Support the Films “Away From Her” and “Georgia Rule”
This is a banner month for women over 40 in film. “Away from Her” opens May 5th and stars Julie Christie, Olympia Dukakis and Gordon Pin sent. I know you’ll enjoy this one, as I happened to see an advance screening, and believe me, even if you deprive yourself of popcorn, this is a real winner. Julie Christie is absolutely marvelous as a woman who must come to grips with the onset of memory loss. Gordon Pinsent, as her husband, is equally wonderful, and needless to say, Olympia Dukakis is her usual fabulous self. This is a screenplay adaptation of Alice Munro’s short story, “The Bear Came Over The Mountain”, and was loved by critics and audiences alike when it premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. Also, it marks the arrival of an exciting new FEMALE filmmaker, Canadian actress Sarah Polley, who makes her feature screenwriting and directorial debut.
The other film we need to rush out and support on its opening weekend, May 11, is “Georgia Rule”, about a family in which “attitude doesn’t skip a generation”! It follows a rebellious teenager, played by Lindsay Lohan, as she is dragged off by her dysfunctional mother, played by Felicity Huffman, to spend the summer with her grandmother, played by Jane Fonda. This is a journey for the young teenager that “will lead all three women to revelations of buried family secrets and an understanding that ,regardless of what happens, the ties that bind can never be broken.” Now while I have not yet seen this one, I have worked with the director, Garry Marshall, and truly love his work: “Princess Diaries”, “Runaway Bride”, “Pretty Woman” — need I say more? And it is adapted by Mark Andruss (also adapted Divine Secrets of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood and wrote As Good As It Gets), so how could it not be a delightful adventure?
So check the opening weekend dates to make sure they don’t change, and run, don’t walk, to your local movie theatre to support our fellow middle-aged ladies and have a great time doing it, with or without the popcorn!!
PS: And by the way, two other films opened a few days ago that deserve our attention as well: “Snow Cake” starring Sigourney Weaver and “Jindabyne” starring Laura Linney.”
Judith Drake, proud to be middle-aged!
In the Trenches Productions
