As the baby boomers begin to enter the retirement years, the concept of retirement is being explored in a variety of films. Many movies have featured retirees going on new adventures and forming new relationships at a time we traditionally associate with slowing down. Check out Hollywood’s take on retirement in these seven films.
[See The 10 Best Places to Retire in 2012.]
About Schmidt (2002). This movie begins just as Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson), an insurance company actuary, ticks off the final minutes of his career. Soon afterward his wife, who Schmidt was planning to travel with in retirement, dies. Schmidt then takes a trip to his daughter’s wedding in a Winnebago and reflects on his life and future plans.
The Artist (2011). An older silent film star, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), finds himself pushed out of the workforce earlier than planned as silent cinema is replaced by the talkies in this silent film. Meanwhile, a much younger women, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), who Valentin happens to be in love with, rises to success in the new medium.
The Bucket List (2007). Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson play two men who meet by sharing a hospital room while undergoing treatments for terminal cancer. They decide to go on an around-the-world vacation, during which they fulfill a wish list of things to do before they kick the bucket.
[See 7 Misconceptions About Retired Life.]
Gran Torino (2008). Retired auto worker and Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) finds himself growing increasingly alienated from and angry with his family and neighbors. Kowalski strikes up an unusual friendship with the Hmong immigrant family next door when their son, Thao, attempts to steal his 1972 Ford Gran Torino as initiation into a gang. And this retiree refuses to quietly fade away.
The Notebook (2004). Can true love last throughout retirement? This movie makes the case that it can as two retirees (James Garner and Gena Rowlands) in a nursing home relive the summer they met and their dramatic courtship.
Something's Gotta Give (2003). Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton find love after age 50, but not before each has a fling with a younger partner, in this romantic comedy directed by Nancy Meyers.
[See 10 Important Ages for Retirement Planning.]
Up (2009). Retirement is the adventure of a lifetime in this animated Disney-Pixar film. Retired balloon salesman and widower Carl Fredicksen journeys to South America in a floating house with an 8-year-old wildnerness explorer and meets his childhood hero.
Twitter: @aiming2retire
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