By Nell Geraets
It’s no surprise that rom-coms have made a comeback this year, but the past three months have seen a very specific kind of romantic comedy return to our screens. A-list stars such as Anne Hathaway and Nicole Kidman are bringing back the age-gap rom-com, fun and flirty films that pair older women with younger men.
Amazon’s The Idea of You and Netflix’s A Family Affair, both of which topped the streaming charts upon their release, echo earlier classics such as The Graduate (1967) and How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998) – May-December romances sprinkled with gags and impossibly gorgeous people.
But as exciting as it is to see the likes of Kidman straddling Zac Efron, age-gap rom-coms have always had a few flaws, most of which seem to have carried through to its contemporary reimagining.
From A Family Affair to The Idea of You, “cougar comedies” are making a comeback.Credit: Compiled by Bethany Rae.
Here are six ingredients that make age-gap romantic comedies both thoroughly entertaining and mildly problematic.
The woman looks like a goddess, but thinks she’s a frump
The age-gap may be the focal point, but it’s usually very difficult to tell. In The Idea of You, Anne Hathaway is a 40-year-old divorced mother, but with nary a wrinkle, she could easily pass as 30. One scene shows her looking insecure in a bikini around her younger man’s friends. As relatable as it may be for some middle-aged people, it’s made entirely unconvincing by Hathaway’s cellulite-free body.
Similar could be said of Nicole Kidman’s 50-year-old character in A Family Affair. Her face seems frozen in time, occasionally appearing younger than her 34-year-old love interest, played by Zac Efron. She could strut runways, yet she’s introduced in unflattering clothes, refusing to wear the couture in her wardrobe because God forbid a mother over 45 looked sexy. In these films, age is just a number… As long as the woman doesn’t look it.
She’s also super successful
To secure a younger man, one must not only defy the laws of ageing, but also have plenty of cash. Angela Bassett’s character in How Stella Got Her Groove Back is a powerful stockbroker, Michelle Pfeiffer in I Could Never Be Your Woman is a screenwriter and producer, Kidman’s character is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Anne Bancroft’s Mrs Robinson in The Graduate may not have a high-flying job, but she lounges comfortably in her mansion, her husband’s lawyer salary at her fingertips.
The man is basically a hollow outline
Essentially, all that matters about the male character is that they’re young, hot and capable of a modicum of banter.
We know Nicholas Galitzine is in a boy band and keen to go solo in The Idea of You, but he remains entirely superficial beyond that. Efron plays a self-obsessed celebrity in A Family Affair, but inexplicably becomes considerate halfway through, making his character confusing and flimsy. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is simply obsessed with porn in Don Jon. Other than being a throwback to carefree youth, it’s difficult to determine why any of these put-together women would pursue these men.
We know Nicholas Galitzine plays a boy band member in The Idea of You, but who is he beyond that?
The build-up is hot… The release is hotter
In these movies, sexual tension is key. Bassett and Taye Diggs dance so close during their Jamaican holiday that a pencil couldn’t fit between them. Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd make-out up against school lockers in I Could Never Be Your Woman. Hathaway and Galitzine steam up a swanky hotel room. And there’s the famous “you’re trying to seduce me” scene in The Graduate. These films are all about wanting to take a bite of the forbidden fruit. Once they do, they’re addicted.
Exploration of the age gap remains superficial (at best)
Most cougar comedies skim the surface of complex age-gap relationships. Though they’re faced with judgement and disgust from loved ones, as in How Stella Gets her Groove Back and A Family Affair, or the public, as in The Idea of You, that’s the only obstacle.
There’s little exploration of whether they want to have children, how retirement would work, or any differing generational beliefs they may have. It’s simply “society believes we’re taboo, but we can’t help who we love”. As romantic as the sentiment is, it ignores the inbuilt challenges and unbalanced power dynamics of May-December relationships.
The power is hers
Regardless of their faults, these movies ultimately serve to elevate women’s desires, worth and pleasure. They wield much of the power, including when the relationship ends. Sadly, this is often a result of the woman receiving most of the criticism. Hathaway sets Galitzine free to build his fame, Bassett considers whether she wants to get engaged, Kidman (temporarily) ends things with Efron before he has a chance to. The men are left pining, with little option other than to wait for the woman to return – which they almost always do.
Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.