As would-be blockbusters continue to bomb at the box office and even some of our biggest cinematic franchises begin to falter, folks have been a bit doom-and-gloom about the state of Hollywood.
However, slowly but surely, it seems the studios are finally catching on to what it is audiences really want to see: Iconic actresses over 50 playing a group of friends getting into shenanigans!
Sure, they may not always be massive box-office hits, but this subgenre of (mostly) silly-yet-sweet comedies has a baked-in audience—namely, women of a certain age whose stories are finally being told on the big screen. And, of course, the gays.
The LGBTQ+ community has a long history of rallying behind our divas and dames, the legendary stars who had trouble finding work once the industry deemed them too old to play leads or romantic interests. Our beloved ’80s sitcom The Golden Girls pushed back on that notion, giving actresses in their 50s and 60s the space to be funny, flirty, filthy, and portray all the complexities of life, love, and friendship that older women experience.
With Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty as the template, a recent crop of movies have emerged that put a dynamic friend group of older women front-and-center—perhaps not coincidentally often played by queer icons and our fiercest allies. Now we’re just waiting for some genius movie executive to pull and “Avengers Assemble!” moment and bring them all together in one movie!
Scroll down below for 12 movies that let golden girls go wild!
