Movies for Mature Audiences

     While I was on vacation from my blog, B and I drove down to our local "arthouse" movie theater to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel starring Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and several other acting veterans. It's definitely a film for "mature audiences only."

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

     The movie tells the story of a group of English elders who for one reason or another have fallen on hard economic times, and decide to move to India where retirement promises to be less expensive. The drama develops as dreams of exotic India clash against the reality of crowded streets, strange customs and a run-down hotel, and as some of the characters embrace the new life while others cannot abide the unfamiliar circumstances.

     It's a fine movie. It's not a great movie. It's only grossed a little over $38 million at the box office. But the story makes you think, and it stays with you for a while after you've left the theater. Something that doesn't happen when you see one of the summer blockbusters like The Avengers (gross: $600 million) or Madagascar 3 (gross: $160 million) or Men in Black 3 (gross: $165 million).

     We've been to our arthouse theater, called the Jacob Burns Film Center, any number of times, and I always fear that I will seem out of place because the audience will consist of sophisticated 20-somethings who dress all in black, sip exotic coffees, and read French literature.

     But I am always wrong. After we saw Marigold Hotel, B and I repaired to a nearby restaurant for dinner, and we joked about the audience that actually does show up for these movies -- movies that rely on plot and character and dramatic tension rather than car chases and special effects. The audience for these movies that make you think consists almost exclusively of people with expanding waistlines and gray hair, and who are dressed not all in black, but in "mom" jeans and faded golf shirts.

     No matter how many times we go to this theater, I am surprised by the audience. And every time I am also startled, at some point, by the sudden realization that we fit right in to this crowd -- with my gray hair, my expanding waistline and my faded golf shirt.

Naomi Watts, 43, is one of my favorites

     But I finally am beginning to accept the fact that it's the adults of the world who truly are the sophisticated people interested in stories that carry real emotional impact, rather than the impact of computer-generated explosions.

     The Film Center is the place where last winter we went to see The Descendants (gross: $82 million) and The Artist (gross: $45 million).

     Last year we drove over there to watch Helen Mirrin in The Last Station (gross: $6 million), a movie about the final days of Leo Tolstoy. And Sarah's Key (gross: $8 million) starring Kristin Scott Thomas -- who knew she could speak French! -- as an American journalist, married to a Frenchman, who stumbles on a secret about the family apartment in Paris.

     Before that, we caught Summer Hours (gross: $2 million) with Juliette Binoche, a movie about three siblings who converge on their aging mother's house in rural France. We saw the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (gross: $10 million). I later had to go back by myself to see The Girl Who Played with Fire (gross: $8 million), because B thought the movie was too violent and she didn't want to subject herself to the experience again.

Benicio del Toro, 46, seems to be one of hers

     A couple of years ago we saw Naomi Watts and Kate Hudson in Le Divorce (gross: $9 million), and Naomi Watts, Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro in 21 Grams (gross: $16 million). B knew 21 Grams was going to be kind of intense, and depressing, but she felt the presence of Benicio del Toro in the movie would compensate for that deficiency in the subject matter.

     The point is, it's the older, mature audience -- not the young, hip audience -- that goes to see these more ambitious movies, movies that stick with you longer than the butter from the popcorn. If you have Netflix, or access to the DVD collection at your local library, I could recommend all of these movies to you. Some are better than others -- some are not even in English -- but they all give you something to think about.

     Meanwhile, B and I are getting ready for our next trip to the Film Center, maybe to catch up on the new Woody Allen movie To Rome with Love. Or . . . I hear Naomi Watts is going to play Princess Diana in an upcoming movie. Gotta put that one on my list!  

June: Blogging Boomers Carnival

     The Blogging Boomers Carnival this week brings us some danger, some adventure, some worries . . . and some great eats.

     Laura Lee, aka The Midlife Crisis Queen, had a terrible wildfire burning within 7 miles of her home this past week. So she's pitched in to help keep everyone updated on the High Park Fire (and she also provides a link to more fire photos.) But, she reports, she also did find time to go see the film "The Artist" and provide us with a review.

     (I saw the movie earlier this year -- I thought it was so good, it left me, uh . . . . speechless -- but Laura Lee's analysis brought me a few new insights about the film and what it means for us today.)

World's tallest building

     Meanwhile, Katie from Arabian Tales (our favorite Baby Boomer expat) is doing a lot of walking in Dubai creating Walking Tours for TripAdvisor. Do you know how many “Ultimates” -- the superlatives -- there are in the Downtown Dubai area? It is amazing . . . but then again, she lives in Dubai and in Dubai being the first, the biggest, the best is a much sought after quest!

     (And if you follow Katie's link, you can walk along with her to the Dubai Mall, the ice rink -- yes, there's an ice rink in Dubai, despite an average high temperature in June of 97 degrees -- and to the world's tallest building, the Dubai aquarium, and a few other choice locations.)

     This week on The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, newcomer Rita R. Robison, consumer journalist, summons up some fascinating facts and figures about Father's Day, writes about her frustration over the new packaging for her checkbooks, and shares her pride in marching in the Gay Pride parade in Olympia, Wash.

Ah, summer vegetables!

     On different tract, SoBabyBoomer says, for a growing number of boomers, things aren't going according to plan.  The postwar generation is living longer -- and many people are spending their savings along the way. He ranks the top four financial worries of affluent Baby Boomers.

     But on a slightly more positive note, the Accidental Locavore, a Boomer who writes about real food for real people, is happy to have found a new source for her weekly farm basket. See what was fresh this week -- and what she did with it.

     And, P.S., for the latest on the High Park fire, which is still blazing away, check out the Denver Post.

They Made It!

     The volunteers at Ride for World Health finished their cross-country bicycle trip. The riders, including my daughter, all either work or study in some aspect of the health field. They began their journey at Torrey Pines, in San Diego, with the rear wheels of their bicycles in the Pacific Ocean. Two months later they dipped their front wheels in the Atlantic, at Bethany Beach, Delaware.

     Their real mission was to "address global health disparities by focusing on education, advocacy and fundraising." This year they raised money for Louie's Kids, a group based in South Carolina that fights childhood obesity, Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL), an organization designed to transform wastes to resources in Haiti, and Mana, dedicated to improving agricultural practices in rural Africa.     

     One of the riders, age 24 and a med student, said it was most difficult thing he had ever done in his life. Another rider, 29, said, "Actually, it wasn't that hard." Her secret? The group stopped for a breather about every two hours. She kept her focus on nothing but getting to the next rest stop. One after another, until the trip was over.

     One participant moaned that, after it was over he was never going to get on a bike again. I don't know if he was joking or not. But one of the women figured, more optimistically, that from now on she'll be commuting to work on her bike.

Bethany Beach, Delaware, June 3, 2012

 
     There were some people who joined the group for part of the ride. The youngest participant rode from San Diego all the way to to Washington, DC -- and skipped the last leg of the trip. She had to. She needed to get back to Ohio for her high-school graduation. An older fellow joined the group in St. Louis, and rode over the Appalachians to the sea. He didn't have to climb the Rockies, but as it turns out, there are some road grades in West Virginia that are just as steep as the ones out west.

     Twenty some people made the entire journey. Everyone agreed that Utah has the highest, most rugged, most difficult-to-climb mountains. And Kansas is the flattest state ... by far. And everyone agreed, however hard or easy it was for them, it was truly one of the most rewarding things they'd done in their lives.

     As I said to one young man, "You'll be telling your grandchildren about this."

     He looked at me and grimaced, and kind of pinched his rear end, and groaned, "Yeah . . . if I can have grandchildren."

A Short Vacation

     In my last post I wrote about working in retirement, and I don't know if it's karma or coincidence or what, but a day later I got a call about a relatively major assignment. The job will take me just about a month.

     I also have to go to a wedding (the daughter of a friend), and make a four-day trip to Washington, DC -- nothing to do with the job, the job will mostly keep me sitting behind my computer. I'm meeting my daughter in Washington, and the family is using the opportunity to get together for a little holiday celebration.

     If my daughter is not too exhausted. She has taken part in the Ride for World Health, a two-month bicycle trip starting in San Diego and arriving in Washington, DC, over this coming weekend of June 2-3. The annual event is designed to increase health awareness and also raise funds for various nonprofit health organizations.

     So anyway, I'll be taking a brief blog vacation. For the month of June.

Ride for World Health route, April - June 2012

     I've noticed that others have taken "blogcations" now and then. I wonder:  Has your time off re-energized your blogging batteries and given you lots of new ideas?

     I'll post one "Blogging Boomers Carnival" in the middle of the month, because I'm on the schedule. Then I'll be back for real in July. I figure the blogging conversation will go on just fine without my little scribblings while I'm away.

     In the meantime, if you're so inclined, you can peruse back through the 197 blog posts that I've made since starting this exercise at the end of 2010. Or if you haven't taken one of my quizzes, scroll down to the Pages tab on the right and find out:  "Are You a Baby Boomer?" or see if you know:  "Are These Baby Boomer Icons Dead or Alive?"

     See you on July 1!

Can You Be Retired, and Still Working?

     Some of the most fortunate people in the world never retire. For example, Elizabeth Windsor, at age 85, is still going strong as Queen of England. Warren Buffett, 81, remains chairman and ceo of Berkshire Hathaway.

     Not all of us have the option to keep our jobs for as long as we want. I think of myself as belonging to a different, but equally exclusive club --  people who were forced to retire at a fairly young age. For example, Jimmy Carter who retired at age 56 in January 1981. Bill Clinton, who retired at age 54 in January 2001. And George W. Bush, who retired in January 2009 at age 62.

Carter builds houses

     But even though these people officially retired, they did not stop working or contributing to society. Jimmy Carter went on to write books, found the Carter Center and win the Nobel Peace Prize. Bill Clinton wrote his autobiography and started the Clinton Foundation. George Bush has been building his presidential library and working with Clinton to raise money to rebuild Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

      Of course, I'm in a much different league than any of these people -- they're in the Majors, I'm in Little League -- but nevertheless, I figure if none of these people felt too good to retire, then who am I to sit back and do nothing? If they kept active into their 60s and 70s and 80s, then so should I.

     Besides, I need the money.

Clinton fights global poverty

     Some might think . . . well, it's easy for them to keep working, they have interesting jobs that do not require physical labor, and they enjoy a nice income and plenty of perks.

     That's true, but if you're really sick and tired of your job -- as I was in my last years at work -- then there's nothing to say you can't do something entirely different. A roofer can climb down from the ladder and go teach a course at the local vocational center. A burned-out executive can get outdoors and work on a golf course. A retired teacher can take a summer job as a camp counselor. A bored office administrator can work in retail at the mall. The corporate sales manager can become a real-estate agent.
   
     If you don't need the money, you can volunteer to fold clothes at the church rummage sale or serve food for Meals on Wheels, or pick up litter during community clean-up day.

Bush bikes with wounded vets

     (These are all things that various friends of mine have done at one time or another.)

     I was forced to retire in my 50s. So, like the former presidents, I too have kept working.

     I don't get the notoriety or the perks. But I also don't have to keep regular hours; I don't have to commute;  I don't have to play office politics; and I don't have to deal with the eternal dissatisfaction of ambition. I just poke around with my old contacts and try to come up with a job now and then, and when I do get an assignment, it gives me something to do, offers structure for my week, and not incidentally helps me stretch my retirement funds.

     Some people counter, if you're still working, how can you say you're retired? I guess I look on it as kind of like a summer job when you're in school. You're still on vacation; you don't have any papers to write or exams to study for; and you're not getting graded. Boy, I can tell you, one great thing about working in retirement is that you don't have to suffer the absurdities, and the indignities, of the dreaded "performance appraisal."

     In the end, the reasons to work in retirement are the reasons why you work at any other time in your life. For the money, yes. But also to have some structure in your life. To make some friends. To feel like you're doing something useful. To belong to a group that's bigger than yourself. To actually make a difference in the world -- even if, as in my case, it's a pretty small difference.

     All that being said, I must admit I am "underemployed." So if anyone has suggestions for getting decent work in retirement, or simply wants to share any of their own experiences, I'd love to hear about them.