McGillis of Key West fame. She owns Kelly's Restaurant on Whitehead Street, where you once had a book talk.
DeleteI mentioned to Marla the folks who are obsessed with early retirement (FIRE) before. Here is a link to what that is all about. https://www.topretirements.com/blog/financial/wheres-there-fire-theres-some-smoke-too.html/
ReplyDeleteInteresting article. It gives one much to think (and dream) about.
DeleteI don't know, Marla - isn't there a saying, "Old authors never die, they just go out of print?" I think we're supposed to keep tapping away until we keel over onto the keyboard!
DeleteThat will be me, Julia...
DeleteThat's a new saying for me, Julia! And I guess as long as we enjoy writing there's no need to retire from it. But it sure would be nice to have an extra $5 million lying around just in case ...
DeleteRetirement is on my mind but still a stretch away, so watching some of these films might bridge the time gap nicely! Thanks for the recommendations.
ReplyDeleteThe dreaded "R" word. Ugh. Yes, planning and mental preparation are essential.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this list of movies, I've only watched two and can't think of others to suggest , I have some catch up to do.
ReplyDeleteI took a look at your site, it is very interesting. I'm newly retired and enjoy it very much. My actual sin is not having checked for another possible place to stay as I'm very happy with my home but I understand that I must have plan B.
That is the tough thing Danielle, we are better off thinking two steps ahead. And some of our friends have gotten lucky and never needed to change where they live. so hoping that's true for you too!
DeleteRetirement is still a decade or so away from me, but The Hubby is hoping to do it in the next five years or so. Fortunately, we like our house and its paid off, so we can afford that aspect - and Pittsburgh actually made #10 on your Ten Best list!
ReplyDeleteI've seen many of the movies mentioned and enjoyed all of them.
You are way ahead of a lot of people, Liz, with your home being paid off. Tough to start retirement owing money. And Pittsburgh makes all the lists - a far cry from when I grew up in the area (although parts were always nice).
DeleteI retired 13 years ago after giving it much thought for about two weeks. I had no plan exactly, but I also had no debt, a tidy nest egg, and a decent, for then, before the market crashed in 2008, portfolio. I wouldn't recommend this method to anyone, but it worked for me. What I found was that I spent far less of my discretionary income on things like clothes and Starbucks and eating out. That savings was offset by the ongoing collapse of my infrastructure, from my mouth to my knees. Oh well. Medicare takes care of most of that. But last week a root canal, this week an extraction, and next week a new bridge, what can I say? I dropped my dental insurance at $60 a month because it covered only semiannual cleanings and annual checkups. I did the math. Better I put that money in a dental account, which of course I didn't.
ReplyDeleteJulie retired the first of December and spent about six weeks checking out poor farms. Then she recovered, and has spent the last nine months reading books and sleeping late. So much better than spending nine months incubating.
I wish I'd had John and Top Retirements to help with some issues back then.
My favorite all time opera is Rigoletto, and The Quartet checked all the boxes for me. I have seen most of the movies you listed, all good ones, but can't think of any others. For TV shows, I don't think you can beat "Waiting for God." BBC, years ago.
Hi Ann. No matter how good your plan there will always be those irritating, sometimes major expenses like a dental bridge. At least you have a great attitude! Thanks for the tip on "Waiting for God".
DeleteLove this! And such fun to see movie lists. And as for retirent--I think the fascinating thing for me was to realize how muchI dint know--questions like: hmm. Do we ACTUALLY have enough money for this? And when the social security guy said to me--well, do you want the retroactive lump sum now? Or do you want a higher monthly payment later? Ahhh---how do I know? And then It all turns out to be about calculating how long you'll live? (I took more money every month--but yikes, how is anyone prepared to make that decision? THANK YOU so much for this, John. What you do is so incredibly valuable.
ReplyDeleteHi, John. I’m a great fan of TopRetirements.com. I always find a lot of useful information there. I highly recommend it. Annette and I love retirement movies. The other night we watched The Boynton Beach Club with Dyan Cannon, Brenda Vaccaro, Joseph Bologna, and Sally Kellerman. It was great fun. But if Boynton Beach was like that when I grew up there, it went over my head.
ReplyDeleteLOVE TopRetirements.com! It is chock full of information you simply can't get anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteAny remember THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL with Geraldine Page? I think she won the Oscar for her performance. I remember loving it. More recently, UP.
Thank you Hank, Ang, and Hallie - appreciate you as fans (like I am of your books!) A lot of big decisions, Hank, and some of them really hard to figure out. I think you made the right move with more money each month, that is what I preach. Great suggestions on Boynton Beach Club and The Trip to the Bountiful. Boynton Beach sounds perfect for a retirement movie setting.
DeleteLucy, it's funny because my 87 year old uncle still lives in Illinois and he loves it there. Your husband's name is Brady? I wonder if it was like the Brady Bunch when you married John Brady?
ReplyDeleteDid your writer friend meet Helen Mirren?
About movies, I have seen some of these movies. I never thought of the Retirement angle, though. I love Grace and Frankie - hilarious! I love the casting of Martin Sheen and Sam Waterson as the ex husbands. Wonderful casting!
Diana
Hi Lucy, I'll reply for Lucy. When she married into the Brady's she wasn't sure what she was getting into. She and I only had 2 kids, but the Brady's I came from actually had more kids than the TV show family. They had 6 and we have 7! Fortunately Lucy is a good sport and is a family favorite.
DeleteDiana, if I remember right, I think the biggest problem with Illinois is their taxes. (And weather, if you happen to be a weather wimp LOL.)
DeleteAnd yes, our friend Rusty spent a couple of hours chatting with Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland on the porch of the Hemingway Home. He said they were delightful!
John, thank you for sharing.
DeleteLucy, I will have to see that movie. I thought I had seen all of the Helen Mirren films.
These are great suggestions, John, and I want to check out the ones I haven't seen yet. I've been thrilled that, with the aging of the Baby Boomer cohort, "geezer flicks" have come into their own, and I can watch movies and TV about people older than 38 (no offense to you 38-year-olds out there.)
ReplyDeleteOne fun fact about Cocoon: Wilford Brimley was only 49 when he starred as one of the old folks who regain their youth! I read an article somewhere that posited if actors like Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves were born young and stayed that way, Brimley was born aged 65 and spent the decades catching up.
Love your fun fact about Cocoon. What a great movie with some of the finest actors ever.
ReplyDeleteSome of the Topretirements readers had more great suggestions for even more movies.
About Schmidt (Jack Nicholson),
Linda recently watched and enjoyed “Silver Skies” that features
George Hamilton. A synopsis: “Eccentric retirees’ lives are turned upside down
when their beloved apartment complex is suddenly sold out from under them.”
Even though it’s not a movie, who remembers the “Kick the
Can” Twilight Zone episode? (1962) It’s a classic: About the people living in a
“retirement home” and one man’s attempt to regain his youth. He believes if he
acts young, he will become young.
Silver Skies sounds like a film re-boot of a play called Hot l Baltimore, by Lanford Wilson, set in an old railroad hotel that’s going to be torn down. As I remember, and my old brain may be confused, he wrote several plays about retirees.. Also, what about the play & film, Driving Miss Daisy?
DeleteThanks for the List, John. I have not seen the Leisure Seeker yet but it sounds good.
ReplyDeleteI recently attended the CCWC (CA Crime Writers Conf) and learned that there is now a fiction genre called "geezer lit". I picked up a couple of the titles and they are patiently waiting their turn in my TBR pile, "Seniors Sleuth" by J.J. Chow and "Unstuff Your Stuff" by Mike Befeler. I may have to move them up to the top now.
Mike Befeler is the author of the Paul Jacobson Geezer-Lit mystery series and JJ Chow is touted as writing "fiction with a geriatric twist."
And yet the New York publishers still push us toward young protagonists! what do the rest of you all think?
DeleteGeezer lit - love it!
DeleteI tend to think of any long established giant in an industry (like the New York top 5 publishers)as similar to a very large battle ship. It takes a very, very long time to make a course adjustment and in many cases, tug boats are needed.
DeleteHowever, a smaller vessel (the indy and the boutique publisher) is quick and responsive to the elements.
The big five is the elephant in the room but I think readers aren't driven by publishing houses. They like what they like!
When the New York publishers look at stats to see what is "marketable" they are looking at a portion of the pie, not the whole. Again, readers drive the market. Readers don't care who published the book they have in their hands. They just want a satisfying read.
Love the list, John! The only one I'm missing is Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell! Retirement is a ways off for me yet, but I am absolutely checking out your website - how did I not know about this??? - and starting to prep!
ReplyDeleteLove the movie list, John, and all the great tips in your newsletter. Living in Texas already put us ahead in the retirement game, but as Julia says, writers just keep writing!
ReplyDeleteI wonder about this, but I figure I will keep writing until either my brain gives out or it stops being fun!
DeleteThanks for the movie list; I plan to check on several of them but I can't think of any others to add.
ReplyDeleteI've been retired now for several years and recently benefited when ex-husband died. I thought everyone knew that even if divorced we could claim spousal benefits as long as we were married at least 10 years and had not remarried. I've been surprised when I mentioned that to others and they had no idea. I'm betting you tell people about that, right John. Sounds like a great website and I'll go see what else I can learn.
It is amazing what you don’t know! JOHN is still learning all the time and trying to pass on his tips. Of course when we settled in key west, we did not follow any of his advice LOL
DeleteWe're there, John. I've been scouting for places to move to. All I know is I don't want to live in a city anymore. My husband and I aren't on the same page as to what we want. He'd be perfectly happy to stay where we are. But he has come on two trips now to Lexington, VA to look at houses; no luck there so far. He has come with me to the Black Hills of SD and we reluctantly agreed that wouldn't work too well for advanced years. He'd love to be on some acreage but I'm afraid we'd wind up having to move again in ten years as we age and aren't able to keep things up. We did come up with the possibility of buying a house in town and some acreage outside of town for him to play on. But then I'd also love to live on the coast. So.....stalemate. I've put off even thinking about it for a couple of months while we prepare for our granddaughter to move in with us while she attends culinary school. I've been getting the Top Retirement posts and told Frank yesterday, Sheridan, WY. He said for me to go out there and let him know! All we agree on is NO retirement communities for us.
ReplyDeletePat, you are doing just the right thing to try things out in your minds and also go and look. I bet you will find the right compromise! And what fun to have a granddaughter in culinary school living with you. I think you were going to eat well over the next couple of years
DeleteI've seen most of the movies, as well as Grace & Frankie...Mr Belvedere RIngs the Bell is very obscure, but I found it on youtube so I will be watching it later. Thanks for the recommendations, also going to check out the retirement website as I will be 62 in 2 years and getting ready to retire.
ReplyDeletePauline, it always pays to educate yourself ahead of time!
DeleteShalom Reds and fans. When I was a teenager, my Aunt Una gave me a membership to the Museum of Modern Art. It was a long subway ride from where I lived but I made the trip often because they showed movies for free in the basement. A lot of movies from the 30s, 40s and 50s and sometimes a contemporary movie thrown in. Particularly in the summer, when there was no school, I would make the trek weekly or more often. I particularly liked the silent movies, which were shown with a live pianist who improvised to play in the background.
ReplyDeleteOne film I loved was The Last Laugh (in German The Last Man) was about a man growing older and his relationship to work. Saying anything more would be a spoiler, so the best I can say is that the protagonist was played by Emil Jannings, who was 29 when he played the role. It is a heartbreaking movie with a twist at the end. I’ve seen it several times in my life, and would only wish, that now that I have turned 65, to once more see it with piano improvisation in the background.
Thank you David for that very mysterious recommendation. I know we are going to have to look for it and see what we think
DeleteA couple of movies for you. One is Red about all the retired dangerous spies. That was a hoot. My husband suggested Cockneys versus Zombies. I have to agree. It had an absolutely classic scene at a nursing home. Which makes me think of Bubba Ho Tep, also set at a nursing home. And then I guess anything Clint Eastwood is starring in these days.
ReplyDeletePat, of course I had to look up Cockneys vs Zombies. It is now on my Watchlist!
DeleteThese are excellent unusual additions to John’s list! I can’t imagine cockneys versus zombies but we will definitely check it out
DeleteOh, I'd so glad someone suggested RED! I visited the blog earlier and then got overtaken by events and never got a chance to comment -- but that was the movie that had popped into my head, too!
DeleteDonald Sutherland, James Garner, Clint Eastwood, and too many others to mention in Space Geezers aka Space Cowboys. Delightfully exercising Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey. Not to be missed.
ReplyDeleteOriginally titled "The Boyton Beach Bereavement Club", but bereavement was dropped. Too depressing?
ReplyDeleteTHe Boynton Beach Club is quite a look into retirement villages in Florida.
Check out the cast!
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0439478/fullcredits
I had a bit of a hard time with that whole "second chapter, reinvent yourself" mantra, until I stopped to think about what I really wanted to do and remembered summers as a kid, reading, reading, reading! Thanks to beloved authors, I can blissfully read away, writing reviews of the books I love most. I worked hard as a teacher, now I get to do what I wish.
ReplyDeleteA favorite student said she was sad that I was retiring, but I reminded her that she was graduating -- we were leaving at the same time. ;-) I was sad when a favorite author announced her final book, but she has the right to this "broad margin to life" as well. I love the list of movies, and will re-up Netflix for the new season of GRACE AND FRANKIE -- my sis says I'm Frankie for sure. ;-)
I believe your sis is right! And you are a poster child for a lively and interesting retirement
DeleteI was kind of scared about retiring, but after I submitted the paperwork and the day came, it's was great. The first few weeks felt like I was on vacation, then it sunk in: I don't have to go back to work. EVER. It's been seventeen years now and I'm still very, very happy.
ReplyDeleteRick, that sounds like a happy retirement! Congrats
ReplyDeleteEveryone has had such great suggestions -thanks so much for letting me be a part of the famous JungleReds for a day. A couple more movies from the Topretirements members:
ReplyDelete"A Walk in the Woods" with Nick Nolte
"A Foreign Field" (WWII vets return to Normandy)
TV Documentary: "Kings Point"