Boomer empowerment

Hit and Miss #83

Tonight, I watched Gloria Bell. It’s a remake of the 2013 Gloria. I fell asleep during the 2013 movie, and nearly did so again tonight. But I left tonight’s showing feeling differently—perhaps because I now deeply appreciate this genre of film, one I affectionally call “boomer empowerment”.

What’s boomer empowerment?

Chances are you haven’t heard the term used as a genre, because I made it up. It describes a type of movie I’ve come to love over the past few years. Examples include The Intern, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and It’s Complicated. I also include documentaries like Itzhak, RBG, and Nothing Like a Dame.

What ties these movies together?

They all feature older folks. Their stories centre around these characters and generally incorporate their ages. But they don’t necessarily drop to clichés about age. They treat these older characters as the whole humans they are. Generally, this genre seems to reflect our aging population, showing the potential for fulfilling lives even as we age.

Why do I like these movies?

I value seeing familiar storylines—those of love, of loss, of friendship, and so on—lived out by more elderly characters. It’s good to see that even older folks—those who have seen so much and lived so long—go through similar struggles as those that are young. It’s hard to learn some lessons, even after having lived them—we should be honest about that. Boomer empowerment films offer that lesson, over and over.


Do you have any preferred boomer empowerment films? I’m (slowly) assembling a list of my favourites. Please share any you enjoy.

All the best for the (hopefully empowered) week ahead!

Lucas