According to IMDB, Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin were both 40 years old when this movie was made. The idea of Davis as a struggling young artist, or the idea of only just now proposing to his childhood sweetheart -- those ideas work at 25, or even at 30 for architects. Thirty-five if you want to really, really push it. But 40? No way.
shareMy maths makes it more like 47 y.o.. YoB 1945; film produced in 1992. Donald Moffat, who played the father, is only 15 years older than Steve Martin.
shareem... you're getting confused between actors and characters, steve martin and Goldie hawn were both 47ish when this was made but their characters were young.
I'd say early 30s but this was not mentioned in the film
You've kind of missed my point. If their characters were young (early 30s at the oldest) then those actors were very, very miscast, as they look in their early 40s.
If their characters were supposed to be the same age as the actors, then it strains credibility to have Newton be a struggling architect and Becky his longstanding high-school girlfriend waiting for him to grow up. Um, not at 40something she wouldn't be.
So either way, there is either a casting problem or a screenwriting problem.
In Foul Play (1978) Goldie was 32 and still looked like a young girl, not a woman who had grown into her looks yet. it was only from say Overboard on that she became a stunning woman. Bird On A Wire she looks incredible, she looked amazing still in Housesitter. I wouldn't say she looked too old at all.
Besides the FACT that Steve Martin hair went white at 21, I never really take his hair to have any basis on how old his character is meant to be. so if they say they're in their 30's I can live with that.
"*beep* me gently with a chainsaw" Heathers
Newton said he's always had a crush on Becky, but he's like ten years older. He would be a teenager when she was in elementary school. Kind of creepy!
shareAs I pointed out to the other poster the actors might have been 10 years apart but the characters weren't. He said he's loved her since the 10th grade, one would assume they were both in the 10th grade together.
But yes I agree both leads slightly miscast
No way. This movie was made in 1991. That would have made Goldie 15 when she was on Laugh in.
Kramer: ...he was very impressed with what I do.
Elaine: What you do? You don't do anything!
Davis was not a struggling young artist. he was an established architect- an associate in the largest firm in New England. And with Gwen's help he was getting himself known to his boss and on his way to making Associate Partner. Not quite fast-tracking his way up the ladder at 40, and wasn;t really making great strides, but then again, Newton Davis wasn't really making great impressions on his boss either.
But yeah, proposing to Becky at 40 was a bit of a long time coming and I don;t know any woman who would be content to hang out that long with her biological clock ticking away like a Clydesdale horse on a wooden staircase.
"De gustibus non est disputandum"
#3
When watching the movie I just went with it. For me the age thing came in hindsight and I see your point. But I love these characters. They truly are two great comedians that pulled this story off so perfectly!
share... I just went with it.It's a rom. com for goodness sake! Yes, you just roll with it. The age thing becomes pretty immaterial. It's not an historical drama featuring real life characters.š share
i think they both looked quite fit for their ages (apart from steve martin's white hair) and could probably get away with being mid thirties maybe. however, that does still seem rather a long time to wait to propose to your childhood sweetheart. buf I think you just have fo suspend disbelief.
sharei'm OK with the characters' ages, but their dog was way miscast. didn't believe him for a second.
shareToo funny!
shareOh my goodness I love the way you think! In reading the other responses Iām guessing some people just have to complain about thingsš¤·š»āāļø. I bet that there are people who are thinking about your comment right now and are putting a lot of thought into thisš¤£ your comment was so funny thatās why I signed into this!
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