MovieChat Forums > Shopgirl (2005) Discussion > I'm old - not dead. And no not perverte...

I'm old - not dead. And no not perverted either.

posted 16 years ago by electrictroy
6 replies | jump to latest

I'm amazed at how many people are saying Martin's character is perverted. Beauty is something that can be appreciated at any age, whether you're 5 or 50. I had my first crush when I was still in first grade, continued being attracted to women all through my young adult years, and I still find women spectacularly beautiful even if I'm twice their age.

Claire Danes is gorgeous. Attraction to beauty is not a perversion. The body might age, but the feelings are still the same.

As for her attraction for the older man - that's something I don't get. I don't understand it when college-aged women are attracted to me either, since I'm almost the same age as their fathers. I expect them to be dating men their own age, who still have young vibrant bodies, not some old fossil. But that doesn't seem to be how life works, and this movie reflects that reality.

---
Everything God creates is majestic and sinless,
and that includes the human body.

[–] zero_charisma 16 years ago

I don't think it's perverted for him to be attracted to a younger woman, or for her to be attracted to an older man.

What I find a bit queasy is that Steve Martin wrote the story and then put himself in the role. It's like creepy Tarantino making all his fantasies into 'realities' in his films or Seth Rogen writing himself the totally unrealistic part of dating the highschool hottie in Pineapple Express. A bit icky and pathetic :(

[–] aboutagirl36 16 years ago

just wanted to point out, seth rogen originally wrote the part of saul for james franco. only when the two of them did a reading did he realize it would be much funnier for them to switch roles.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] the_eccentric_warrior 16 years ago

I think it just shows that there is a high level of skepticism and negativity when dealing with couples with a large age difference. Probably pretty difficult for these couples and their families to deal with such pressures. If they're happy and it is a healthy relationship I see no problem with it, it isn't surprising that it upsets people and you hear a lot of these negative comments though.

[–] electrictroy 16 years ago

I suppose.

One of presidents was around 50 years old when he married a college grad of 22 years. Not only did the country celebrate this event, but they both lived very happily together for several decades.

I think the society of the 1800s was actually more open-minded about this ~25 year gap, than today's society would be. It's almost as if we stepped backwards.

[–] l_e_miller0916 16 years ago

Well it does help when the older man has a lot of money. That's reality.