A Rising Movie Trend in 2020 Is Reversing One of Hollywood’s Most Problematic Tropes

There’s a surprising growing trend among films of the 2020s to reverse one of Hollywood’s most problematic tropes surrounding age gaps in the romance film gender. Romance films often explore somewhat idealistic worlds where fate brings two people together in a light-hearted and sometimes comical adventure, making them the perfect watch for anyone looking to kick back and relax. However, there are many romantic comedy films that have not aged well for modern audiences due to controversial themes, such as the Hollywood trope of casting an older man and younger woman to play the main love interests.

Recently, Christopher Nolan’s hit film Oppenheimer was the subject of controversy over the age difference, as Cillian Murphy (47) is 20 years older than Florence Pugh (27), despite them playing a couple in a romantic relationship in the film. Furthermore, Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman’s erotic thriller, Miller’s Girl, faced some backlash as a result of the 31-year age difference, although the age difference was done to intentionally invoke discomfort in the film. However, a growing number of recent romantic comedies appear to be reversing this Hollywood trend by placing older women and younger men in romantic relationships.

Romance films about older women and younger men are becoming more common

Popular female actors are dominating the trend

Romance films that feature an older woman and a younger man are becoming much more common in the genre than they used to be. Movies like 2022 Good luck to you, Big Leo are exploring the sex lives of older women, who are venturing into relationships with younger men, in a complete reversal of previous Hollywood trends. These romance films are often headlined by big-name stars, including the likes of Emma Thompson, Nicole Kidman, and Anne Hathaway.making them extremely popular among the general public, especially due to their previous appearances in romance films.

However, not all of these new age gap movies have been well-received by romance movie fans. While Emma Thompson comedy Good luck to you, Big Leo has a positive audience score of 85% on Rotten tomatoesmaking him well-liked by the public, Anne Hathway and Nicholas Galitzine The idea of ​​you it only has a score of 66%. Despite both films being certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, this shows that there is a divide within the romance genre audience, although The idea of ​​you The low rating may have been due to its plot mirroring Harry Styles fan fiction, as the writer was inspired by the singer.

Hollywood traditionally pairs older men with younger women

Traditionally, Hollywood pairs older men with younger women on screen, and not just in romance films. Jurassic ParkLaura Dern commented on the age difference between Ellie and Alan in the film, saying that looking back now made her realize that “Our age difference in Jurassic Park was completely inappropriate.” Dern was 23 when he appeared in 1993 Jurassic Parkwhile his co-star Sam Neill was 42 years old, creating a 19-year age difference between the two actors. However, this was not the only case, as classics such as American Beauty and Lost in translation also focuses on romances between older men and younger women.

Although Laura Dern opened up about her age difference with Sam Neill in Jurassic Park being inappropriate now, at the time it was filmed, age differences were normalized by the frequency of films in which they occurred. Therefore, when talking about these types of relationships, they must be examined in the context of their creation; a time when patriarchy eclipsed film roles. However, considering that many of these classic films feature actors with large age gaps, their ability to portray convincing chemistry and romance between them in the films shows their abilities as actors.

Why Hollywood’s gender role reversal is happening now

Older women are getting more representation

There are a number of reasons why these gender role reversals are happening now. One of the main reasons is that, in light of Hollywood controversies, “older men and younger women“plots in romance films are considered scary. Films like The substance demonstrate this subject very well in that actresses in the industry used to be considered more newsworthy when they were youngerand his career was based on appearance rather than ability. However, Hollywood has moved away from this in recent decades, meaning more roles are opening up to older women than ever before.

As a result of the increase in representation of women, there are many actor and gender shifts happening in Hollywood, including in the romance genre. Instead of an older man, who is often in the midst of a midlife crisis, finding love in a younger woman, modern romance films are subverting the norm and inverting gender roles to explore the lives of older women. Regardless of whether age differences are something to be celebrated or not, the recent influx of films demonstrates a clear message that Hollywood has made progress in representing older women in romance films.