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t’s a safe assumption to say that as gay men we seek out women who are strong, whether they be of the fictional variety or the real-life ones we cherish. Most of my friends are women – insert gasp here – and I wouldn’t have it any other way, as there are some spectacular females who make up my chosen tribe.


Throughout Hollywood history, there has been a wealth of ladies for us to latch


onto and to love. Think of the lasting impressions that Joan Crawford and Bette Davis have left, long after they last graced the screen. And there are plenty of modern examples to admire. So why don’t we take a look at the women we love, and what they have in store for us.


There are those who buck the misogynistic belief that actresses have a certain shelf life, not viable after 40, yet their male counterparts don’t receive the same treatment. It’s OK for Clint Eastwood’s road map of a face to grace the big screen, but God forbid women of a certain age get the same treatment. Granted, it has gotten better, but still remains a ridiculous double standard. Anyhoo, here’s a look at those “women of a certain age” who continue to defy what it takes to have longevity in their careers. It’s been 40 years since 9 to 5 was released – feel old yet? – but the careers of its stars


Women o a Certain Age


Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton haven’t faltered in the years following the female-empowerment comedy. At 83, Fonda is a stunning beauty and still fighting for social justice and a myriad of causes, including climate change, which she detailed in her recent book What Can I Do? My Path from Climate Despair to Action. Tomlin, her 81-year-old Grace & Frankie co-star, will next be seen in the movie The Road Home. Parton, 75, had a very good 2020 with the release of Christmas at Dollywood and she helped fund Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. Do they still make people saints? Now if only the brains behind Grace & Frankie would find a way to include Parton for the seventh season to make it a mini 9 to 5 reunion. Nicole Kidman, 53, has really found a niche in doing television, appearing in Big Little


Lies, her most recent project HBO’s The Undoing and the Netflix film The Prom. She will star in the new Hulu limited series Nine Perfect Strangers, which is being heralded as the next Big Little Lies, and that’s due in part to it being based on the book by BLL author Liane Moriarty and reunites her with the show’s creator David E. Kelley. Kidman co-stars with Melissa McCarthy, Regina King and Luke Evans in the series that details women looking to “reinvigorate their tired minds and bodies” at a wellness retreat. Well, if it’s anything like BLL, that may be a tall order. Kidman’s Big Little Lies co-star Reese Witherspoon is set to bend and snap again as Elle


Woods, in the recently announced Legally Blonde 3, directed by Jamie Suk and co-written by Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor, and set to be released in 2022 and. Witherspoon, 44, will also be on the second season of The Morning Show on the AppleTV+ streaming service. I couldn’t help but wonder when HBO Max would get around to a Sex and the City


reboot titled And Just Like That… and the 2021 version is scheduled to begin filming this spring in New York City. It will focus on the now 50-something Manhattanites Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) navigating love and friendship in the Big Apple. Hold up! What about the show’s breakout character, the “gay man trapped in a woman’s body,” Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall)? Oh, she’s not going to be in the 10- episode limited series. While I attempt to type over the sound of a million strands of pearls being clutched, it shouldn’t really come as a surprise, as Cattrall has stated for years that she has no desire to return to the role she is most associated with. No, not the one she played in


FEBRUARY 2021| @theragemonthly 9


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