Much has been written in the media about the post 50 invisible woman. It’s been said that women of a certain age fade into the woodwork or fall out of favor as they age.
In the new movie, Hello, My Name Is Doris, I bet you’ll do the opposite and fall in love with the endearing post 50 (actually post 60) female character named Doris. Played by two-time Academy award-winning actress Sally Field, Doris is far from invisible. You’ll also warm to Doris’ handsome co-worker John, the much younger man she pursues, played by the charismatic Max Greenfield.
My BFF L and I went to a special preview of this grownup chick flick this week, which opens nationwide March 18th. It’s a great movie to see with your girlfriends and equally good to take mom to. (Wish my mom was still around, she would have enjoyed this movie.)
Sally Field does a superb job as the eccentric, ever-single Doris, who works as an administrative assistant at a design firm by day and goes home alone to her Staten Island stuff-filled home each night. When we meet Doris, she is engulfed in grief after losing her mom. Unlike her brother who married and had a family, Doris remained a caregiver to her mom during her entire adult life.
Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions. Credit: Aaron Epstein
Soon after the movie starts, Doris’ world is turned upside down when thirty-something John joins her office as art director. They meet in the elevator and there is instant attraction. Doris daydreams about John in several amusing scenes and strikes up a friendship. She attends a self-help seminar too, which inspires her to take a chance on their relationship.
The fun begins as Doris listens to advice from best pal Roz’s 13-year-old granddaughter (Roz is played by the marvelous Tyne Daly), who shows her how to use the internet to become a fake friend with John on Facebook. From there Doris learns more about John, pursuing his favorite haunts and whereabouts.
Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions
It’s entertaining to follow Doris’ escapades and her ever-evolving vintage attire, as she navigates her way through romance with a guy half her age. When she decides to follow John to a popular techno-music concert in Williamsburg, her wardrobe brightens even more with a neon outfit and matching cap. Not only does she win over John and his hipster friends, she also becomes a model for the band’s album cover.
(Note: if you cannot see the official trailer above, go to Hello, My Name is Doris to view.)
Will her heart be broken or will she end up with John? I can’t tell you or it would spoil the story. Just know that whatever happens, Doris is changed forever by following her heart for the very first time — and that’s all that really matters.
For me, I give Hello, My Name is Doris, two-thumbs up! Go see it and let me know your thoughts.
Judi
Hollywood has since the beginning wanted us to accept that a relationship between a man and a much, much younger woman can be taken as serious. We are to accept an average man in his 50s attracts a hot 20 something female. It’s not put forward as humor. But Hollywood reverses the idea of an older woman and a much younger man as a love interest and it’s a comedy, a farce. Why is it humor when the woman is older? Why is it presented as unbelievable? If course we know the sad answer. Money can buy a young and beautiful girl. Young, beautiful girls are never with old, poor men. We’ve been conditioned to accept that women are only desirable when young. Such a sad reality as the majority of us become older and deemed irrelevant. Past 50 women largely become invisible.
Dede, I hear you. However, I think Sally Field does a good job in this movie of not being invisible and of starting to know herself after so many years of being invisible.
Just enough to push me to call up a couple of friends and go see Sally Field who I last recall as the Flying Nun!
Definitely a 50+
Yes, hope you enjoy the movie.