Best Films About Senior Citizens
by j1977 | created - 18 Jul 2012 | updated - 18 Jul 2012 | PublicThere are lots of movies with old people that are not included here. This is mainly a list of movies I've liked which deal with the themes of getting old and being a senior citizen. Funny how so many of these are with Walter Matthau.
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1. Harold and Maude (1971)
PG | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.
Director: Hal Ashby | Stars: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack
Votes: 81,789
2. Kotch (1971)
GP | 113 min | Comedy, Drama
Wanting to avoid settling in a nursing home, Joseph Kotcher, a retired salesman, is obliged to leave his son's family. He embarks on a road trip during which he strikes up a friendship with... See full summary »
Director: Jack Lemmon | Stars: Walter Matthau, Deborah Winters, Felicia Farr, Charles Aidman
Votes: 1,626 | Gross: $1.33M
3. The Sunshine Boys (I) (1975)
PG | 111 min | Comedy
A vaudeville duo agree to reunite for a television special, but it turns out that they can't stand each other.
Director: Herbert Ross | Stars: Walter Matthau, George Burns, Richard Benjamin, Lee Meredith
Votes: 6,686
4. Going in Style (1979)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Three friends living on the dole decide to rob a bank.
Director: Martin Brest | Stars: George Burns, Art Carney, Lee Strasberg, Charles Hallahan
Votes: 3,907 | Gross: $26.87M
5. On Golden Pond (1981)
PG | 109 min | Drama
Norman is a curmudgeon with an estranged relationship with his daughter Chelsea. At Golden Pond, he and his wife nevertheless agree to care for Billy, the son of Chelsea's new boyfriend, and a most unexpected relationship blooms.
Director: Mark Rydell | Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda, Doug McKeon
Votes: 34,809 | Gross: $119.29M
6. Cocoon (1985)
PG-13 | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
When a group of trespassing seniors swim in a pool containing alien cocoons, they find themselves energized with youthful vigor.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy
Votes: 68,744 | Gross: $76.11M
7. Cocoon: The Return (1988)
PG | 116 min | Adventure, Comedy, Mystery
The seniors return to Earth to visit their relatives. Will they all decide to go back to the planet where no one grows old, or will they be tempted to stay back on Earth?
Director: Daniel Petrie | Stars: Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Courteney Cox, Hume Cronyn
Votes: 17,319 | Gross: $18.92M
8. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
PG | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
An old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd, Patti LuPone
Votes: 117,471 | Gross: $106.59M
9. Grumpy Old Men (1993)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A lifelong feud between two neighbors since childhood only gets worse when a new female neighbor moves across the street.
Director: Donald Petrie | Stars: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith
Votes: 53,784 | Gross: $70.17M
10. Grumpier Old Men (1995)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Romance
John and Max resolve to save their beloved bait shop from turning into an Italian restaurant, just as its new female owner catches Max's attention.
Director: Howard Deutch | Stars: Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Ann-Margret, Sophia Loren
Votes: 29,717 | Gross: $71.52M
11. Out to Sea (1997)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Romance
A failed gambler, intent on meeting a rich widow, tricks his widowed brother-in-law into boarding a cruise ship as dance hosts.
Director: Martha Coolidge | Stars: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Dyan Cannon, Gloria DeHaven
Votes: 9,509 | Gross: $27.97M
12. Gods and Monsters (1998)
R | 105 min | Biography, Drama
The last days of Frankenstein (1931) director James Whale are explored.
Director: Bill Condon | Stars: Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich
Votes: 32,732 | Gross: $6.39M
13. The Straight Story (1999)
G | 112 min | Biography, Drama
An old man makes a long journey by lawnmower to mend his relationship with an ill brother.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Jane Galloway Heitz, Joseph A. Carpenter
Votes: 97,355 | Gross: $6.20M
14. Iris (I) (2001)
R | 91 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
True story of the lifelong romance between novelist Iris Murdoch and her husband John Bayley, from their student days through her battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Director: Richard Eyre | Stars: Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent, Kate Winslet, Hugh Bonneville
Votes: 19,128 | Gross: $1.29M
15. About Schmidt (2002)
R | 125 min | Drama
A recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.
Director: Alexander Payne | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Kathy Bates
Votes: 133,512 | Gross: $65.02M
16. The Notebook (2004)
PG-13 | 123 min | Drama, Romance
An elderly man reads to a woman with dementia the story of two young lovers whose romance is threatened by the difference in their respective social classes.
Director: Nick Cassavetes | Stars: Gena Rowlands, James Garner, Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling
Votes: 619,363 | Gross: $81.00M
17. Away from Her (2006)
PG-13 | 110 min | Drama
A man coping with the institutionalization of his wife because of Alzheimer's disease faces an epiphany when she transfers her affections to another man, Aubrey, a wheelchair-bound mute who also is a patient at the nursing home.
Director: Sarah Polley | Stars: Julie Christie, Michael Murphy, Gordon Pinsent, Stacey LaBerge
Votes: 23,063 | Gross: $4.57M
18. Venus (I) (2006)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Life for a pair of veteran actors gets turned upside down after they meet a brash teenager.
Director: Roger Michell | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Jodie Whittaker, Leslie Phillips, Beatrice Savoretti
Votes: 13,409 | Gross: $3.34M
19. The Bucket List (2007)
PG-13 | 97 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Two terminally ill men escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd
Votes: 259,655 | Gross: $93.47M
20. Gran Torino (2008)
R | 116 min | Drama
After a Hmong teenager tries to steal his prized 1972 Gran Torino, a disgruntled, prejudiced Korean War veteran seeks to redeem both the boy and himself.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Christopher Carley, Ahney Her
Votes: 814,306 | Gross: $148.10M
21. Beginners (2010)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young man is rocked by two announcements from his elderly father: that he has terminal cancer and that he has a young male lover.
Director: Mike Mills | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic
Votes: 94,783 | Gross: $5.79M
22. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)
PG-13 | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
British retirees travel to India to take up residence in what they believe is a newly restored hotel. Less luxurious than advertised, the Marigold Hotel nevertheless slowly begins to charm in unexpected ways.
Director: John Madden | Stars: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 99,405 | Gross: $46.41M
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