Netflix Midlife Movie Review: “Otherhood”
The good news: Netflix has been spending money on producing movies that can appeal to midlife women. The bad news: the two recent movies in this genre that I have watched were both very disappointing and an insult to my intelligence. Let’s start with the most recent movie: “Otherhood”, starring Angela Bassett, Felicity Huffman and Patricia Arquette. As much as I wanted to like it, the movie was just plain awful, and a complete waste of my time.
The premise of this movie was not only unrealistic- it was somewhat juvenile and not representative of most women’s relationships with their grown children. And to see these 3 talented actresses take on such “weak” roles was surprising. They are typically cast in strong lead roles that challenge their acting abilities and lead to award nominations! Not this time, that’s for sure. Take a look at more reviews by other viewers on the Rotten Tomatoes website: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/otherhood
“Wine Country” starred Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer and a couple other talented actresses (including a small part for Tina Fey) yet the story line was lame, the humor wasn’t there and overall it was just a really depressing movie about female friends who are going through hard times in their lives. Again, another waste of talent onscreen and in the writers room.
So what’s the going on here? Do midlife actresses still have such limited opportunities in the film/tv industry that they take whatever they can get? Sad, but most likely true. It’s hard to believe that women over 50 are still considered “past their prime” yet we see examples of this all the time-in every industry. It’s a mindset that needs to change – and that will only happen if midlife women voice their opinion loud and clear!
And, if you’re interested in watching some other movies that star midlife women, take a look at this list-some of them are actually very good!
