Megyn Kelly is known for her no-holds-barred opinions, but it was still surprising when she outed a whole slew of the most "unhappy” celebrities she’s interviewed in Hollywood. The list was varied and included a-list actors all the way down to one beloved journalist. Yes, I’m talking about Al Roker. And no I didn’t see his name coming, but they do have a past.

Some A-Listers Megyn Kelly Claims Are More Naughty Than Nice

Kelly was asked by The Daily Mail about some negative interactions she’s had over the years. Unsurprisingly, she had opinions, but it was still a bit surprising to see her openly name drop some of her bad interactions, one of which came from Jane Fonda and Robert Redford when they were promoting Our Souls at Night. She said she had a tough time navigating through the fact Redford refused to talk about their sex scenes, but Fonda wanted to:

Both Fonda and Redford are Hollywood legends, but she also told the outlet they weren’t the only legends to really be tough on her during her time on the air. Bruce Willis has been more out of the public limelight and has retired from acting since his Aphasia diagnosis (though wife Emma Heming Willis has been a champion of research for the cause, and has been candid about the 'blessing and curse' with Willis' diagnosis).

However, in his heyday, he was apparently not-so-easy to deal with. Megyn Kelly said Bruce Willis agreed to go on Fox News, despite having a different political take than many of the anchors there, and she noted it was awkward overall. Said Kelly:

However, of all the people Kelly name-dropped as having a bad attitude toward her, I did not see one fellow broadcaster coming.

NBC's Al Roker Made Megyn Kelly’s List

Al Roker is one of America’s Darlings. He’s known for being well-liked and affable on NBC’s Today. He publicly weathered a health scare that kept him from the show for a while, and kept a positive attitude throughout the ordeal. He’s a cheery guy… at least when on camera. Kelly was a little reticent to be as specific about Al Roker’s specific issues, but she made a comparison most people could understand.

Megyn Kelly currently runs her own podcast “The Megyn Kelly Show,” but prior to these she was an anchor for Fox News from 2004-2017 during an era where people’s political opinions became more polarizing. She left Fox for NBC News after the scandal with Roger Ailes, working for the same network Al Roker worked for at the time. From her Dershowitz (a conservative) bumping into Larry David (a liberal) comment, it sounds like Kelly felt Mr. Roker was not super warm or welcome to her.

We do know that Al Roker publicly called out Ms. Kelly amidst the backlash after she claimed blackface within the context of Halloween costumes is OK. She later left NBC to go it alone.

In my personal experience, celebrities run the gamut. They can be consistently nice or consistently not, though many might have different moods on different days. I’ve experienced celebrities who are totally nice and engaged for one movie and irritated for others, and we don’t know if the experiences Kelly had with certain celebrities might have changed over time. We also don’t know if she interacted with some of these people multiple times. Suffice to say, we all have had exchanges with people that may not have gone as planned. Yet, in the journalist’s case, there’s more tea simply because she’s dealing with famous people on a day-to-day basis.

The death of any well-known person tends to get the world to stop and notice it, but few people in the world have quite the reputation of Jane Goodall. The primatologist, who was both a different sort of celebrity, known all over the world for her work in helping humans understand the animal world, and people from Leonardo DiCaprio to the designer of a Walt Disney World theme park, are remembering her work.

Leonardo DiCaprio, a known activist, wasn’t simply a fan of Jane Goodall. In a post to Instagram, the Oscar winner called Goodall a “dear friend.” He wrote extensively about her work, promoted the Goodall Institute and said…

Another celebrity known as much for her activism as her acting is Jane Fonda. She posted a picture of herself standing with Goodall and included her own heartfelt post. Fonda said we should treat all beings on earth with love and respect as a way to honor Goodall’s legacy and said…

Goodall was the subject of documentaries as well as the voice of many nature programs. As such, she became one of the leading faces in the area of conservation of our natural world.

Actress Reese Witherspoon added multiple Stories to her own Instagram honoring the legacy of Jane Goodall. One was a video of Goodall speaking on the importance of conservation as a way to preserve our ecosystem. Another was a beautiful picture in remembrance.

Natalie Portman was another actress who was lucky enough to meet Jane Goodall in person. She called the primatologist her “ultimate hero,” celebrating her not only as a scientist but as a woman who broke new ground in a largely male-dominated field.

One actor who likely had a very different relationship with Jane Goodall was Michael Douglas. Douglas was one of the first designated UN Messengers of Peace, a role bestowed upon people who work in the arts who promote the work of the United Nations. Douglas was honored with the role in 1998, which he still holds today. Jane Goodall was named a Messenger of Peace in 2002. He posted an image of the pair together saying…

One person who may not be quite the celebrity of the others on this list, but who has a perspective on Jane Goodall that is truly unique, is former Walt Disney Imagineer, and recent Disney Legend Joe Rohde. Rohde was the lead Imagineer on the Disney’s Animal Kingdom project, in which Jane Goodall worked as an advisor. Rhode reveals that he saw Goodall only about a week ago, which made the news of her death even more of a shock. As somebody who knew her personally, Rohde celebrated not only her well-known work, but also the person that she was, saying…

Jane Goodall clearly had a great impact, not only on the study of primatology but on all the people she met as she did her work and promoted its importance to the world. She will be truly missed.

Some of the most enduring stars got their starts more than six decades ago, and they are still going strong today. Stars like Harrison Ford, Dame Judi Dench, Jeff Bridges, and even Jodie Foster have been acting their whole lives, and their amazing careers will live on forever. Here is our list of amazing actors who started in the 1960s and are still working today.

Robert Duvall

After cutting his teeth with some television appearances starting in 1959, Robert Duvall made one of the most memorable film debuts of all time as Boo Radley in 1962's To Kill A Mockingbird. Duvall hasn't stopped stealing scenes in the 60+ years since. He's starred in some of the greatest movies ever, like The Godfather, and won an Oscar for Tender Mercies. His most recent credit is The Pale Blue Eye from 2022.

Sally Field

Sally Field is truly America's sweetheart. Her breakout role came on the classic TV show Gidget, and she's starred in some legendary movies and TV shows ever since. With roles in movies as diverse as Smokey and the Bandit, Forrest Gump, and Fried Green Tomatoes, Field has proven she can handle any role she takes on.

Clint Eastwood

There are no bigger legends in Hollywood history than Clint Eastwood. Not much has been said here. His career started in earnest with Spaghetti Westerns, and he's been directing and starring in movies ever since.

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda is Hollywood royalty as the daughter of Henry Fonda, so it's no surprise that she started her career at a young age. Her first credit goes all the way back to 16960's Tall Story, and she's still starring in movies today, like 2023's 80 for Brady.

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman's career really didn't take off on screen until the 1980s (though he had plenty of credits in the '70s, too). He started mostly on stage in the 1960s and kept his focus there until landing a TV gig in 1971 on PBS's The Electric Company. Today, he remains one of America's most beloved stars.

Shirley MacLaine

Shirley MacLaine made her film debut way back in 1955 and by the 1960s was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Her star has never dimmed in the decades since, either, with memorable roles in Downton Abbey and the live-action The Little Mermaid in 2018.

Dustin Hoffman

When you burst onto the scene in a movie like The Graduate, as Dustin Hoffman did in 1967, it's pretty much a guarantee you're going to be a star. In the 60 years since that seminal movie, Hoffman has won countless awards and starred in everything from comedies like Tootsie to dramas like Rain Man, getting nominated for Oscars for both (and winning his second for the latter).

Faye Dunaway

If you look at a list of the best movies of all time, you'll notice Faye Dunaway in the credits of many of them. Starting with Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, right up until the 2020s. She took a small hiatus in the teens, but has been back working regularly since.

Kurt Russell

Kurt Russell's career started when he was just a kid, often starring in Disney projects. It's even Hollywood folklore that Walt Disney's last words were when he scrawled Russell's name on a piece of paper. Though there is no way to know when the note was written. Still, for the better part of seven decades, Kurt Russell has been a Hollywood superstar.

Helen Mirren

Dame Helen Mirren (you know they are important when they get a title like "Dame") started in film in 1966, and that was after having already started acting professionally on stage in the UK. She's never stopped, including starring in the recent hit MobLand on Paramount+

Anthony Hopkins

Sir Anthony Hopkins' first credited film role came in the Shakespeare adaptation The Lion in Winter in 1968 alongside Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn. He's since become one of the most beloved actors of his generation and has won countless awards and accolades.

Jodie Foster

If you look at Jodie Foster's credits, you might think she started in the 1970s as a teenager, but she was starring in commercials as far back as 1967 when she was just three years old.

Jeff Bridges

When you have a legend for a father like Jeff Bridges with Lloyd Bridges, its not hard to understand how he got his start so young. His amazing career in the decades since can only be credited to his immense talent, charm, and charisma on and off screen. And that's not, like, my opinion, man, it's a fact.

Rita Moreno

Puerto Rican superstar Rita Moreno can do it all. She can act, she can sing, and she can dance, and she's been dancing into our hearts since she first way back in 1950! For those of you counting, that's EIGHT decades of excellence.

Judi Dench

Like Dame Helen Mirren, Dame Judy Dench started in the theater, especially doing Shakespeare plays. Her first professional stage credits date back to 1957, and right up through the 2020s, she's been a favorite of millions. One of the best actors of her generation, it's crazy she's only won one Oscar (for Shakespeare in Love).

Harrison Ford

The first thing you might think of when you think of Harrison Ford is Star Wars or Indiana Jones. It's true that it was those movies in the late '70s and early '80s that made him a superstar, but his career started humbly with roles in movies like A Time for Killing and Luv in 1967.

Sophia Loren

For more than 70 years, Sophia Loren has been a star in Europe and the United States. She started in her native Italy in 1950 before coming Stateside in 1958 when she signed on to star in movies for Paramount. Before long, she was a superstar on both sides of the pond.

Warren Beatty

Like his co-star in Bonnie and Clyde, Faye Dunaway, Warren Beatty has been a star in Hollywood for decades. He's also been discerning in the roles he's taken over the years, so he doesn't have a long list of credits like most of the people on this list. That's not because his star dimmed. He's just particular, and that is something we all strive for.

Barbra Streisand

What can we really say about Barbra Streisand? She's a legendary singer and actor, and she's equally well-known for both. There are few stars as enduring and amazing as "Babs."

Robert Redford

Though he is officially retired now, Robert Redford is still one of the biggest Hollywood stars today (and ever). His career started with early roles on shows like The Twilight Zone, and by the time he hung up his cleats, so to speak, the star of The Natural was one of the biggest stars in the history of the industry.

Blythe Danner

Like many on this list, Blythe Danner started her professional career on Broadway and Off-Broadway in the 1960s. Her first movie credit came in 1972, but by then, she was a seasoned pro. She may be best known as the mother of Gwyneth Paltrow these days, but that is selling her way short, as she's been an award-winning actress for decades.

Al Pacino

Famously, Al Pacino entered the American consciousness in 1972's The Godfather, but he'd been working for a few years at that point, mostly on stage. His film debut was in Me, Natalie, alongside Sopranos cast member Nancy Marchand. He has been widely considered one of the best actors of his generation ever since.

Ellen Burstyn

Though her breakthrough didn't come until 1971 with The Last Picture Show, Ellen Burstyn had been picking up small roles on TV shows for years at that point. She has since gone on to win an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe Award. Not too shabby.

Robert De Niro

When you ask someone who the best actor of the last 60 years is, there is a decent chance Robert De Niro will be the name that comes out of their mouth. For many, many decades, De Niro has been stealing scenes and working his tail off to be the best actor he can be. He's gained weight for roles, dropped weight for others, and gotten completely cut for still others. All the while delivering his trademark charm and skills.

Cher

If you could turn back time and you were taking bets in the 1960s that Cher would still be one of the biggest stars in the world in the 2020s, you would probably get pretty good odds that she wouldn't be. She's proven everyone wrong, winning an Oscar for Moonstruck and continuing to wow audiences with her concerts.

Martin Sheen

It's hard to say just what role Martin Sheen will be best remembered for long after he's gone. Will it be Jeb Bartlett on The West Wing? Captain Benjamin L. Willard in Apocalypse Now? Carl Fox in Wall Street? Robert E. Lee in Gettysburg? What is for sure is that Sheen, who landed his first movie role in 1967, will be remembered fondly by millions of fans.

Vanessa Redgrave

English actress Vanessa Redgrave got her star in period pieces like A Man For All Seasons and Camelot in the 1960s. She parlayed that into a decades-long career that is still going, including a role in Cold Storage in 2025.

Ian McKellen

For modern generations, Ian McKellen is known for his roles as Gandalf the Grey and Magneto, but his career is so, so much more. One of the great Shakespearean actors of the last 60 years, he's been starring on stage and screen since the mid-'60s.

Candice Bergen

Candice Bergen found her biggest fame in the 1990s with Murphy Brown, but her career started way back in 1966 in the Sidney Lumet film The Group. She was a model before that, and has turned in role after beloved role on TV and in films.

Ron Howard

These days, Ron Howard is pretty much sticking just to directing, and he's an ace director to be sure. He famously started his Hollywood career as a kid in the 1950s and became a child star in the '60s as Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show. He later starred in Happy Days, before getting behind the camera and becoming one of the great directors of his time.

Goldie Hawn

Goldie Hawn first became a household name in 1968 when she starred in Laugh-In. She's been a star ever since, including starring in a slew of box office hits in the '70s and '80s. There is no question she is one of the funniest actors of her generation, and now she's also the mother to some big stars, too, in Wyatt Russell and Kate Hudson. Not a bad legacy to leave.

Patrick Stewart

Like others on this list, Patrick Stewart will be best known for roles that came in the second half of his career, like Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor X in The X-Men series. Of course, his career is much more than those two roles. It's a career that started in TV in the '60s on British shows like Coronation Street and Civilisation.

The 1980s was not just a great time for movies but for the people in them. Many of our all-time favorite actors got their start in '80s movies (or at least started to hit it big during that time).

The question is, in what film did these stars hit their peak of cinematic brilliance during that decade? Let's see if we can provide an answer by looking at the best '80s movies starring the most iconic '80s actors, in our opinion.

Bruce Willis (Die Hard)

While the TV series Moonlighting made Bruce Willis a household name, playing John McClane, a New York cop at war with violent German thieves in an LA high-rise on Christmas Eve, made him a movie star in 1988. However, Die Hard might be the actor's best film in any decade, let alone the greatest action movie of all time. 

Sigourney Weaver (Aliens)

Fans have been debating which is the best Alien movie for years but no one disagrees that James Cameron's Aliens is the best Alien movie of the '80s. The 1986 sci-fi movie classic, in which our human protagonists take on plenty more than just one vicious extraterrestrial this time, saw Sigourney Weaver reprise Xenomorph survivor Ellen Ripley to Academy Award-nominated acclaim.

Jack Nicholson (Terms Of Endearment)

The single most iconic Jack Nicolson performance from the 1980s, arguably, comes from the horror movie classic, The Shining. However, we chose to highlight his Academy Award-winning performance in director James L. Brooks' tragic 1983 Best Picture Oscar winner, Terms of Endearment, as Garrett, who forms a complicated relationship with his widowed next-door neighbor, Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine). 

Meg Ryan (When Harry Met Sally...)

Meg Ryan made up one of Hollywood's most beloved onscreen couples with Tom Hanks, but we loved her the most in the '80s when she was falling in love with Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally... Considered one of the greatest rom-coms of all time, director Rob Reiner and Nora Ephron's clever and sweet 1989 favorite traces the titular duo's evolution from enemies, to friends, to lovers over the course of 12 years.

Tom Cruise (Top Gun)

Everyone had the need, the need for speed, in 1986 when director Tony Scott's romantic, action-packed instant classic, Top Gun, ruled the box office, captured the hearts of audiences everywhere, and spawned an acclaimed blockbuster sequel in 2022 called Top Gun: Maverick. If Tom Cruise was not a movie star before then, there was no doubt he was at the top of A-list after giving his all as daredevil Navy pilot, Maverick.

Meryl Streep (Sophie's Choice)

There are few actors with as much esteem in Hollywood as the great Meryl Streep, who earned her second Academy Award for her mesmerizing, heartbreaking performance in the title role of Sophie’s Choice. Writer and director Alan J. Pakula's adaptation of William Styron's passionate novel follows the relationship between a Polish woman who survived the Holocaust and a Jewish-American man (played by Kevin Kline) who is obsessed with the tragedy.

Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice)

The all-time best Michael Keaton movie and performance might always be up for debate but no one can deny that, in the 1980s, no film saw him demonstrate his high-energy comedic talents and versatility better than Beetlejuice. The Oscar nominee plays the title role of Tim Burton's 1988 horror-comedy classic (actually spelled "Betelgeuse") — a sleazy "bio-exorcist" begrudgingly enlisted by a recently deceased couple (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) to scare their home's new inhabitants out.

Sally Field (Steel Magnolias)

The 1980s was a great time for Sally Field, who won both of her Oscars during that decade — one for Norma Rae in 1980 and another in 1985 for Places in the Heart. However, we believe the one film that best encapsulates the actor's stunning range is the powerful, charming 1989 dramedy Steel Magnolias, in which she shines brightly among an ensemble cast including Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Daryl Hannah, and Julia Roberts as a close-knit group of Louisiana women.

Eddie Murphy (Coming To America)

There were few movie stars in the '80s bigger than Eddie Murphy, who made such a huge impact in very little time on SNL before hitting it big with feature-length classics like 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop. Yet, 1988's Coming to America was the first film to see him disappear into multiple roles and, not to mention, African Prince Akeem's search for love in Queens, New York, amounts to a hilarious and heartfelt story.

Molly Ringwald (The Breakfast Club)

The first face we tend to picture when we think of the Brat Pack is Molly Ringwald, who was the go-to young female actor for coming-of-age dramedies of the '80s, such as Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles. However, her best film — and, arguably, the greatest high school movie of all time — is writer and director John Hughes' The Breakfast Club, in which she and four of the decade's most essential stars (Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, and Judd Nelson) play a group of socially disparate teens who find unexpected kinship during Saturday detention.

Denzel Washington (Cry Freedom)

Two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington received his first Oscar nomination for his moving portrayal of activist Steve Biko in director Richard Attenborough's Cry Freedom. The 1987 film focuses primarily on the friendship between the influential Black anti-Apartheid activist and the white South African journalist Donald Woods (Kevin Kline), who puts his own life at risk to investigate Biko's death.

Jodie Foster (The Accused)

Not only does 1988's The Accused feature one of Jodie Foster's most powerful, Academy Award-winning performances, but it is also an enduringly relevant indictment of a flawed justice system that silences women. Foster plays Sarah Tobias, the victim of a violent assault who, along with her prosecuting attorney, Katheryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis), is challenged by a case that puts the blame on her.

Robert De Niro (Raging Bull)

Out of all of Robert De Niro and director Martin Scorsese's collaborations, none have been as unique and as moving as 1980's Raging Bull. De Niro delivers a roaring one-two punch in the masterful sports movie as real-life boxer Jake LaMotta, tracing his rousing success in the ring and his tragic self-destructive tendencies outside of it.

Cher (Moonstruck)

In 1987, Cher proved that she was a master in both the world of music and the world of acting with her Academy Award-winning performance as Loretta Castorini in Moonstruck. Soon after the widowed Italian-American woman agrees to marry her boyfriend, Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello), she finds herself falling deeper and deeper in love with his brother, Ronny (Nicolas Cage).

Harrison Ford (Raiders Of The Lost Ark)

One of Harrison Ford's all-time greatest characters is the rough, resourceful, globe-trotting archeologist Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones. The iconic hero was first introduced in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark — director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas' tribute to cinema that would later inspire countless tributes to its stunning visual design, John Williams' sweeping score, and its endlessly thrilling, wall-to-wall action.

Diane Keaton (Reds)

Diane Keaton is an absolute revelation in co-writer and director Warren Beatty's 1981 historical epic, Reds. She plays famed activist Louise Bryant who falls in love with radical-minded fellow journalist John Reed (Beatty) as he hopes to bring the ideals of Russia's Communist Revolution to the United States.

Robin Williams (Dead Poets Society)

The late Robin Williams gives us the best of both his comedic energy and dramatic authenticity in director Peter Weir's moving 1989 drama Dead Poet's Society. As English teacher John Keating, he serves as a much-needed role model to a close-knit group of Catholic boarding school students (played by rising stars such as Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard) who learn how to seize the day.

Michelle Pfeiffer (Scarface)

It was in the '90s when three-time Academy Award nominee Michelle Pfeiffer really began to hit her stride but her strongest work in the '80s is, arguably, Scarface. She stars in director Brian de Palma's 1983 gangster movie classic as Elvira Hancock, who becomes the wife of Cuban crime lord, Tony Montana (Oscar winner Al Pacino).

Morgan Freeman (Glory)

One of the most inspiring Morgan Freeman performances comes from 1989's beloved, moving war movie, Glory. The Oscar winner stars as Sergeant Major John Rawlins, who is the highest-ranked Black member of his regiment in the U.S. Army during the Civil War.

Whoopi Goldberg (The Color Purple)

Legendary comedian Whoopi Goldberg earned her first Academy Award nomination for her heartbreaking performance as Celie Johnson in 1985's The Color Purple. Director Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Alice Walker's seminal novel chronicles decades in the life of the Black, Southern woman as she endures dehumanizing adversity and traumatic abuse. 

Kurt Russell (Escape From New York)

One of co-writer and director John Carpenter's best movies, 1981's Escape from New York, takes place in a war-torn future when Air Force One crash lands inside a maximum security prison that used to be the Big Apple and the President of the United States (Donald Pleasance) is taken hostage by the prisoners. The only one who can save him is a recently arrested, hardened war veteran named Snake Plissken, which is easily one of Kurt Russell's coolest roles and certainly one of his greatest performances.

Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction)

While we do not condone treacherous acts like boiling a family's pet rabbit alive, we would consider Alex Forrest to be a villain with understandable motivations, and not just because Glenn Close gives a brilliant performance in 1987's intense thriller, Fatal Attraction. It was married lawyer Dan Gallagher's (Michael Douglas) mistake to indulge in a one-time fling with the New York editor, who then misconstrues the affair for love and continues to taunt him and his family in increasingly horrifying ways.

Sylvester Stallone (First Blood)

Sylvester Stallone has played many iconic roles in many great action movies, especially in the 1980s, but his best role from that decade would have to be John Rambo in First Blood. The 1981 adaptation of David Morell's novel is not a conventional shoot-em-up thriller like the later Rambo movies but an emotionally charged, nuanced drama in which the burdened Vietnam veteran is pushed to the edge by a cruel sheriff (Brian Dennehy) and wages a war against a whole town.

Goldie Hawn (Overboard)

Many of Oscar winner Goldie Hawn's most memorable roles see her sharing the screen with her real-life romantic partner, Kurt Russell, and the couple's chemistry was at an all-time high in director Garry Marshall's Overboard. Hawn stars in the inventive and charming 1987 rom-com as a spoiled socialite with amnesia who is convinced by a carpenter (Russell) that she is his wife and the mother of his four boys to get back at her for her cruel treatment. 

Bill Murray (Ghostbusters)

Academy Award nominee Bill Murray is one of the most beloved comedic talents of the '80s (or any decade, really) and to understand why, all you need to do is watch 1984's Ghostbusters. Also one of director Ivan Reitman's best movies, the spooky, kooky classic sees Murray's masterfully witty Peter Venkman team up with Ray Stantz (writer Dan Aykroyd), Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), and Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson) to rid New York of its scariest spirits.

Geena Davis (The Accidental Tourist)

Geena Davis earned an Academy Award for her wonderfully eccentric performance in 1988's The Accidental Tourist as Muriel Pritchett. Emotionally distant travel writer Macon Leary (William Hurt) meets and begins to fall for the free-spirited dog trainer after splitting with his wife (played by Kathleen Turner), following the death of their son, in director Lawrence Kasdan's moving dramedy. 

Kevin Bacon (Footloose)

It is no wonder why Chris Prat's Peter Quill regarded Kevin Bacon's role in Footloose as one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history. Ren singlehandedly brought dance back to the cruelly repressed small town of Bomont in the timelessly entertaining music movie from 1984.

Kathleen Turner (Romancing The Stone)

The ultimate romantic adventure comedy would have to be director Robert Zemeckis' 1984 hit, Romancing the Stone. Kathleen Turner is wonderful as novelist Joan Wilder, who enlists the help of a rogue mercenary to help rescue her kidnapped sister in Colombia and ends up joining him on the search for a prized artifact. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator)

The film that made Arnold Schwarzenegger the leading action movie hero of the 1980s remains his best action movie from the decade, as far as we are concerned. The Austrian bodybuilder gives a pitch-perfect, ice-cold performance as one of the best '80s movie villains — the cybernetic title role of James Cameron's The Terminator, which is sent from a war-torn future to prevent the birth of humanity's savior by killing his mother, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton).

Jane Fonda (9 To 5)

After taking the '70s by storm as one of the decade's biggest and most acclaimed stars, Jane Fonda started off the 1980s right with 9 to 5. In the hilarious workplace satire, her character, Judy Bernly, teams up with fellow office assistants Violet (Lily Tomlin) and Doralee (Dolly Parton) to turn the tables on their nightmare of a boss (played by Dabney Coleman).

Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man)

In his second Academy Award-winning performance, Dustin Hoffman plays autistic-savant Raymond Babbitt in Barry Levinson's Best Picture Oscar winner, Rain Man. He stars opposite Tom Cruise as his younger brother, Charlie, who gets to meet him for the first time in this beautiful family story from 1988. 

Daryl Hannah (Wall Street)

You can find Daryl Hannah in many of the '80s' most iconic cinematic classics but the cream of the crop would have to be Wall Street. She stars in Oliver Stone's riveting 1987 drama as Darien Taylor, who once shared a romance with corrupt stockbroker Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) and begins a relationship with his ambitious protege, Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen).

Sometimes, all it takes is one joint appearance in a movie or television show for two popular actors to become known as an acting duo, and sometimes they prove to work so well together that they go on to star in even more projects together. We’ve come up with a list of 32 acting duos who have worked together multiple times, so you can see if you’ve watched all of the times these talented stars have been on screen with each other.

Tina Fey And Amy Poehler

Obviously, this funny duo began their most famed time together while starring on Saturday Night Live, but Tina Fey and Amy Poehler didn’t let the good times end there. The women were both in Mean Girls, starred in the movies Baby Mama and Sisters, and used their talents to great effect when co-hosting the Golden Globe Awards for several years.

Robert De Niro And Al Pacino

Two legendary actors make for a legendary acting duo, and while Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are frequently mentioned in the same breath, they’ve only been featured in four films together. Two of those movies, however, are absolutely the reason people often talk about them together as they count The Godfather Part II, Heat, Righteous Kill and The Irishman as their joint efforts.

Julia Roberts And George Clooney

Now, these two actually have made quite a few movies with one another, and largely with both in on-screen roles. Of course, it’s hard to forget that George Clooney and Julia Roberts are in all three of the Ocean’s Eleven films, but they’ve also starred in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (which Clooney also directed), Money Monster and the 2022 rom-com Ticket to Paradise. The erstwhile Danny Ocean also produced August: Osage County, while Roberts starred.

Jane Fonda And Lily Tomlin

Frequently we see an acting duo together multiple times because they really are buddies in real life, and that’s true for Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. After first starring together in the 1980 hit 9 to 5 (with Dolly Parton, of course) they eventually re-teamed for the Netflix series Grace and Frankie (which ran for seven seasons), as well as the dark comedy Moving On and 80 for Brady.

Emma Stone And Ryan Gosling

This duo has produced some well-known and beloved comedies and dramas over the years, as Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling first starred together in Crazy, Stupid, Love in 2011, moving on to Gangster Squad in 2013 and the Oscar-winning musical La La Land in 2016. Stone even once said she couldn’t “imagine” her life without Gosling, so these two will probably be friends forever.

Salma Hayek And Antonio Banderas

Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas sharing the screen in Desperado caused considerable heat, along with igniting a very real friendship, so it’s no surprise that they’ve now worked together a number of times. They’ve also been in the casts of Four Rooms, Frida, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Spy Kids 3: Game Over, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard and both Puss in Boots animated movies. That’s a lot!

Dwayne Johnson And Kevin Hart

We’ve already born witness to a rather lengthy history of Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart ripping on each other during their (apparently) laugh and roast-filled friendship, and the two megastars have, indeed, brought that chemistry to the big screen multiple times. The duo counts Central Intelligence, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and its sequel, Hobbs & Shaw and DC League of Super-Pets as the titles they’ve appeared in together.

Matt Damon And Ben Affleck

If this isn’t a classic acting duo by now, there are none. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been “bizarrely close” friends since childhood, and they first joined forces to great effect by penning and starring in Good Will Hunting (after having both appeared in School Ties), which won them the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. They also worked on Dogma in the 1990s, then, after nearly 25 years, they joined forces again to write and star in The Last Duel, and since then have also worked together on Air and the upcoming RIP for Netflix.

Denzel Washington And Don Cheadle

If only these two powerhouse stars had already been in more movies together…Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle’s first pairing was as P.I. Easy Rawlins and his loyal but unpredictable friend, Mouse, in 1995’s Devil in a Blue Dress. While their work in the film garnered critical acclaim, it would be over 15 years before they teamed again for Flight.

Sanaa Lathan And Taye Diggs

We should never underestimate the power of a franchise when it comes to popular on-screen pairings. Sanaa Lathan and Taye Diggs appeared in The Wood together in 1999 and then went on to star in The Best Man, its sequel and the Peacock mini-series, The Best Man: The Final Chapters. The duo also played the lead couple in the rom-com, Brown Sugar in 2002.

Scarlett Johansson And Chris Evans

Co-starring in a franchise with the same people will take an acting duo far, but Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans have surpassed even the typical standard where that’s concerned. Thanks to their joint time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they’ve appeared in a whopping seven movies together (including their mid-end credits cameo in Captain Marvel), and prior to their time as blockbuster movie-making superheroes they starred in The Perfect Score and The Nanny Diaries, bringing their current total to nine.

Anthony Mackie And Chris Evans

If you did enjoy many of those MCU movies, then you know that Chris Evans rubbed elbows with Anthony Mackie quite a bit there. But, did you also know that the two have been in XX non-Marvel movies together? Playing It Cool, What’s Your Number, and Ghosted also star/feature both actors and if you add in all their shared time in tights on screen, their total is also at nine.

Emily Blunt And Dwayne Johnson

The first time was a hit, so why not join forces again, right? Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson famously delivered winning chemistry in Jungle Cruise, and are coming back together for the upcoming drama The Smashing Machine. The two are also said to be willing to return for Jungle Cruise 2, whenever that can finally get off the ground.

Chris Pine And Ben Foster

The third time has been the charm so far for Chris Pine and Ben Foster. The duo famously portrayed bank-robbing brothers in Hell or High Water, joined up for The Finest Hours, and made it a three-peat in 2022 for The Contractor.

Margot Robbie And Will Smith

If it seemed that there could have been a little something extra going on between Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Will Smith’s Deadshot when you watched 2016’s Suicide Squad, then it might have been because you picked up on the chemistry the duo first built in Focus from the year before.

Margot Robbie And Brad Pitt

This big screen coupling made quite a showing for themselves across less than a decade, as Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt have starred in The Big Short, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood and Babylon. 

Margot Robbie And Leonardo DiCaprio

Just imagine, had it not been for this pairing, we might not have the megastar who is Barbie actor/producer Margot Robbie right now. Her role in Wolf of Wall Street as the second wife of Leonardo DiCaprio’s corrupt fraudster propelled her career, and by the time they starred in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood together Robbie was a major star.

Halle Berry And Hugh Jackman

We, again, have a superhero franchise to thank for bringing two great talents together, as Oscar winner Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman both have four of the X-Men movies among their credits. The duo also starred in Swordfish and Movie 43.

Awkwafina And Michelle Yeoh

This duo counts two megahits in their joint credits, with Awkwafina and Everything Everywhere All At Once Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh both having starred in Crazy Rich Asians (and we’re still waiting for that rom-com sequel) and the MCU entry Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Michelle Yeoh And Jackie Chan

Michelle Yeoh has been a star for several decades, and part of that reason is because of her breakout role in the 1992’s Supercop, which also starred Jackie Chan. But, they’ve made a number of other films with each other, including Supercop 2, and Hong Kong action films Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars, Project S, and both voiced characters in Kung Fu Panda 2, along with having starred in a 1984 watch commercial together.

Angela Bassett And Laurence Fishburne

While Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne were famously nominated for Oscars for their lead roles as Tina Turner and Ike Turner in 1993’s What’s Love Got to Do with It?, the duo was actually first together on screen for Boyz n the Hood in ‘91. They then later teamed up for Akeela and the Bee in 2006.

Julia Roberts And Richard Gere

If this isn’t a famous acting duo, then none are, despite their only making two movies with each other. Of course, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere starred in the mega-hit classic rom-com Pretty Woman and teamed up again for Runaway Bride in 1999.

Jennifer Aniston And Jason Bateman

For a while there, Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman, who are friends in real life, were kinda on a roll. Their first joint film was The Break-Up in 2006, and since then they’ve filmed four additional movies with one another: The Switch, Horrible Bosses and its sequel, and 2016’s Office Christmas Party.

Kate Hudson And Matthew McConaughey

Who can forget the glorious chemistry created by Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey in How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days? No one, that’s who! This is why they made a second rom-com, Fool’s Gold, just five years later.

Kirsten Dunst And Jesse Plemons

It’s not unusual for an acting duo to become friends in real life, but Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons took that a few steps further after working on the TV series Fargo together. Not only have they since starred in the film The Power of the Dog (which netted each their first Oscar nomination) and the A24 drama Civil War, but they married in 2022 and have two sons.

Meg Ryan And Tom Hanks

We could hardly leave Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks off of this list, as the famed actors have co-starred in two of the biggest romantic comedies of all time. Everyone knows them for making Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail hits, but before all of that, they led one of the weirder rom-coms made with Joe Versus the Volcano, and reunited for the 2016 drama Ithaca, which Ryan directed.

Drew Barrymore And Adam Sandler

People often mention Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler as an acting duo they want to see more of and with good reason. The two have made magic in the classics The Wedding Singer, 50 First Dates and Blended.

Adam Sandler And Chris Rock

This pairing goes back decades, to the time when Adam Sandler and Chris Rock starred on Saturday Night Live together in the ‘90s. Since then, the real-life buddies have appeared in seven movies together, with The Longest Yard, Grown Ups and its sequel, The Week Of and Top Five counted among that number.

George Clooney And Brad Pitt

Of course, George Clooney and Brad Pitt helped to make the Ocean’s Eleven franchise a hit, but the friends additionally teamed up for the live TV movie 8, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (which Clooney directed), Burn After Reading and the 2024 films If and Wolfs.

Keegan-Michael Key And Jordan Peele

The duo of Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, who first became recognizable during their time on MadTV, eventually went on to their own acclaimed sketch comedy series, Key and Peele. But, while making names for themselves on other series and in a number of movies, they continue to work with one another on projects like Keanu, Toy Story 4 and Wendell & Wild.

Awkwafina And Simu Liu

It was the MCU that first brought Awkwafina and Simu Liu together in the hit film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and while we’re still waiting to see when that franchise will bring them back together, 2024 saw them team up again for the action comedy, Jackpot!.

Jane Fonda And Robert Redford

Dedicated film fans probably know that legends Jane Fonda and Robert Redford starred together in Barefoot in the Park and The Electric Horseman, but their joint movie appearances do go beyond that. They also starred in The Chase in ‘66 and reunited for Our Souls at Night in 2017, and both had their film debuts in 1960’s Tall Story.

As you can see, film history is packed with acting duos who’ve worked together more than once, and that will probably always be the case.

Very little is immune to the fallout that is Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s divorce, even the 2024 movie schedule. With their high profile split seeming to take place over a prolonged period of time, concerns over their joint venture Unstoppable do indeed look to be a hairy prospect, as Lopez stars in the Affleck-produced film, which is opening later this year. Some may have been shocked by this recent turn of events, but Hollywood legend Jane Fonda seemed to have called out the potential for heartbreak as early as a scene from the 2022 documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told.

This supposed moment of clarity was shared via Page Six, as this chronicle of the making of Jennifer Lopez's This Is Me…Now: A Love Story saw the multi-faceted talent lobby for the 9-to-5 star's involvement in this film. In that moment, Fonda expressed the following concerns, right from the jump:

Those concerns certainly weren’t unfounded, and Jane Fonda is someone whose own personal experiences would inform such wisdom. The Grace and Frankie icon has had her own exposure to the rigors of the press examining celebrity marriages that are seemingly in crisis, and she went through three personal divorces, as well.

Judging how relatively early in the relationship timeline of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez Fonda expressed these worries, some could see this as the ultimate warning sign that the over two year marriage had started off on the wrong foot. Fonda's reaction to 'Sad Affleck' Grammy memes earlier this year are a further sign that this issue was something that was of some importance to the legendary star.

The hypothetical silver lining in this moment from The Greatest Love Story Never Told comes thanks to the film highlighting the almost 20 year friendship between Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda. Again, these actors had only starred together in New Line’s rom-com Monster-In-Law before their working reunion on This Is Me… Now.

But that experience, which coincidentally involved its own comedic bout of wedding concerns, was apparently enough to bond the two performers together ever since. Then again, Fonda's own story about Monster-in-Law's impact have hinted at a very strong second life for the movie.

Sadly, it’s still early days in the dissolution of what some knew as Bennifer 2.0. At this point, all anyone can hope for is a mutually peaceful split that allows all involved to move on with the least amount of hardship. The recently confirmed friendship between Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's kids prefers that outcome even more, and it also doubles down on a common thread throughout this story: in times like these, friends are very important.

If she hasn’t already, one can assume that Jane Fonda will reach out Ms. Lopez in short order, ready to listen and advise her on what’s to come. In the meantime, both The Greatest Love Story Never Told and This Is Me…Now: A Love Story are available to stream, so long as you have an active Prime Video subscription. As for Unstoppable, that movie is set to make its festival debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, with its overall theatrical release slated to start at some point this December.

Over the years, there have been a number of instances, with many of them typically being arrested before ultimately getting released. One could argue, however, that it's not often that a star is willing to talk about their experience with the law as candidly as Jane Fonda. That may be because her arrests have historically been the results of civil disobedience. Fonda's exploits have seemingly given her some perspective, as indicated by her comments on one of her latest arrests. And, while discussing it, she revealed the famous movie she "pulled," which earned her recognition while behind bars.

The Grace and Frankie star has always spoken her mind, sometimes unfiltered, like that time she talked about sitting on Ryan Gosling’s face. But the 9 to 5 actress recently spoke seriously, opening up about her multiple arrests on Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson’s podcast, Where Everybody Knows Your Name. Ironically, during the specific jail visit in question, the 86-year-old actress said her celebrity status got her nowhere with the other inmates. That is, until she mentioned a hit movie from the 2000s that she starred in:

Jane Fonda has been a Hollywood staple for over half a century, teaming up with big names such as Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Sally Field for films. I’m surprised 9 to 5 or even just dropping Parton's name didn't get her anywhere, that is if she even mentioned the workplace comedy or her co-star at all. Perhaps it was Monster-In-Law for the win, because JLo is a bit more current. After all, the multi-hyphenate does have entries on the 2024 movie release as well as a very high-profile relationship with Ben Affleck. Also, while Lopez and Fonda's 2005 flick may not be the best rom-coms of all time, it has garnered a massive following and is a comfort movie for some people.

In the behind-the-scenes documentary for JLo’s visual album, the Atlas star revealed she is still close to Jane Fonda all these years after filming their movie. Fonda, for her part, also still seems to view the songstress as a surrogate daughter of sorts. That assumption is based on her concern for Lopez and her hubby when the Internet got ahold of the "Sad Affleck" meme. The Book Club actress even made an appearance in Lopez’s This is Me…Now: A Love Story, which is available to watch with an Amazon Prime Video subscription.

But even name-dropping the "Get Right" performer didn’t get the Oscar winner very far with the people she shared a cell with. However, her time in prison was clearly impacted by her high profile status in other ways. Amid her recent interview, the actress divulged that a guard was stationed at her cell door at all times, with the insinuation being that it was for her protection. She shared even more detailed thoughts about her experience in the clip below:

The 80 for Brady actress has seemingly always been very aware of her white privilege and celebrity status, especially given she was one of Hollywood’s OG nepo babies. But she always used that awareness and platform in the form of activism ever since the 1970s, speaking out against the Vietnam War, standing with Black Lives Matter and protesting with other climate activists. Coincidentally, podcast co-host Ted Danson was even arrested with her in 2019 during a climate protest, per USA Today.

Having been arrested upwards of 5 times, it seems clear that Jane Fonda has no plans to stop her activism in the name of the law anytime soon and, surely, her fans will continue to support her efforts. It's hard to say whether anyone might recognize her if she does end up behind bars again. However, if she does, she can always pull the JLo card again or name another one of her famous movie credits.

Anyone who wants to check out Monster-in-Law for themselves can buy or rent it on Prime Video.

The world lost one of its great actors yesterday with the passing of Donald Sutherland. With 200 film and TV credits to his name throughout his career, Sutherland touched millions of fans and also performed with some of the biggest stars during multiple generations of Hollywood. Now those stars are paying tribute to the man they worked with, the man they called friend, or simply the man they idolized.

Back in 1993, Will Smith appeared in his first dramatic film role, and one of Smith's best performances, in Six Degrees of Separation. He had scenes opposite Sutherland in that film and Smith posted shots of the two of them together on Instagram to pay tribute to the star.

Jane Fonda, who appeared opposite Sutherland in her Oscar-winning role in Klute shared a heartfelt tribute to Sutherland. On Instagram, She celebrated the man’s skills as an actor as well as the work they shared off-screen, including the controversial work of speaking out against the Vietnam War. 

Sutherland began his acting career in the early 1960s and over the next 60 years he would put together one of the most impressive filmographies in memory. One of his contemporaries who would have a similar career is Dame Helen Mirren. She gave a statement to THR in which she credited Sutherland’s intelligence as an actor and called him not only a colleague but a friend. She said…

Edgar Wright is a writer and director with a particular love of film history, and while he may have never worked with Donald Sutherland, he celebrated the man's body of work in a few few others could. He called out not only Sutherland's great work that we all know, but a few of the actor's lesser known pieces. 

Rob Lowe is an actor of the generation that came up with Donald Sutherland's son, Keifer. In Lowe's tribute he specifically sends condolences to his friend, while making sure his followers know what may be Donald Sutherland's greatest work.

Not everybody paying tribute to Donald Sutherland, however, ever worked with the actor. Donald Sutherland’s most well-known role to the modern public is likely that of Cornelius Snow in the Hunger Games movies, a role Sutherland fought hard to get. Tom Blythe recently played the same role as part of the cast of the Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and while the two unfortunately never met, Blythe clearly thinks the world of his predecessor and on Instagram called it an “honor” to have shared a role with him.

Considering how long and successful Donald Sutherland’s career was, he touched many lives, which means that there are many whose lives and careers he impacted. And that’s not even mentioning the millions of us who watched his work and were inspired by it. Donald Sutherland left a lot of friends and fans behind, but he will clearly never be forgotten. 

Earlier this week, Hollywood lost a trailblazing executive and producer. It was announced this week that Paula Weinstein died of unknown causes at the age of 78. Weinstein was an accomplished producer in the movie and television space from the ‘80s to present day, memorably bringing her talents to projects such as Grace and Frankie and 9 to 5. Amidst her passing, Jane Fonda paid tribute to the producer, who, she referred to as her “bestie.” 

Losing a loved one is one thing, but losing a best friend is a form of heartbreak. Jane Fonda took to Instagram to share a throwback photo of herself with Paula Weinstein and write a thoughtful message about the late producer.  

The actress, who starred in numerous 2023 movies and is one of few who can say that she is thriving in Hollywood at the age of 86, also wrote that Weinstein was an important person she turned to when life got challenging. Fonda has been famous for many years, but it hasn’t been without roadblocks. She is among actors who made a remarkable career comeback with her work in the 21st century. Fonda entered cancer remission last year after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and undergoing chemo treatment. 

Fonda ended her tribute by honoring her friend’s wishes and turning the conversation over to her family’s wishes for people to honor her by lending their support to the Democratic party. Following Jane Fonda’s social media outpour, quite a few fellow stars took to the comment section to share their thoughts. Check them out: 

• “Beautifully said. I loved Paula so much. I worked with her on How Do You Know ... she was brilliant and warm. And loved her daughter Hannah so much. I will truly miss her loving presence.” - Reese Witherspoon
• “What a moving tribute. My heart aches for your immeasurable loss. Such a beautiful friendship, may happy memories comfort you. My deepest sympathy.❤️” - Christie Brinkley
• “May her memory be a blessing.” - Sarah Silverman
• “So sorry to hear—so lucky to have seen you two in action all those years ago, could feel how connected you were❤️❤️❤️” - Adam Scott
• “She was a force. So sorry Jane.💔” - Wanda Sykes

Our deepest condolences go to the family and friends of Paula Weinstein following the news of her passing. As Hollywood honors her legacy, she is survived by her daughter Hannah Rosenberg, who shared the news of her mother's death on Monday. 

Everything old is new again. Ben Affleck looking sad and going viral for it seems to be a regular occurrence for the actor, writer, and director and it happened once again, and not for the first time, at an awards show recently. Sad Affleck went viral once again at last year’s Grammy Awards, as people caught him, more than once, perhaps looking like he didn’t want to be there. It’s certainly funny to a lot of people, including, it seems, Affleck. But this time it actually caused people to worry, like JLo’s friend Jane Fonda.

In a new piece, Variety speaks with Jennifer Lopez about her new movie, This is Me…Now as well as one of the film’s celebrity co-stars, Jane Fonda. Fonda has been a friend of Lopez since they appeared in Monster-In-Law and Fonda says she was initially hesitant to appear, as she wasn’t sure that a movie that celebrated the Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez relationship so loudly was the right call. Fonda was apparently quite afraid she was right when she saw what happened at the Grammys, with the Academy Award winner saying…

Affleck and Lopez have certainly had a rocky relationship. They were engaged once before only for the relationship to end, and while everything appears to be very different this time, it’s perhaps understandable why everybody else is at least a little concerned that things might go in a different direction. Fonda seems afraid that a movie that celebrates the relationship too much looks like gloating, and that the movie will age quite poorly if the relationship does as well.

However, Lopez tells her friend that “sad Affleck” is nothing to worry about. At this point it’s something the actor has dealt with on more than one occasion, and that he is laughing at himself. Lopez promises there is nothing to worry about, saying…

Whether it's looking bored at the Grammys, sitting quietly during the press tour for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, or standing on his stoop with donuts looking frustrated, Ben Affleck has become a symbol. It’s good to know that he’s not as bored or tired as he often seems to look. And to be fair, we've all felt like "sad Affleck" at one time or another.

This is Me…Now has a release date on Prime Video of February 16, with Lopez starring in the semi-autobiographical musical extravaganza. Jane Fonda does appear, as does Ben Affleck, who also co-wrote the project.  Whether he looks like he's happy to be there or not, we'll have to watch the movie to find out.

Fame is a tricky thing, and sometimes the biggest stars in the world can lose it all. Personal problems, changing times, and other factors can lead to a once-promising career disappearing almost over night. These stars, however, reversed their trajectories and came out on top after enduring rough times, in this list of actors who made remarkable career comebacks. 

Robert Downey, Jr.

Robert Downey, Jr was one of the most promising young actors in Hollywood in the 1980s, starring in films like Less Than Zero, Chaplin, and Natural Born Killers. In the mid-90s his life went infamously went off the rails with substance abuse problems. When it looked like he'd thrown it all away, he cleaned up and his fame exploded as he became one of the highest-paid actors in the MCU.

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda has had a few ups and downs in her career. After breaking out as a star in the '60s, she was later shunned by many for her notorious trip to North Vietnam during the war. She rebounded and starred in hits like 9 to 5 and On Golden Pond. In 1991, Fonda married Ted Turner and completely stepped back from acting. She didn't appear in anything at all until after their divorce in 2001, but roared back to prominence in the 21st Century. 

Rob Lowe

As a member of the "Brat Pack" in the 1980s, Rob Lowe was on top of the world. That all came crashing down when a videotape of Lowe in a compromising situation was leaked. His hard partying had caught up to him, and though he got sober in 1992, he would spend much of the decade playing smaller roles or in direct-to-video movies. In 1999 he landed the role of Sam Seaborn in The West Wing and was once again on top, where he's stayed ever since. 

John Travolta

In the late '70s, there was no bigger star than John Travolta. From Welcome Back, Kotter to Grease and Saturday Night Fever, Travolta was in some of the biggest pop culture touchstones of all time. Then the '80s came and his career hit a serious lull. While he was in the hit Look Who's Talking and its sequels, it was 1994's Pulp Fiction that vaulted Travolta back to the top. 

Natasha Lyonne

In the late '90s, Natasha Lyonne was one of a group of budding stars in American Pie and other movies like Slums Of Beverly Hills before health and addiction problems derailed her career. Thankfully for all of us she came out of those those stronger and has since starred in fantastic shows like Orange is the New Black and Russian Doll. 

Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser winning the Oscar for 2022 The Whale capped off one of the greatest comeback stories in Hollywood history. His work had all but completely dried up in the late '00s and 2010s, but his career has had the most incredible resurgence in the 2020s. 

Winona Ryder

Winona Ryder defined "movie star" for late Gen Xers in the '90s, but after her infamous arrest for shoplifting in 2001, her career nosedived and she didn't appear in a movie for about three years after. For the next decade or so, she worked steadily but didn't regain her star power from early in her career. That changed when she starred in Stranger Things, starting in 2016, and she once again became a huge star. 

Dave Chappelle

In 2003 Dave Chappelle debuted Chappelle's Show on Comedy Central and it became a massive hit. Despite the network throwing tens of millions of dollars at the comedian to keep the show going, he turned it down and walked away. Chappelle stayed away for most of the next decade before reviving his standup career, and while Chappelle continues to garner controversy, it's safe to say he's as big as ever. 

Betty White

When Betty White died in 2021 she was mourned by millions. The beloved actress had been a television star since the 1940s, but not all of those years were in the spotlight. After early success in the '50s in Life with Elizabeth and other sitcoms, White's career hit a lull for more than a decade. She returned to the big time with her role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the '70s, The Golden Girls in the '80s, and then later with Hot in Cleveland in the 2010s.

Ke Huy Quan

There is no more heartwarming story than that of Ke Huy Quan's resurgence. the actor, who first found fame as a child in The Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, completely disappeared from Hollywood. For twenty years, he appeared in not one TV show or movie, before returning in 2021 with a role in Finding ʻOhana, and then winning an Oscar for his performance in 2022's Everything Everywhere All At Once. 

Michael Keaton

Michael Keaton was a controversial choice when he was cast as Batman in Tim Burton's Batman in 1989, but it shows just how famous he was at that time. After Batman Returns, Keaton's star faded and he starred in a run of films to mixed reviews. In 2014 Keaton starred in the very meta Birdman, as a former superhero star looking to regain his fame. It worked, at least for Keaton. 

Katharine Hepburn

Anyone with a career as long as Katharine Hepburn's is bound to have some slow periods. The most amazing fact of the legendary actress' career was the 34-year span between Best Actress Oscars. She won in 1934 for Morning Glory and then again in 1968 and 1969 for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and The Lion in Winter, respectively. She would win her fourth 13 years later in 1982 for On Golden Pond. 

Mickey Rourke

In the 1980s Mickey Rourke starred in a string of hits. Eventually, though, his reputation as being difficult to work with overshadowed his performances and he was left in the Hollywood wilderness until triumphantly returning to his past glory in 2008 with The Wrestler.

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier was one of the biggest stars of the '50s, '60s, and '70s. Then came the '80s, when he stepped away from acting and concentrated on directing, to mixed reviews. In 1988 he turned back to acting and had a wonderful late career resurgence with films like Shoot To Kill and Sneakers. 

Jason Bateman

In the 1980s it looked like Jason Bateman was a surefire bet to be a huge star. Then the '90s came and his career pretty much dried up. He had some guest spots on TV shows, but little else. He was all but forgotten. In 2003, Fox debut a show you may have heard of, Arrested Development, with Bateman as the star, and he's been huge ever since. 

Keanu Reeves

It's hard to remember a time when Keanu Reeves wasn't one of the biggest stars in the world, but after his success in the '90s and early '00s with The Matrix and Speed and more, he starred in a slew of commercial and critical failures. Thankfully for Reeves fans everywhere, John Wick came along and Reeves was back on top of the mountain, where he still is. 

Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore almost became a Hollywood child star casualty after her string of hits as a kid in the 1980s. She had a rough childhood that led to substance abuse problems as a teenager. Against the odds, she got through it all and became an even bigger star on the other end. 

Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris first got famous as a child prodigy playing a prodigy on Doogie Howser, MD. After the sitcom ended in 1993, he struggled to regain that popularity. That is, until he played a fictionalized version of himself in Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle in 2004. Soon after he landed the role he's best known for, Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother. 

Matthew McConaughey

Most of Matthew McConaughey's early career was made up of starring roles in rom-coms. In 2009 the Lincoln Lawyer star took a two-year acting hiatus to re-evaluate his career. He emerged in 2011 by taking on more serious roles and leaving his rom-com leading man reputation behind. Since the so-called "McConaissance," McConaughey's become on of the most acclaimed actors of the 21st century. 

Nicolas Cage

By 2009 Cage was one of the biggest action stars in Hollywood, and one of the highest-paid actors in the business, but it seems he couldn't curb his spending and ended up in debt to the IRS and other creditors. As a result, Cage seemingly took every job offered to him, and he put out an immense catalog of straight-to-video movies that few people have ever watched. Finally, in 2022, Cage revealed he was finally debt-free and started being more selective with his roles. this led to acclaimed roles in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and 2023's Dream Scenario.

Mandy Moore

Mandy Moore's career started like a comet as a singer in the late '90s which she parlayed into an acting career. That career slowed way down in the early 2010s, only to be revived in a massive way with her starring role on the NBC hit This Is Us. 

Christian Slater

With starring roles in Heathers, Pump Up The Volume, and Gleaming The Cube, Christian Slater became a Gen X icon. He scored a number of high-profile roles in big-budget movies in the '90s, before work started drying up in the early 2000s. He returned to Hollywood prominence with his award-winning role in Mr. Robot and has maintained it ever since. 

Luke Perry

Luke Perry was one of the biggest television stars of the 1990s as part of the cast of Beverly Hills, 90210. After the show ended though, his star faded some. That is, until he was cast in the CW's Riverdale and he was discovered by a whole new generation of fans. Tragically, Perry died in 2019 at age 52. 

Christina Ricci

Childhood success for Christina Ricci didn't immediately translate to success as an adult. She's always worked steadily, but her fame never quite reached the heights of her early career in The Addams Family. That changed in 2021 with Showtime's Yellowjackets. 

Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh first found international fame with her roles in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies and Crouch Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She maintained a level of success, but she exploded to new heights with her Oscar-winning turn in 2022's Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. 

Neve Campbell

Neve Campbell was huge in the '90s with her starring role in the show Party Of Five and movies like The Craft and Wild Things. In the early 2000s, she starred in the Scream franchise, but hit a lull after that. Recently, she's been back on top with roles in The Lincoln Lawyer and Twisted Metal. 

Channing Tatum

Fans might not think that Channing Tatum has never had a career lull, but he has actually had a couple. He's always had to fight the idea that he's all looks and little substance (which is far from accurate), and that has affected his career at different points. He's always rebounded with strong performances like the one in Foxcatcher, however. 

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence's career hasn't really had a financial downturn, her lull was completely her choice. After a couple of poorly reviewed films and becoming the most famous victim of the iPhone hacking scandal, Lawrence stepped away from acting for two years in 2019. She triumphantly returned in the great movie Don't Look Up in 2021. 

Patrick Dempsey

Patrick Dempsey was first famous for starring in teen comedies like Loverboy and Can't Buy Me Love. He bounced around for a few years after that, working steadily but hardly a star. That changed in a big way when he landed the role of Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd in 2005 on Grey's Anatomy. 

Marlon Brando

The 1960s weren't kind to Marlon Brando. After establishing himself as a bonafide star and one of the finest actors of the 20th century in the '50s, his mercurial nature earned him a reputation as difficult to work with. A string of box office failures didn't help. Famously, he pushed hard to get the role of Vito Corleone in The Godfather, and wow, was that the right move! He won an Academy Award and reminded everyone how great an actor he was. 

David Carradine

Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to help revive a star's career like he did with John Travolta. David Carradine was huge in the 1970s as the star of Kung Fu, and while he always found work, it took until Kill Bill in 2003 that he found that same level of fame again. 

Kiefer Sutherland

After becoming one of the biggest teen idols of the '80s, Kiefer Sutherland spent most of the '90s in smaller, supporting roles. In 2001, however, he landed the role of Jack Bauer in 24 and it became the part he's most known for, becoming a television icon over the run of the show. 

Fame, as they say, is fleeting, and these actors prove there can always be a second act in Hollywood. 

A few years ago, a co-worker and I were chatting in the common room of our office when she casually mentioned that 9 to 5 was one of the most interesting '80s movies. At the time, my entire understanding of that movie had everything to do with the Dolly Parton song of the same name (that I later found out is used amply in the flick) and nothing to do with the plot of the movie whatsoever. Thanks to the joys of streaming, all of that has changed, but I’m here to tell you: Holy hell, I had no idea what the movie was about.

To start let’s talk about the things I knew about 9 to 5 going in to streaming it for the first time with my Max subscription. 

• I knew it was an office movie, and a comedy.
• I knew Dolly Parton was in it.
• I knew it had come out in the eighties.
• I also knew it was an early collaboration between Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

For a movie that came out years and years before I was born, I at least feel like this is a reasonable amount to know about a movie beyond just generally being aware of its existence. Regardless, if you, like me, were born well after the year 1980, you may be shocked to learn this movie has a wild AF plot and messages that are still relevant today. 

So, here’s the holy cow of it all. Fonda, Tomlin and Parton all work in the same office. Their characters Judy, Violet and Doralee are an odd pairing, as Judy is a rule follower and the new gal in the office, Violet is seasoned and overdue for a promotion, and Doralee is seen to be sleeping with the boss given his overt flirtations – though she’s actually uncomfortable with the interactions as his employee. So far, it sounds like a pretty straightforward office comedy, right? 

Well, let's just go ahead and dive into all the bonkers things that happen across 9 to 5's bonkers hour and 40 minute runtime. 

Some Things I Found Bonkers About 9 To 5 

Obviously, I’m about to get into spoilers, and while I think that’s fair game for a movie that came out in 1980, I’ll go ahead and warn you anyway. Don’t read further if you’d like this movie to be a surprise when you stream it as well. 

The casual sexism. The ladies’ boss is so transparently skeevy in 9 to 5. If this is what the workplace was like in the eighties, count me out. Honestly, it was so unexpectedly gross it reminded me of when I was watching Mildred Pierce and some random stranger just casually spanked Kate Winslet’s character. Didn’t even know her! The audacity of this behavior is apalling, but the bad boss in this movie does not get a pass.

The fact that Violet considers murdering her boss, then plans to murder her boss, then thinks she’s murdered her boss. (All with rat poison she accidentally put in his coffee.) Honestly, this sequence of events is hysterical, but I had no freaking clue this movie was about a revenge fantasy, and this first bit all happens so fast, after a marijuana-enhanced dreaming sequence! What did I get myself into?

There’s a series of unfortunate events in which the ladies (who think their boss is poisoned) take him to the hospital. They then overhear a doctor speaking about a poisoned man who died and steal the body. Violet then crashes the car with the body in the trunk, causing the women to take a better look and realize the body isn’t their boss Mr. Hart after all. So they literally drive back to the hospital to return the body. Just wild. 

Just when I thought things couldn’t get more WTF, the ladies decide to kidnap their boss. I mean, honestly, at this point a kidnapping feels par for the course, and Mr. Hart kind of brought it on himself, attempting to blackmail Doralee into sleeping with him. Could things get weirder? (I’m asking rhetorically because of course they can.)

There’s an element of bondage. In fact the ladies tie their boss up. And not like just with some rope. They get up to even more shenanigans as they literally put Mr. Hart on a metal garage runner attached to some bondage materials, including chains and a collar. Hoo boy!

This couldn’t be a happy ending could it? In the absence of the head honcho, Doralee, Judy and Violet start making changes and sprucing up the office, first with flair on desks and then with some innovative changes, like offering childcare during office hours. Eventually they blackmail Mr. Hart with evidence of alleged wrongdoing they’d found but it all ends well for everyone, when the head honcho arrives and offers Hart a “promotion” in Brazil to improve operations there, and the ladies officially take over the office. 10 points for feminism and 0 points for chauvinism. 

Look, if you’ve seen the movie, you should know I’m just rehashing some of the crazier plot points here, but I cannot begin to tell you how little I understood about this bonkers film until I put it on. Some of the stuff I expected was there. There are zingers thrown between the leading ladies -- two of whom are comedy icons and one of whom is an absolute legend -- and there’s the expected change in the office for the better I thought was a part of the movie heading in. Regardless, I had no idea this was the story of a near murder-turned blackmail-turned happy ending. I'm still thinking about it days later. 

How 9 To 5 Came About

There’s actually a PBS documentary called  9to5: The Story Of A Movement that touches on how Dolly Parton’s song and the subsequent movie was based on the real-life concept of women in the workplace in the seventies realizing they could fight for better pay and working conditions, and that they could engage in the fight together. For the documentary, Jane Fonda was interviewed, and she spoke out about the famous flick.  Per Fonda in the doc: 

Comedy is not supposed to necessarily be tied down to reality, but the idea of thinking you’ve accidentally killed your boss and then kidnapping him in his own home instead is just so over-the-top and unexpected I was agape. Plus, watching the revenge fantasy play out was a whole lot more fun than watching a revenge movie like Promising Young Woman (which is a good movie, but decidedly not fun in any way.)

Really, they don't make 'em like this anymore. Given how ungrounded in reality the flick is, the fact that it simultaneously was a love letter to a real life movement is also just perfection. The cast is great, the soundtrack has one banger (OK and one banger only), but if you have not seen this movie, now is the time to give it a whirl. Even if they never end up making that 9 to 5 sequel, you won’t regret it. 

Stream it now on Max. 

I have always appreciated when people follow in the footsteps of their famous parents. In fact, I think it is fun to see actors collaborate with their own children on-screen, of which there are more than enough examples. The following are 30 of our favorite movies and TV shows that proved to be a family affair for the stars involved.

Adam, Jackie, Sadie, And Sunny Sandler (You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah)

Not only did producer Adam Sandler star as the father of two girls played by his real daughters, Sadie and Sunny, in the You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah cast in 2023. The Netflix original coming-of-age dramedy also stars the comedian’s wife, Jackie, while Idina Menzel handled the role of Adam’s onscreen spouse.

Andie MacDowell And Margaret Qualley (MAID)

According to MAID developer Molly Smith Metzler, it was actually star Margaret Qualley who brought up the idea of casting her own mother, Andie MacDowell, as her character’s mother. The Golden Globe-nominated Four Weddings and Funeral star plays Paula (a woman with severe bipolar disorder) opposite the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood cast member in the Netflix original miniseries based on Stephanie Land’s memoir.

Angelina Jolie And Vivienne Jolie-Pitt (Maleficent)

Vivienne Jolie-Pitt gave her debut (and, so far, sole) onscreen acting performance opposite her mother, Angelina Jolie, in 2014’s Maleficent — a live-action reimagining of Sleeping Beauty from the villain’s perspective. According to Vanity Fair, the then-5-year-old got the part of a younger version of Elle Fanning’s character, Aurora, because other children were too afraid of the Academy Award winner in full makeup and costume in the title role.

Ben And Jerry Stiller And Anne Meara (Various)

Ben Stiller shared the screen with both of his late parents, legendary comedy duo Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, multiple times — the first being the 1989 mockumentary, That’s Adequate, followed by 1991 horror-comedy, Highway to Hell. Ben later played a sadistic fitness guru who purchases a youth weight loss camp from his parents’ characters in Disney’s 1995 summer comedy movie, Heavyweights, before casting them 2001’s Zoolander, with Jerry as Maury Ballstein and Meara cameoing as an egg-throwing protester.

Billy Ray, Miley, And Noah Cyrus (Doc, Hannah Montana)

Both Miley Cyrus and her sister, Noah, made their acting debuts on the medical drama, Doc, which was led by their musician father, Billy Ray Cyrus. Years later, the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer took a supporting role on Miley’s smash hit Disney Channel show, Hannah Montana, which Noah would also appear on in various unnamed roles.

Brendan, Domhnall, And Brian Gleeson (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 1, Frank Of Ireland)

Brendan Gleeson reprised Mad-Eye Moody in the penultimate installment of the Harry Potter movies, which also starred his son, Domhnall, as Ron Weasley’s older brother, Bill, in 2010. More than a decade later, the Academy Award nominee starred opposite the Star Wars movies actor and his younger son, Brian, in an episode of their Amazon Prime comedy series, Frank of Ireland, as a new boyfriend of the title character’s mother.

Blythe Danner And Gwyneth Paltrow (Sylvia)

In 2003, Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow played the title role of a biopic about Sylvia Plath. To play the renowned writer and poet’s mother, Aurelia, Paltrow’s real-life mother, Tony and Emmy Award winner Blythe Danner was cast.

Chris, Tristan, And India Hemsworth (Thor: Love And Thunder)

After his older brother, Luke, portrayed his comic book character in a play in Thor: Ragnarok, Chris Hemsworth made 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder a real family affair. Not only would Luke return, but Chris’s son, Tristan, appeared as the title character’s younger self in a flashback and his daughter, India, played Gorr the God Butcher’s daughter, Love.

Clint And Scott Eastwood (Gran Torino, Trouble With The Curve)

The first time Clint Eastwood acted alongside his son, Scott, was in 2007’s Gran Torino for a scene in which — as the Suicide Squad star claimed to Conan O’Brien — his father threw a few unscripted insults toward his character. Five years later, Scott starred in the baseball movie Trouble with the Curve as a minor leaguer discovered by his father’s character.

Damon Wayans And Damon Wayans Jr. (Blankman, My Wife And Kids, Happy Together)

Daman Wayans Jr. debuted as the younger version of his father’s character — aspiring superhero, Kevin — in the funny ‘90s movie Blankman, before landing a recurring role on his sitcom, My Wife and Kids, and later inviting him to play his dad on his own sitcom, Happy Together. In early 2023, Deadline reported that the Wayans are developing a new sitcom that will pair them up as an on-screen father-son duo once again.

Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, And Rumer Willis (Various)

Rumer Willis’ first two acting gigs were alongside her mother, Demi Moore, as Angela Albertson in the underrated ‘90s movie, Now and Then, and as the daughter of Moore’s character in the classic stripper movie, Striptease. The actor and singer’s next two roles would be alongside her father, Bruce Willis, with an uncredited cameo in the 2000 comedy, The Whole Nine Yards, and as the daughter of Willis’ character in the 2005 thriller, Hostage.  

Donald And Kiefer Sutherland (A Time To Kill, Forsaken)

The first time Donald and Kiefer Sutherland appeared in a movie together — namely 1996’s A Time to Kill — Donald played a civil rights lawyer and Kiefer played a vicious white supremacist. Nearly two decades later, the father and son played a father and son in a western called Forsaken.

Eugene, Dan, And Sarah Levy (Schitt's Creek)

The Schitt’s Creek cast has more than two related actors in it. Eugene Levy and his son, Dan (who also created the hit sitcom together), play Johnny Rose and his son, David, and Dan’s sister, Sarah, also stars as Café Tropical owner, Twyla Sands.

George And Mayan Lopez (Lopez Vs. Lopez)

Comedian George Lopez teamed up with his daughter, Mayan, and Debby Wolfe to create the NBC sitcom, Lopez vs. Lopez. The series — which  was renewed for a second season, according to Variety — also stars George and Mayan as a father and daughter forced to reconnect after year when they have no choice but to move in together.

Henry And Jane Fonda (On Golden Pond)

The 1981 film adaptation of the acclaimed play On Golden Pond was a very special moment in Henry Fonda’s career. In addition to being his final performance, which earned him a Best Actor Oscar, it saw him share the screen with his real-life daughter, Jane, who played his estranged daughter.

Johnny And Lily-Rose Depp (Tusk, Yoga Hosers)

A nearly unrecognizable Johnny Depp plays Guy LaPointe in Kevin Smith’s bizarre A24 horror movie, 2014’s Tusk, which also stars his daughter, Lily-Rose, as a convenience store employee. When Smith made a spin-off in 2016 focusing on Lily-Rose and Harley Quinn Smith’s characters called Yoga Hosers, Depp reprised the French-Canadian P.I. as well.

Judy Garland And Liza Minnelli (In The Good Old Summertime, The Judy Garland Show)

As The Guardian recalls, the multi-talented Liza Minnelli was just three years old  when she made her acting debut with a brief cameo at the end of 1949’s In the Good Old Summertime, alongside her mother — the iconic Judy Garland. The Wizard of Oz star later invited her daughter to perform with her on her variety program, The Judy Garland Show, in the early 1960s.

Kirk, Diana, Michael, And Cameron Douglas (It Runs In The Family)

It Runs in the Family, marks a rare instance of a movie starring three generations of an actor family. It stars Kirk Douglas and his former wife, Diana, as the father and mother of a man played by their real son, Academy Award winner Michael Douglas, whose own actual son, Cameron, also stars as his eldest son in the 2003 dramedy.

Leslie Mann And Iris and Maude Apatow (Knocked Up, This Is 40)

Leslie Mann’s character in 2007’s Knocked Up and its 2012 quasi-sequel, This is 40, is married to writer/director Judd Apatow in real life. Their children, Iris and Maude — the latter of which went on to star in the Euphoria cast as Lex Howard -- appear in both This is 40 and Knocked Up with Leslie Mann.

Martin And Charlie Sheen And Emilio Estevez (Various)

Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez are celebrity siblings who have acted together multiple times, including once with their father, Martin Sheen, with small roles in Badlands. However, every other time the actors appeared alongside Martin was individually — with Charlie in Wall Street, Cadence, and Hot Shots, most notably, and with Estevez in In the Custody of Strangers and The Way.

Meryl Streep And Mamie Gummer (Heartburn, Evening, Ricki And The Flash)

When speaking to Jimmy Fallon, Mamie Gummer looked back on her acting debut as a toddler in the 1986 dramedy Heartburn, which was led by her mother, Academy Award winner Meryl Streep. More than twenty years later, Gummer played her mother’s younger self in the 2007 romantic drama, Evening, before playing her estranged daughter in 2015’s Ricki and the Flash.

Ralph And Julia Macchio (Cobra Kai)

Ralph Macchio’s daughter, Julia, has made a name for herself as an actor in movies like Girl Most Likely and shows like Showtime’s City on a Hill. She would share the screen with her father on a couple episodes of Netflix’s Karate Kid sequel series, Cobra Kai, as Daniel LaRusso’s cousin, Vanessa — a young, but highly skilled, child psychology grad student.

Ryan And Tatum O’Neal (Paper Moon)

According to Collider, the record for youngest Oscar winner is still held by Tatum O’Neal for her performance in 1973’s Paper Moon. Her character in the crime dramedy directed by the late Peter Bogdanovich is a precocious, Depression-era orphan who teams up with a con artist who could be her father, played the actor’s actual father, Ryan O’Neal.

Robin And Zelda Williams (In Search Of Dr. Seuss, Nine Months, House Of D)

Zelda Williams had her first taste of show business with her father -- Academy Award winner Robin Williams -- right beside her in the 1994 TV movie In Search of Dr. Seuss and the following year with her small role in the Hugh Grant-led rom-com, Nine Months. Her first starring role in a theatrically released film was in 2004’s House of D, which also marked the third and final time she acted alongside her late father.

Sean And Dylan Penn (Flag Day)

Sean Penn and Robin Wright’s daughter, Dylan Penn, got her start as a model before she took up acting. Her biggest role to date was as the unwitting daughter of a criminal played by Sean in 2021’s Flag Day, which the two-time Academy Award winner also directed.

Sylvester And Sage Stallone (Rocky V, Daylight)

In the Rocky movies’ fifth installment, Rocky Jr. was the debut role of star and director Sylvester Stallone’s real-life son, Sage, who would later appear with his dad in the ‘90s action movie,  Daylight. Sage went on to become the founder of Grindhouse Releasing — which prevented him from reprising his Rocky V role in Rocky Balboa — and, according to CNN, sadly passed away at 36 in 2012.

Thandiwe Newton And Nico Parker (Reminiscence)

Nico Parker — known for Disney’s live-action Dumbo remake and HBO’s The Last of Us cast — is the youngest daughter of actor Thandiwe Newton and filmmaker Ol Parker. However, in the 2021 futuristic noir, Reminiscence, she appeared alongside the Westworld star as a grandmother and granddaughter. 

Tom, Colin, Elizabeth, Chet, And Truman Hanks (Various)

Tom Hanks has shared the screen with all four of his children. He cast Colin Hanks in a small role in That Thing You Do! before appearing alongside him again in 2008’s The Great Buck Howard. Elizabeth Hanks was also in That Thing You Do!, but debuted in Forrest Gump. Chet Hanks has been in Larry Crowne and Greyhound and Truman Hanks normally does technical film work, but has appeared in three of his dad’s movies — News of the World, A Man Called Otto, and Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City.

Will, Jaden, And Willow Smith (The Pursuit Of Happyness, After Earth, I Am Legend)

Jaden Smith has played his father's onscreen son in two of Will Smith's movies — the first being his debut role in 2006’s The Pursuit of Happyness and the second in the M. Night Shyamalan movie, After Earth. Willow Smith also made her acting debut as her father’s daughter in a heartbreaking flashback sequence from 2007’s I Am Legend.

If you're familiar with some or all of these films, you may agree that much of these parent-child pairings demonstrate the magic that can come from family members working together on screen. 

How do you pick just one of the ‘80s movies for the biggest movie stars of the decade? It’s a challenging task, but we figure we’re up for the job. So if you find yourself only able to watch a single '80s film starring each of these icons, here’s the only list you’ll need. 

Tom Cruise - Top Gun

This one is obvious, right? Top Gun is the movie that made Tom Cruise a superstar and his career has never wavered since. It was such a cultural phenomenon at the time that not only did it make an astounding $357 million at the box office (against a $15 million budget), it became the best-selling VHS tape of all time, based on pre-orders alone! Everyone saw it that summer, and again when it was released on home video. He revived the franchise 36 years later and dominated at the box office again with Top Gun: Maverick. 

Steve Martin - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Steve Martin had a string of hits in the 1980s, but his best of the bunch was Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. It’s a perfect example of how varied Martin’s comedy could be. At times refined, at others completely physical and off the wall. Martin puts everything into this performance and it shows in the results. It’s just a brilliantly hilarious film. 

Whoopi Goldberg - Jumpin’ Jack Flash

Whoopi Goldberg burst onto the big screen in The Color Purple (more on that film in a minute). Her performance was lauded by critics, with Roger Ebert calling it “one of the most amazing debut performances in movie history.” It’s certainly a film worth watching for her Oscar-nominated performance, but if you really want to get a great idea of what Goldberg was all about in the ‘80s, check out  Jumpin’ Jack Flash. Goldberg is, after all, a comedian at heart, and she brings all her comedic skill to bare in this early tech/spy thriller. It’s another A+ performance from the star of The View.

Goldie Hawn - Overboard

Goldie Hawn was already a veteran in show business by the time the ‘80s started, but she saved some of her best performances for the decade. In her final movie of the decade, she teamed up with Kurt Russell for Overboard, and the chemistry between the two is right there on the screen for all to see. Both actors are amazing, and Hawn truly is one of America’s sweethearts. 

Morgan Freeman - Lean On Me

By 1989, Morgan Freeman had been steadily working in Hollywood for more than two decades, but it was that year that his career jumped to superstar levels. He starred in 4 films in the final year of the decade, including Driving Miss Daisy and Glory. Those two films garnered 14 Oscar nominations between them, including a Best Actor nod for Freeman. It was a third film though, Lean On Me that really lit the screen on fire. Based on the true story of a principal named Joe Clark who is charged with cleaning up a Paterson, NJ school. Freeman’s performance is powerful and set the stage for all that came after it in his career. 

Demi Moore - About Last Night

One of the actors to emerge out of the 1980s “Brat Pack,” Demi Moore forged a career that lasted well into the ‘90s and beyond, with some of her finest work coming in her first few films. One of those, About Last Night, holds up incredibly well. It’s a unique take on the rom-com and is at times much more serious than so many others from this era, due in large part to the grittier story it was adapted from (David Mamet’s play, Sexual Perversity in Chicago) and Moore’s excellent performance alongside Rob Lowe.  

Harrison Ford - Raiders Of The Lost Ark

Sure, there are a few movies that would fit here for Harrison Ford, like that one about the space wars or whatever it’s called. But for pure, distilled Ford, nothing beats Indiana Jones and nothing beats the OG Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s Ford at his very best: snarky, charming, witty, and tough. No Nazi is safe with Indy after them. 

Oprah Winfrey - The Color Purple

Oprah Winfrey’s rise to all-powerful media queen began in the ‘80s and a very big piece of that was her acting performance in 1985’s The Color Purple. She was nominated for an Oscar in her film debut and almost four decades later, the film’s powerful message of overcoming abuse still resonates with audiences. It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, though it shockingly didn’t win any, which is a shame. 

Chevy Chase - Fletch

Like Harrison Ford, you could go in a lot of directions with Chevy Chase, but, like Raiders, you need to go with the purest form of Chase and for that, there is nothing better than the original Fletch. He's at his sarcastic best as Irwin Fletcher. No one can quite be as charmingly condescending as peak Chase and no one is spared here. Order up a couple of steak sandwiches and some caviar; Fletch just hit a water buffalo.

Meryl Streep - Out Of Africa

In the 10 Academy Awards shows of the ‘80s, Meryl Streep was nominated seven times. She won her first (and only of the decade) for 1982’s Sophie’s Choice, but let’s get real, as amazing as she is in it, no one really wants to sit down with a bowl of popcorn and watch that one. Instead, consider a performance just as good, but slightly more upbeat (only slightly, though). Out of Africa is beautiful, as are Streep and Robert Redford in the lead roles, and the tragic story comes to life like magic with her performance. 

Geena Davis - Beetlejuice

Geena Davis made steady progress in her career in the early ‘80s but really found a new level in Beetlejuice. Her on-screen partnership with Alec Baldwin as two ghosts frustrated with the people living in their house is excellent, as they more or less play the “straight man” to Micheal Keaton’s titular character. It’s not an easy gig, but Davis is amazing. 

Jackie Chan - Police Story

Jackie Chan didn’t break big in the United States until the ‘90s and by then he was the biggest action star in Hong Kong. It was 1985’s Police Story that solidified his spot at the top and if you’ve never seen it, you definitely need to. While Chan has always been an amazing stuntman, it’s Police Story that brings all his skills to the forefront, from amazing fight scenes to the epic opening car chase with Chan hanging onto a bus with an umbrella as he pursues the baddies. It’s one of the most insane stunts in Chan’s history of insane stunts. 

Kathleen Turner - Romancing The Stone

Romancing the Stone is one of the great comedies of the 1980s and features some amazing performances from Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito, but Kathleen Turner’s Joan Wilder takes the cake. Or the bail of pot, as the case may be here. Walking that line between an intrepid explorer looking for her kidnapped sister and a damsel in distress, Turner shines. Her chemistry with Douglas and DeVito is so good, they made two more films together, the sequel Jewel of the Nile and the unrelated The War of the Roses, but it’s Stone that remains the best. 

Michael Douglas - Wall Street

Michael Douglas is great as Jack in Romancing The Stone, but it’s his portrayal of Gordon Gekko in Wall Street that makes for one of the greatest movie villains in cinema history. Of course, he won an Oscar for the performance, but it’s how quotable the movie and his character are that makes it one of the best of all time, even if those quoting don’t always understand the heavy-handed irony in each line. 

Edward James Olmos - Stand And Deliver

With Stand And Deliver, director Ramón Menéndez told the true story of math teacher Jaime Escalante who sought to raise the level of education single-handily in an East LA high school by daring to teach underprivileged Hispanic kids calculus. Edward James Olmos plays Escalante brilliantly, earning himself an Oscar nomination in the process. 

Tom Hanks - Big

Tom Hanks grew up with Big, literally and figuratively. It marks the point in his career when he jumped from a wild and wacky comedian to an actor who can take on any role, no matter how serious, and make it his own. There are the wilder moments, but there is also a real vulnerability to the man-child Josh Baskin that Hanks makes so authentic for the audience. It’s no wonder it earned him his first Oscar nomination. 

Daryl Hannah - Splash

Another Hanks movie also happens to be the great Daryl Hannah’s finest performance. Before Ariel, there was Madison, the mermaid who longed to walk on the land with humans and falls in love with an average Joe. Hannah’s performance magically convinces audiences that it’s exactly what a fish out of water would be like. 

Mel Gibson - Lethal Weapon

Back before Mel Gibson was a lightening rod for controversy, he played some pretty amazing roles and none more so that Martin Riggs in the Lethal Weapon series. From the very first scene, audiences see that classic “Mel Gibson Crazy Eyes” face and it sets the tone for the movie and the franchise, one that had remarkable life to it. That first scene is also why Lethal Weapon should be in the conversation for the best Christmas movie, alongside Die Hard. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger - The Terminator

The decade wouldn't be as big and as over the top as it was without Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Austrian bodybuilder took the movie world by storm and there are any number of enjoyable performances, but if you're looking at 1980s movies, you have to choose The Terminator. It launched him to superstardom, and it kicked off a franchise of Terminator movies that's lasted for decades. Sure, he only has a handful of lines, but no one could top his performance as a relentless killing machine that we all somehow fell in love with… later. 

Sylvester Stallone - First Blood

Not only did First Blood launch one of the most enduring franchises of the era, but it’s also just a really good film. It could be argued that it’s Sylvester Stallone’s best. His performance as a down-and-out Vietnam vet highlighted the plight of returning soldiers from that war. Brian Dennehy plays the antagonist perfectly as the angry sheriff that doesn’t take kindly to strangers in his town. A+. 

Michelle Pfeiffer - Scarface

Scarface really hasn’t aged all that well. Sure, the memes are fantastic, but as a film, it feels as dated as neon green headbands and electric typewriters. The lone exception is Michelle Pfeiffer’s performance. It’s still great, and made her one of the biggest stars of the 1980s. 

Molly Ringwald - Sixteen Candles

Molly Ringwald was once called John Hughes’ muse and it’s easy to see why she became such a mainstay in many of his hit movies from the era. Sixteen Candles is truly one of the funniest movies of the ‘80s, in part because of the side characters, but mostly it’s due to Ringwald’s fantastic performance as the girl the family forgot. 

Denzel Washington - Glory

Denzel Washington was nominated for his first Oscar for 1987’s Cry Freedom, but he won his first for 1989’s Glory. The cool thing about Glory is that it’s actually one of his most powerful performances, as audiences didn’t know him as DENZEL yet. The movie follows one of the few Black companies fighting for the Union during the Civil War and tells a story that had sort of been forgotten in the public consciousness at the time. The success of Glory and of Washington’s performance, especially in the scene where he is whipped, is one of the reasons that story will never be forgotten again. 

Jodie Foster - The Accused

The Accused is not an easy movie to watch. It begins with one of the most brutal rape scenes in cinema history and follows Jodie Foster’s character, Sarah Tobias, on the quest to get justice. The subject matter was so intense, the role was reportedly turned down by a number of A-listers at the time. It was fortuitous for Foster, who had struggled to re-ignite her career after attending Yale. Her performance won her an Oscar and the rest is history. 

Sally Field - Steel Magnolias

There are great Sally Field movies in every decade since she jumped from TV to the big screen in the mid-70s. For the ‘80s, you can’t go wrong with Steel Magnolias. It may be a tad melodramatic at times, but it stays grounded with the acting by Field and other stars like Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, and Shirley MacLaine. 

Bill Murray - Ghostbusters

Bill Murray had so many great movies in the 1980s, it’s difficult to pick just one, but in the end, you have to go with Ghostbusters. His turn as Peter Venkman is so funny, so quotable, and so lovable, that without him, it would be a completely different movie. John Belushi in the role was the original plan, but after his death, Murray ended up in the role, and now we can’t imagine it any other way. 

Robin Williams - Good Morning Vietnam

Good Morning Vietnam was an important movie in Robin Williams' stellar career. It was the movie that truly showed audiences just how great his acting chops were. He was no longer just the frenetic comedian running around the stage inspiring laughs. Williams showed his dramatic side, especially after the bomb went off in his favorite cafe. Of course, there is plenty of off-the-wall zaniness from him that we all love, which makes it one of his most well-rounded performances. 

Glenn Close - Fatal Attraction

There are few more quintessential scenes from the 1980s than the boiling bunny in Fatal Attraction. Glenn Close’s performance as the unpredictable, jilted lover is just as iconic. Like the bunny in the pot, her character comes to a slow boil, getting more and more intense as the movie moves along. It’s a masterclass in acting from the legend. 

Micheal J. Fox - Back To The Future

No way we were going to leave Michael J. Fox off this list. Between Family Ties, and Teen Wolf, there is no actor that defines the decade quite like him. Of course, it’s no surprise that the essential movie for any Fox fan is the great Back to the Future. It’s a movie that has been introduced to, and loved by, countless people from Generation X and the following generations. It’s beloved by all. 

Jane Fonda - 9 To 5

Jane Fonda, like Sally Field, has decades of outstanding movies and performances, but when she teamed up with Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin to make 9 to 5, she became an icon to a whole new generation. It’s been more than forty years since its release, but the chemistry between Fonda and Tomlin remains, as they proved last year with Moving On.

Eddie Murphy - Coming To America

Last, but certainly not least, we have one of the biggest breakout stars of the 1980s, Eddie Murphy. Like others, it’s hard to decide on just one, but in the end, it simply has to be Coming To America. It’s the quintessential Murphy film filled with memorable quotes and amazing performances from the entire cast, especially Murphy. 

This list could go on and on. The 1980s were a magical decade in theaters and crafting exhaustive list would prove to be impossible. Luckily, you can find the best ‘80s movies, and even '80s movies that don't get enough love if you need more. 

We are fast approaching the dog days of summer, and for people hoping to escape the heat, there have already been plenty of family-friendly options in theaters. Animation dominated the box office last weekend, and Disney offered up its live-action remake of The Little Mermaid a month ago. Now it’s DreamWorks Animation’s turn to take moviegoers under the sea, as Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken hits theaters June 30. Critics had a chance to screen the movie ahead of its release, and they seem to like it, but think it should have leaned further into what makes it unique.

The movie stars Lana Condor from the To All the Boys series as the voice of the titular Kraken, as well as Toni Collette and Jane Fonda as her mother and Grandmamah, respectively. Let’s see what the critics think of the latest project from DreamWorks Animation, starting with CinemaBlend’s review of Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. Our own Sarah El-Mahmoud rates it 3 stars out of 5, noting its similarity in plot to last year’s Pixar offering Turning Red. At a tight 90 minutes, this is an enjoyable option for families she says, but nothing earth-shattering: 

Nell Minow of RogerEbert.com gives the movie 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling it “one of the best family films of the year” with its buoyant energy, and while this critic also points out that it’s reminiscent of Turning Red, DreamWorks delivers its own unique delights Minow says, writing: 

Many critics, including Travis Hopson of Punch Drunk Critics, agree Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken had potential but didn’t dive deep enough. The movie is at its best, Hopson says, when daring to skewer our perception of The Little Mermaid, and while the critic thinks a franchise could be built around Ruby, this movie gets just 2.5 out of 5 stars: 

Manuel Betancourt of AV Club grades it a C+, calling the movie a “perfectly adequate fable.” The critic says there’s plenty to enjoy, but Ruby Gillman struggles to find the happy medium between its kooky premise and sincere emotion. Betancourt continues: 

Rachel LeBonte of ScreenRant rates it a “Fairly Good” 2.5 out of 5 stars, calling Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken “endearing” with a stunning voice cast, but the movie needed to go deeper, and it may have trouble making an impression with so many other options. LeBonte writes: 

The critics have lots of good things to say about Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, even if the story isn’t as well-developed as many would have liked. As a family-friendly option with a reasonable runtime, there are surely plenty of worse ways to spend a summer afternoon, so if you’d like to check this one out, head to your local theater now. Be sure to also take a peek at our 2023 Movie Release Calendar to see what else is hitting the big screen soon. 

When Book Club came out in 2018, it was the hilarious premise and an all-star cast that drew many people in. In the movie four lifelong friends, played by Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen, get together for book club, and they decide to read 50 Shades of Grey. What follows is a funny and heartfelt adventure of these women going on their own journeys to find love, and at the core of it is them reading the bestselling, and provocative, bestselling novel by E.L. James. When Erin Simms and Bill Holderman decided to write a sequel to Book Club, they immediately knew it would be challenging to write a follow-up and pick a book that lived up to 50 Shades, and Simms explained how they worked to create a sequel that differentiated itself from its predecessor while also having a sincere message. 

In Book Club: The Next Chapter, the ladies decide to read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho -- talk about a tonal shift. The book is all about working to improve oneself and the importance of focusing on what really matters, in the movie’s case that’s love. Erin Simms told CinemaBlend that to make a worthy sequel, she figured they needed to go in a completely new direction because they wouldn’t be able to top 50 Shades. She explained: 

That’s when they decided to choose The Alchemist for the next movie's focus. It’s hard to compare the two novels, because they are totally opposite in every respect, and that's part of the reason why they liked the idea. Simms continued to talk about why they decided to go with the Coelho book as the focus of the movie, saying:

Following in the footsteps of the fairly well-reviewed Book Club, the sequel on the 2023 movie schedule does take a tonal pivot by putting The Alchemist at the center of the story, and I can see why Simms felt the need to do that. By doing this the sequel succeed in diversifying itself from the first movie, but as CinemaBlend’s review of Book Club 2 explains, the philosophical book also made the movie a little tonally confusing.  However, overall, they were able to successfully convey their message of taking opportunities as they come, and living life to the fullest. 

To see how Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen react to 50 Shades of Grey, you can stream Book Club with a Paramount+ subscription, and to see the ladies read The Alchemist and go on an Italian adventure you can see Book Club: The Next Chapter in theaters now.  

Jane Fonda knows how to lead an ensemble of iconic ladies, and she’s done it twice already on the 2023 movie schedule with Book Club: The Next Chapter and February’s 80 For Brady. So, thinking back on all the legendary women the actress has worked with, we had to ask her which performer she’d want to join the Book Club that includes Fonda, Mary Steenburgen, Diane Keaton and Candice Bergen. While the Grace and Frankie star’s response was not all that surprising, it was sweet, and Steenburgen had an adorable reaction to her co-star’s answer.

As I’m sure many of you predicted, Jane Fonda explained that she’d love to have Lily Tomlin join the cast of Book Club if they were to add another member. The two have been longtime friends and collaborators, and between 2022 and 2023 they have starred in three projects together – the final season of Grace and Frankie, the dark comedy Moving On and the aforementioned mixed reviewed 80 For Brady. So, when asked who could join the cast if there were to be a third movie, the actress said:

Immediately, her co-stars agreed, with Steenburgen commenting that they’d all “be fine with that.” Continuing to explain why she’d love to invite Tomlin into the ensemble, Fonda said: 

I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who wouldn’t want to see Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin work together all the time. They’re one of the most iconic duos, and have so much great chemistry together, both on and off-screen. From their first appearance on screen in the legendary 1980 movie 9 to 5 to their long run on Netflix as Grace and Frankie it’s always fun to see them together. Plus, after seeing 80 For Brady and the Book Club sequel, I’m convinced that this dynamic duo should continue to work with other legendary actresses, and a Book Club threequel would be a great opportunity to do that. 

The cast of The Next Chapter also is not opposed to the idea of Tomlin joining their cast. For example, Mary Steenburgen explained that Lily Tomlin is a hero of hers saying: 

All these women are heroes and legendary actresses. Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen and Jane Fonda have all won Oscars on top of having illustrious and groundbreaking careers, and Candice Bergen and Lily Tomlin are comedic legends with 35 Emmy nominations combined. Seeing all five of them on screen together would be amazing, and I’m sure all of them would have a blast together. I also think it'd be amazing to add Sally Field and Rita Moreno from 80 For Brady into the mix as well, because seeing all these women in one movie together would be truly iconic.

While Book Club: The Next Chapter didn’t get the best review from us, it’s still a fun movie, and seeing four living legends on-screen together was amazing. However, if there is a third installment in the series, I think they should really take Jane Fonda’s comment seriously, and add Lily Tomlin to the cast. 

To see Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen as besties living it up in Italy, you can go see Book Club: The Next Chapter in theaters. To see Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin’s most recent collaborations, you can stream 80 For Brady with a Paramount+ subscription, and you can check out all seven seasons of Grace and Frankie with a Netflix subscription. 

When you take four legendary actresses – Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen in this case – and give them a silly premise with a big heart, you get Bill Hoderman's 2018 film Book Club. The movie, which is about four older ladies coming together to read 50 Shades of Grey, was an unexpected and fun play on mature characters finding love. However, the filmmakers and stars have now tried to re-create the “slightly scandalous” and “totally fabulous” fun with Book Club: The Next Chapter, and it falls a bit short. Rather than leaning into the silliness, this follow-up takes itself a skosh too seriously.

In Book Club: The Next Chapter, Diane (Diane Keaton),  Vivian (Jane Fonda), Sharon (Candice Bergen), and Carol (Mary Steenburgen) reunite after the pandemic for the Italian adventure they have always dreamed of. While Diane is happy in her relationship with Mitchell (Andy Garcia), the other three ladies are all dealing with major life changes as Carol and Bruce (Craig T. Nelson) deal with a health scare, Sharon finally retires, and Vivan gets engaged to her partner, Arthur (Don Johnson). As the women grapple with these major changes, they realize it’s time to take the trip they always wanted to go on. And during that opulent Italian vacation, the gals end up in a bit of trouble that ultimately brings them closer together.  

While this drive to take a fantasy trip and live your best life with your closest friends is heartfelt to an extent, it’s also fairly cliché. It’s this basic premise and preachy mentality – especially in comparison to its predecessor – that makes this movie a sequel that falls short. 

The movie’s high points come when it lets Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen do what they do best.

When you have four absolute powerhouses in a movie, you should make sure to capitalize on their talents. To an extent, Book Club: The Next Chapter does do that, and when it does, the movie really works. Letting Jane Fonda be her extra self, and having Mary Steenburgen tap into the physical comedy she aces in Book Club get magnificent results. 

The same is true for Candice Bergen, who shines as the all-too-serious Sharon and has some of the funniest lines in the movie. Playing a judge who is very committed to doing her job right, even when it’s not necessary, she has a "straight man" dynamic within the ensemble. Bergen is a genius when it comes to making a dramatic or awkward situation funny – whether she's the only person taking a wedding ceremony seriously or getting caught hooking up with a guy on a water taxi. Her deadpan delivery at the cop who catches her on the boat is hysterical.

Likewise, Diane Keaton she is at her strongest when they let her be her quirky self, but when the movie takes itself too seriously, a lot of that earnest attitude is delivered through Keaton’s character, who frequently preaches about her dislike of marriage. In the first movie, Diane and her stubbornness are what make the film work, the actress uses her ability to switch between comedic and dramatic moments to create a quirky character. She’s a woman who doesn’t want to fall in love, and through a series of funny, and heartfelt dates, she eventually realizes that her line of thinking may not have been the most efficient. All these ideas remain in the sequel, and it works really well sometimes. However, the issue is it makes her seem like she didn’t learn anything  from the previous story. 

In the end, this movie almost does what the first one did so well. When it lets these four ladies do what they do best, the movie is at its highest, but those high points don't come as often as they do in Book Club. 

Book Club: The Next Chapter lacks the self-aware goofiness that the first movie thrived on. 

The reason the first Book Club worked was its silly premise and the commitment to the bit. This idea that four older women would read 50 Shades of Grey together and react is hilarious, and the silliness of this idea is constant throughout the movie. The result of this approach and the self-awareness of just how ridiculous it is, is how we end up with a heartfelt story of these friends finding love in a time when they thought they couldn’t. There’s unexpected heart in the movie, and it’s written in a way that is both clever and moving in its own way.

In Book Club 2: The Next Chapter, they aren’t trying to be coy, and they aren’t going for a silly premise. While it’s hard to top the first Book Club’s conceit for the sequel, going in the opposite direction doesn’t totally work. Rather than picking the second 50 Shades or another novel that would make for an unexpected and funny book club choice, the titular group chooses The Alchemist, which is a serious and philosophical book by Paulo Coelho. While this story of travel and the pursuit of dreams is admirable and important, for this movie, that moral is a bit too on the nose and far too drama-heavy. The moral is plastered on the screen from the get-go in the sequel, and hammers home its lesson by reiterating it rather than having it coyly revealed through a funny movie. 

This is the kind of movie that wants you to get tipsy with your gal pals to enjoy.

Wine is just as present in the movie as the women are. For every adventure they take, a glass of red or white awaits them. If you go see this movie, you should do the same thing as the stars: grab your gal pals and a bottle of wine, and just have a blast with it. Despite its efforts to the contrary, Book Club 2: The Next Chapter is meant to prompt a fun night out with your friends. 

Some of my best memories with my friends were started by us watching a movie together, whether they are good, bad or mediocre – so long as it made us laugh and prompted fun conversation. This movie can do that; being able to chat through it, laugh with it, and share a bottle of wine with your pals whilst these ladies get up to their European adventure hijinks would be the ideal viewing experience. As someone who watched it alone, I had a hard time investing in the story and finding the fun in it because there wasn’t someone to share it with. 

While this movie has some clear flaws, and is not nearly as fun as its predecessor, you can at least tell these four women had a blast making it. Being able to see the fun they’re having on-screen makes Book Club: The Next Chapter a pleasant watch, but you'll want a bottle of wine and your friends near for the optimal viewing experience.

Unfortunately, it’s well-documented that Hollywood has a tendency to be sexist and ageist as told by various women in the industry over the years. As we continue to observe Women’s History Month this year, we’re looking at the actresses across movies and television currently working today that have carved out a place for themselves despite the status quo favoring younger actresses, whilst it's the norm for the male actors to enjoy careers well into their 60s, 70s and beyond. 

It was reported a few years back by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media that while characters over 50 make up a fifth of characters on television, only a fourth of them are played by women (via Buzzfeed). With that in mind, there’s a gender gap with opportunities being favored for older men much more than women. Thankfully, these actresses have found a way to thrive in Hollywood after turning 50.  

Michelle Yeoh 

Recently, at the 2023 Oscars, the ceremony actually celebrated numerous actresses that are thriving after 50, including Best Actress winner, Michelle Yeoh. The Everything Everywhere All At Once lead accepted the award not only as the first Asian actress to win in the category, but as a “beacon” of hope for more women her age to be seen in major roles. As she accepted the trophy, she said: "Ladies, don't let anybody tell you you are past your prime." 

Yeoh has been over 50 in Hollywood for over a decade now, and is enjoying an exciting era in her career by finding key roles in successful movies like Crazy Rich Asians and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, or finding empowering roles in recent TV series like Star Trek: Discovery and The Witcher: Blood Origin. 

Jamie Lee Curtis

Yeoh’s Everything Everywhere co-star Jamie Lee Curtis also took home an Oscar for the movie in the Best Supporting Actress category after over 45 years working in Hollywood. Curtis was a teenager when she found her breakout role in Halloween, but decade after decade she has continued to be cast in exciting roles, especially after turning 50. In Curtis’ fifties and sixties the actress has revived her role as Laurie Strode in a new Halloween trilogy, starred in Knives Out and has a wealth of roles on the horizon, including Borderlands and Haunted Mansion. 

Angela Bassett 

Curtis’ fellow nominee in the Best Supporting Actress category in 2023 was Angela Bassett, for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, who also remains a working icon into her mid-sixties. Aside from starring as Queen Ramonda in the Marvel franchise, the actress continues to lead the network series 9-1-1 along with appearing in multiple seasons of American Horror Story and recently being part of the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Helen Mirren

One of the most iconic actresses to consistently nab interesting roles for herself following turning 50 is Helen Mirren. The British talent hit the milestone in 1995, before she’d made some of her most beloved and best movies, like 2001’s Gosford Park, 2003’s Calendar Girls or her 2006 Oscar-winning performance in The Queen. Mirren has continued to play leading roles in the past decade, such as starring in the Red films, her incredible role in the Fast and the Furious movies along with leading 1923 and Shazam! Fury of the Gods within the past year. 

Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin

While I could certainly talk about Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in their own right, the fact that this pair got themselves their own hit comedy series, Grace and Frankie, in their late seventies (across seven seasons, no less) deserves to be celebrated. These two have modeled, brought life to and joked about the lives of older women who are best friends, and we’re so blessed it exists. The pair hit 50 in the late ‘80s and thrived, remaining booked and busy. Among the 2023 new movie releases, they are in back-to-back movies together, too, 80 For Brady and Moving On. 

Rita Moreno

One of Rita Moreno’s first roles was in 1952’s Singin’ in the Rain. Seventy years later her career is still very much popping, between starring in Netflix’s sitcom, One Day At A Time, and voicing the role of Carmen Sandiego for the original animated series. This year, Moreno also starred in 80 For Brady and has joined the Fast and the Furious franchise as Dominic Toretto’s grandma. 

Sally Field

Speaking of 80 For Brady leads, Sally Field has continued to remain relevant and very much respected in Hollywood at the age of 76. From being nominated for an Oscar for her role in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln to bringing new life to Aunt May in The Amazing Spider-Man movies, or starring in critically acclaimed movies like Hello, My Name Is Doris and Spoiler Alert, Field has continued to impress after a massive first half of her career. 

Emma Thompson

In the nearly 15 years that Emma Thompson has been over 50, she has accomplished a lot. She gave a powerful performance as P.L. Travers in the sweet Saving Mr. Banks' movie alongside Tom Hanks, she gave Cruella a formidable foe of her own in the titular 2021 Disney prequel, and tackled the usually taboo topic of exploring sexuality past one’s “prime” and filmed nude scenes for Good Luck To You, Leo Grande. 

Ming-Na Wen

When Ming-Na Wen turned 50 back in 2013, she was just getting her start playing Melinda May on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, a badass and highly-skilled operative she continued to play for over 100 episodes. Since finding success with that series, which is now her most famous role outside Mulan, Wen has joined the Star Wars universe as Fennec Shand, a female bounty hunter and master assassin. 

Catherine O’Hara

Catherine O’Hara is well-known to an entirely new generation than those who grew up seeing her in movies like Best In Show, Beetlejuice or Home Alone, thanks to her beloved role in Schitt’s Creek as Moira Rose. O’Hara will go down in history as playing one of the funniest TV characters in a big role she found well after 50. 

Jane Lynch

Jane Lynch booked her most popular role of Sue Sylvester on Glee right as she was turning 50 and played the character for six seasons before finding all sorts of work in showbiz otherwise. She notably voices the role of Calhoun in the Wreck-It Ralph movies, along with having major roles in the hit shows The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Party Down and with hosting 75 episodes of the original celebrity game show, Celebrity Game Night. 

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

The Seinfeld star not only found herself a whole other well-loved TV show to lead and produce after 50 with HBO’s Veep, which she also won nine consecutive Emmy awards for, but she’s a major player in the Marvel universe now. Julia Louis-Dreyfus has been consistently quick on her feet on the comedy front and proved to be an impressive dramatic actress as well, with roles in films like Enough Said. 

Jennifer Coolidge

Then, there’s Jennifer Coolidge’s recent comeback for The White Lotus that has the actress literally everywhere right now. Along with the 61-year-old recently winning her first Emmy for her hilarious role as Tanya McQuoid, Coolidge has had loads of projects she has stolen the show in, in the past couple of years in particular, like Promising Young Woman, The Watcher and Shotgun Wedding alongside Jennifer Lopez.

Jessica Lange 

Four decades after Jessica Lange became a star for roles like her Oscar-nominated work in Tootsie and Frances, she is still a huge name, particularly thanks to her move to TV in collaboration with Ryan Murphy on his numerous shows. Lange always provides strong performances in her ever-changing American Horror Story roles, along with portraying Joan Crawford in Feud. 

Allison Janney 

Allison Janney is another actress who got wide recognition for being in one of the best-regarded TV shows of all time, The West Wing. After starring in 155 episodes of the drama, Janney has continued to explore all sorts of interesting characters across her career, especially after 50, whether it be in the sitcom Mom, winning an Oscar for her chilling mother role in I, Tonya or her booked 2022 that put an additional three movies under her belt. Janney is even more famous now than she was when she was a younger actress. 

Julianne Moore 

A new role from Julianne Moore is never too far away these days. The 62-year-old actress has accomplished a lot over 50 and has even been in with the kids because of her key role in the Hunger Games franchise or starring alongside Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard in the recent indie, When You Finish Saving the World. Moore has starred in so many great movies just within the past decade that it can be hard to recall she’s also the same actress from Boogie Nights and Far From Heaven. 

Tilda Swinton 

We don’t have enough female character actors in the world, but Tilda Swinton embodies someone new so frequently that we can barely imagine what she’s like in real life. The majority of Swinton’s best roles have occurred since she turned 50, such as We Need To Talk About Kevin, or her numerous times working with Wes Anderson and Bong Joon-Ho. 

Viola Davis

Viola Davis is one of the most acclaimed actors of our time right now and it feels like she’s also just getting started. Recently, the actress did just about every stunt as a warrior and leader in The Woman King and has become the most-nominated Black actress in Academy Awards history. 

Meryl Streep 

I mean, it’s Meryl. What else do we have to say? The 73-year-old actress has always been magnificent on screen no matter her age and has proven her great talent and ability to be a chameleon on the screen again and again. Since turning 50, Streep has starred in all-time great movies like The Devil Wears Prada, Mamma Mia, and Iron Lady, and looking forward, she's about to guest star in Only Murders In the Building. 

It’s great to see so many women have broken through and found roles for themselves after 50 in the industry. It really comes down to great roles being written for women of all ages for their opportunities to exist. 

When you’re an entertainment legend like Jane Fonda, you know how to turn heads and perk up some ears. Appearing in the 2023 new movie release 80 For Brady is only the latest effort that’s kept her in the public eye, partially through the press rounds to promote such projects. Which leads to a clip that I can’t stop watching, as I have no context on why Ms. Fonda is talking about sitting on Ryan Gosling’s face, and I’m still trying to figure it out.

That was probably the intention of THR, as they released this tease of a clip on its official TikTok account. It certainly did the trick, as you can observe in the actual video below. See if you can guess why Jane Fonda is all of a sudden very amorous about Mr. Gosling: 

Naturally the attraction is something anyone who’s seen the best Ryan Gosling movies could understand. He’s funny, a fantastic actor and a great family man with his partner/potentially secret wife Eva Mendes. Also, as if all of that weren’t enough, the Barbie trailer probably made Fonda feel the same thirst most other people anticipating the Greta Gerwig film have been encountering. Maybe that’s what has been stoking the fires for Jane Fonda, but at the moment, one cannot be certain. 

The Grace and Frankie star has been around her fair share of beefcakes recently, especially in 80 For Brady. Both Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski get some major screen time alongside the legendary actor, and Gronk especially scored a fun moment with Jane Fonda’s character, who is known for writing erotica starring Rob himself. If you watch the trailer for 80 For Brady again, you'll be able to catch a glimpse of that very scene: 

Audiences have rallied behind 80 For Brady, despite the critical reaction being ok at best. That might be enough to signal to the movie marketplace that Jane Fonda and her co-stars are part of a winning team, and in turn spark a demand for more films similar to that in spirit. So if there’s any fan clubs for older women who love Ryan Gosling, you may want to start calling your agents, as there’s potential in the air to tell your story. 

Jane Fonda fans have a lot to celebrate at the moment. Currently, 80 For Brady is still running in theaters, and will more than likely stream for those with a Paramount+ subscription in the months to come. Also, Fonda will be reteaming with friend and co-star Lily Tomlin in the dark comedy Moving On, which is set to debut at the movies on March 17th. 

Though with Barbie set to open on July 21st, maybe it’s not too late to sneak a last minute cameo with Fonda and Ryan Gosling’s Ken, if only to bring her closer to her dream, but in a PG-13 friendly manner. Maybe that's what she's trying to say in the interview above, but until there's more context, we'll all have to wait for more clues to this steamy mystery. 

The box office is heating up this weekend with two new highly-anticipated releases: M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller Knock at the Cabin and based-on-a-true-story football comedy 80 For Brady. The latter has four legendary actresses, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field and Rita Moreno, all teaming up to play a group of friends who decide to go to the Super Bowl together to meet NFL star Tom Brady. While reviews for 80 For Brady hailed it a mixed bag, moviegoers are making a point to check out the flick, and really enjoying it! 

The Rotten Tomatoes score for 80 For Brady illustrates a bit of the discrepancy between critics and fans on the latest 2023 movie release. At the time of this article being written, the comedy barely squeaks by in the “fresh” category with a 64%, while it’s an easy winner on the audience score side at 91%. And if that’s not enough of a signal that 80 For Brady is getting a lot of love, fans on the internet are sharing their love too. That’s right, the internet. Check this review out: 

Critics have been here and there on the new comedy, with CinemaBlend’s own 80 For Brady review giving the movie 2 out of 5 stars, saying that the movie “shouldn’t have even qualified for training camp.” Other reviewers called the movie things like “mediocre” and a “weird mushroom trip,” but some movie fans are saying otherwise. 

The movie is loosely based on a true story about a Tom Brady fan-club comprised of older women who nicknamed themselves the “Over 80 for Brady” club. It’s the kind of wild plotline for a movie that is getting people talking. Here’s another positive reaction: 

As the weekend gets going, Deadline has also reported that it’s going to be a close call at the box office between 80 For Brady and Knock at the Cabin, with both movies battling it out for No. 1. The comedy is being predicted to make $14 million, while Shyamalan’s new movie is expected to bring in $15 million. And some people are already going for seconds: 

One special feature about going to see 80 For Brady is that Paramount has partnered with theaters to lower the price it will cost moviegoers to see the movie specifically, with chains like Regal and Cinemark offering all-day matinee pricing for the movie. Some groups of ladies are making an outing out of the movie, and Lily Tomlin has noticed, sharing this: 

All that, plus Tom Brady is actually in the movie as the lead actress’ co-star. Oh, and the NFL player just announced he was retiring (again) this week ahead of next weekend’s Super Bowl. It sounds like 80 For Brady has a lot going for it that just might make it an unexpected hit! 

Sports movies have proven very flexible matched with different genres, as biopics, comedies, and even heartwarming dramas all have used love of the game as a platform. Rousing music, inspired pratfalls, and sweeping shots of various fields of play have contributed to the language that movies use to make the world fall in love with athletes and fans alike. Director Kyle Marvin's 80 For Brady understands that concept, but in only the most basic form possible, which results in a movie that loses the game before it even begins. 

Loosely inspired by the real-life story of a Tom Brady fan club made of several older women, 80 For Brady draws together Lou (Lily Tomlin), Trish (Jane Fonda), Maura (Rita Moreno), and Betty (Sally Field), a group much like their counterparts from reality. As they get hyped for Super Bowl LI – a championship game between Brady's New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons –  Lou makes the suggestion that the friends make the journey to Houston, Texas to see the player they love so much in action. This calls for a road trip, complete with an assortment of big name appearances, learning experiences, and wacky hijinks, as one would expect.

But even in trying to execute a basic caper of this sort, a combination of playing things too safe and faulty character development grinds this would-be saga to a halt. Save for some moments of levity that somehow rise above the complaisant noise that is the majority of this film, this movie shouldn’t have even qualified for training camp.

80 For Brady assembles a killer cast, but the movie doesn’t give them enough of a story to hang on to.

It’s a major disappointment that 80 For Brady, with its aforementioned roster of stars, is such a scattershot story that can’t build anything substantial. The talents of the cast are not in question, as the sports comedy has one of the best lineups you could hope for on a comedic road trip; it’s just so unfortunate that there doesn’t seem to be any interest in using anyone involved to their full potential.

What’s more, 80 For Brady has a hell of a supporting bench that feel wasted in the process of including threads that are introduced with minimal effort and wrapped up. Notable actors like Bob Balaban, Sara Gilbert, Harry Hamlin, and Glynn Turman are all present for a handful of scenes that seem like first draft attempts to give each of the ladies an obstacle to overcome during their journey.

Both the setup and resolution of each of these subplots is incredibly thin, even for a movie that’s barely over an hour-and-a-half – which is especially disappointing, as 80 For Brady is focused on a Super Bowl with a known outcome. 

You need other stories like Sally Field learning to be more assertive with her milquetoast husband (Balaban) to keep the energy going, otherwise we pretty much know where this is all headed from frame one. Dispatching of those stories with simple three to five scene arcs doesn’t get that job done, and the movie instead treats the individual growth of the lead characters as nothing more than perfunctory tasks.

A short movie turns into a long slog without an interesting narrative, and very few worthy gags.

The lack of fuller character development doesn’t totally hamper the sort of movie that 80 For Brady is trying to be, as this is a cast of legendary pros that still give it their all. Those talents are simultaneously a blessing and a curse, as Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field, and Rita Moreno absolutely make the finished product more enjoyable than it could have been. At the same time, these women deserved material that really let them and their co-stars shine.

One of the most frustrating paradoxes at the movies is when a project can feel both too short and yet interminably long. 80 For Brady deserves some credit for achieving this feat in its 98 minutes of screen time, and in a movie that uses a high-adrenaline game of football and an extended drug trip as plot points. 

Sally Field and Rita Moreno in particular seem to have the most fun with what they’re assigned to do in this story. Specifically, they make the middle act into the most enjoyable, as they experiment with negging and indulging in poker. Moreno’s Maura even has a moment where she hallucinates that everyone in the room looks like Guy Fieri, herself included. 

There are sparks of the wild energy you’d expect from a script penned by Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpern, who also happen to be two of the writers behind the hysterical Booksmart. Plus, a road trip comedy that has quite a few notable celebrity cameos and castings, on top of several prominent football players as themselves, sounds, on paper, like it could have been a lot of fun. There are smiles and chuckles to be had,  but they’re so few and far between that it makes the big picture drag overall.

Football fans and comedy fans both lose with the big lame that is 80 For Brady.

I really am puzzled how a formula like 80 For Brady could stumble so hard, never coming close to the end zone when trying to entertain. Looking back at all of the components involved, on top of roster of Fonda, Tomlin, Field, and Moreno, I’m not so sure where this project went wrong. What I can say is that even Tom Brady fans might find themselves scratching their heads as to why this movie was even made.

I get that the whole pitch that sold the movie was a real life group of older women who loved Tom Brady, but it feels obvious they never got into any of these shenanigans. I also understand that another purpose that 80 For Brady is also out to fulfill is to get older moviegoers back to cinemas – and that is also valid, because there have been absolutely hysterical flicks in the past made for that demographic. 

With both of those concepts firmly in mind, I still believe that there’s a better, bolder version of this comedy that we could have enjoyed. We've seen as much through Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda's run on Netflix's Grace and Franky, which only makes me wonder if there’s a longer, raunchier edit that’s sitting on a shelf somewhere that was cut down.

That’s the most plausible theory I can come up with for the version of 80 For Brady that we got, other than the embellishments made to this real life fandom just weren’t strong enough as written. The only play that this movie knows how to run is playing it safe, and that deserves quite the penalty when working with such potential.

Tom Brady’s name may be in the title of the upcoming film 80 for Brady, but the real stars are its four Hollywood icons — Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field — portraying a quartet of 80-something New England Patriots fans who hit the road to see their team play in the 2017 Super Bowl. The movie has caught some flak from social media users who are just finding out the plot, but now the reviews are here, so critics can give us a better idea of what to expect before it hits theaters on February 3.

With everything Tom Brady has been through over the past year – from his retirement and un-retirement to his divorce from Gisele Bündchen – many are curious to see what acting chops the famed NFL quarterback brings to the screen (in the movie that he also produced). And with a trailer showing the pairing of Jane Fonda, Guy Fieri and football, what could go wrong? Let’s take a look at what the critics are saying. 

Leigh Monson of the AV Club grades the movie a C, saying that 80 for Brady relies on sight gags and celebrity cameos to make up for a lack of wit, but the genuine chemistry of the four leading actresses makes up for the film’s shortcomings. The critic continues: 

Fran Hoepfner of The Wrap says Tom Brady even shows some star quality, giving off a sense of unreality that fits the tone of the movie. Not surprisingly, Sally Field, Rita Moreno, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin do not disappoint, according to the review: 

Vince Mancini of Uproxx calls the movie “a weirdly fascinating train wreck,” and while he admits he didn’t think 80 for Brady would be his cup of tea, he was drawn in. The critic explains:  

Peter Debruge of Variety is one of several critics to point out that no football fandom is required, as 80 for Brady plays more as a buddy comedy than a sports film. It does celebrate the fact that women can love football too, the critic says, even if the central foursome are possibly more interested in how Tom Brady looks in his uniform than how he plays the game. He continues: 

Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter says Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpern’s screenplay provided the four leads with “terrifically droll lines,” but the actresses, Lily Tomlin especially, effortlessly elevate the material. The critic continues: 

It sounds like regardless of how big a Tom Brady fan you are or which team (if any) your loyalty lies with, 80 for Brady is more about the friendships between the four octogenarians than it is about the Super Bowl (though I’m genuinely curious to know if ANY Atlanta Falcons fans will be willing to relive the game this movie is centered around). 

For those who want to see what Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Lily Tomlin and Sally Field can do when sharing the screen together, you’ll be able to catch 80 for Brady in theaters starting on Friday, February 3. You can also take a look at our 2023 Movie Release Schedule to see what other films are coming soon. 

80 for Brady has one of the more unique casts out of the films on the 2023 movie schedule. Not only does it feature the titular all-star quarterback Tom Brady, it also features a quartet of actresses -- Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field and Rita Moreno -- who have won and been nominated for many Academy, Tony and Emmy Awards. While I had assumed the leading ladies of this movie wouldn't be starstruck because they have worked with some of the greatest actors and directors of all time, they couldn’t help but fawn over the football player, especially Jane Fonda. The actress recently opened up about working with Brady, and said meeting him made her knees go weak, and honestly, same. 

While at the premiere of 80 for Brady, via THR, the ladies of the cast talked about making the film with the NFL superstar. During the discussion, Fonda, who is a superstar in her own right, admitted she was “completely starstruck” by the Super Bowl champion. The actress recalled what it was like meeting the quarterback for the first time, as well as how much she loved working with him, explaining:

Clearly, Fonda absolutely loved working with Brady, and so did her longtime pal and Moving On co-star Lily Tomlin, who explained working with the former Patriots star was “pretty fabulous.” Sally Field also had mad respect for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers captain, and I’d assume the film's other leading lady, Rita Moreno would feel similar. 

I totally feel them, if I were to meet Tom Brady I’m not quite sure how I’d react. Even as a person who is not that into football, there’s no denying that the quarterback is one of the best, and meeting a seven-time Super Bowl champion would be wild. 

It’s honestly super impressive that the once almost-retired quarterback is not only still playing football and spending time with his kiddos, but he also managed to find time to be a part of a major feature film about him. If I were Fonda, Tomlin, Field and Moreno I would also be in awe of Brady.

Just from watching the 80 for Brady trailer, it looks like these four gals had an absolute blast filming the football movie with Brady and Rob Gronkowski. The film follows the story of four older women who want to attend the Super Bowl in 2017 to see their favorite football player, Tom Brady, obviously, play in the biggest game of the year. It follows them trying to get into the game and the hijinks that ensue after. Personally, I can't wait to see this movie, and I imagine when I walk out of the theater I'll be even more impressed with all five of them because it looks like all four actresses and Brady are at the top of their comedic games.  

Lucky for us, we’ll get to see Tom Brady and these four actresses who are legitimately living legends in 80 For Brady on February 3. 

If you had “February becomes a battleground month at the movies” for next year’s Bingo card, prepare to cash in. A slew of 2023’s new movie releases are descending on that month fast and furiously, chiefly among them the Tom Brady themed comedy 80 For Brady. 

As if having one of football’s biggest superstars as its focus wasn’t enough of a draw, the core cast of Hollywood royalty like Rita Moreno, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Sally Field. Also, as we’ve seen in the film’s first trailer, some pretty wild stuff happens…like Ms. Field entering a hot wings competition judged by Guy Fieri? The quartet of leading actresses are all living legends, and it'll no doubt be thrilling to see their chemistry throughout the runtime of 80 For Brady. In addition to Fieri, another cameo comes in the form of Emmy winner Billy Porter.

Even crazier is the moment where Rita Moreno having a drug trip where everyone, including herself, looks like the mayor of Flavortown. Seriously, that's more Fieri than one would expect for a movie with Tom Brady in its title. Strangely enough, it works alongside all of the other spectacles 80 For Brady has to offer. 

The trailer released by Paramount has some off the wall laughs in store, while also capturing the true story that 80 For Brady is based on. With our four leading ladies looking to see what could be Tom Brady's final Super Bowl, the journey is not an easy one. Though it could be worse, as the girls also have Rob Gronkowski and Billy Porter on hand to help things along. 

As stated before, February 2023 is going to be a pretty busy month for moviegoers, and 80 For Brady’s release slot seems well positioned to score an early touchdown. Just a week after this film opens, Channing Tatum’s return in Magic Mike’s Last Dance is going to take the floor, just in time for some early Valentine’s Day action. And then a week after that, Marvel fans will be flocking to see Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which also promises a world of MCU insanity in its trailer.

The odds do feel a bit stacked against Tom Brady and his quartet of female followers at the box office. However, as loyal fans of the legendary quarterback would tell you, that’s probably how he likes it. People have tried to count him out before, and the results have often proven the naysayers incorrect. 

80 For Brady just presents Brady with another opportunity to pull off a stunning upset, and in a venue where victory dances aren’t subject to penalty. Even Guy Fieri would be impressed, and this isn't even his specialty! Football and heartwarming comedy fans can go wide and intercept this cinematic offering, only in theaters, on February 3, 2023. 

Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda are living legends, whose on-screen collaboration dates back to the 1980 classic Nine to Five (which was rumored to be getting a sequel years ago). The dynamic duo starred in one of Netflix’s biggest hit comedies Grace & Frankie, which recently ended after seven seasons. But Tomlin and Fonda have a few upcoming movie projects coming down the line, including the new dark comedy Moving On, which is the perfect elixir for those missing Grace and Frankie. 

While their Netflix series might have ended, it’s clear that Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin have no intention of ending their working relationship. I had the pleasure of seeing an early screening of their new movie Moving On at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the two were able to shine in both comedic and dramatic sequences. And there’s definitely a touch of Grace and Frankie in their characters’ relationship.

Moving On is directed and written by Paul Weitz (American Pie, About a Boy), and follows two old friends Claire (Fonda) and Evvie (Tomlin), who reunite for their friend Joyce’s funeral services. But rather than just being about these two women mourning and connecting, Jane Fonda’s character has other plans, telling Joyce’s widower husband (Malcolm McDowell) that she is going to kill him before the end of the weekend. This line set the theater into its first big moment of laughter, and perfectly established the somewhat bonkers tone of this new movie. 

Throughout Moving On’s runtime, we watch as Jane Fonda (who recently revealed her Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma diagnosis) and Lily Tomlin’s characters devise vicarious ways they might kill their target, to hilarious results. And in this quest the two are able to truly open up about their history, including dark secrets of their past. And all while consistently providing laughs.

But despite the cooky, murderous plot of Moving On, the movie is also full of truly emotional moments, and killer performances (lol) by the cast. Various serious social issues are tackled in the process, with both Claire and Evvie lamenting about how the “different world” they grew up in ultimately stifled their passions. Subjects like queerness, sexual assault, race, and gender identity are all tackled in a careful, emotional way. 

While Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda aren’t playing the same characters from Grace and Frankie, there is a similarity between how their characters’ interact with each other that might please fans of the long-running Netflix comedy. Tomlin’s Evvie is once again the more wise-cracking and irreverent of the duo, while Fonda’s Claire is more uptight. But their stories are drastically different, especially when it comes to the movie’s more emotional and dramatic sequences. And luckily for fans, they’ve got another movie together coming titled 80 For Brady. 

Moving On doesn’t currently have a wide theatrical release date. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

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Actress Jane Fonda has been active in film and television for more than sixty years now, and delivered laughs for the better part of a decade with Grace and Frankie on Netflix before the comedy wrapped earlier in 2022. Sadly, Fonda has now revealed a diagnosis for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and has already started chemo. 

Fonda used social media to share with fans and followers that she has been diagnosed with cancer and has already begun treatment. In her Instagram post, she stated that her type is "a very treatable cancer" that "80% of people survive," so she feels "very lucky." She has also been an activist for decades, famously so during the Vietnam War, and she used her announcement to spread awareness about important topics as well as her personal news. She wrote:

She went on to say that cancer "is a teacher and I'm paying attention to the lessons it holds for me," and she has already learned "the importance of community." Since she is nearly 85, she also noted that the cancer "definitely teaches the importance of adapting to new realities." 

By mentioning fossil fuels causing cancer, she turns an announcement of sad news about her health into an informative message that also makes it clear that she doesn't intend to give up on her activism. She went on to write:

"Fire Drill Fridays" refers to her push for demonstrations in Washington, D.C. to raise awareness and increase focus on issues involving the climate. Fans of her work on the large and small screens may not be entirely aware of her activism, especially considering the laughs that she delivered on Netflix's Grace and Frankie opposite Lily Tomlin for seven seasons and nearly 100 episodes.

Jane Fonda had a celebrated career well before Grace and Frankie, although the Netflix comedy was by far her longest-running TV role. She was given a tribute on HBO back in 2018 with the documentary called Jane Fonda in Five Acts, in which she opened up about plastic surgery as just one topic that others might not have been willing to speak about. (She previously faced an uncomfortable question from Megyn Kelly regarding her history with plastic surgery, with enough fallout that Kelly felt compelled to respond.)

Between her activism, performances in film and television, and incredibly popular workout videos, Jane Fonda has already built a strong legacy for herself that is still growing, and it's no surprise that her Instagram post gained a lot of attention very quickly. Take a look at her full message:

Our best wishes here at CinemaBlend go out to Jane Fonda in light of her diagnosis with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She's clearly not letting it slow her down while she seeks treatment and continues working on the projects that are close to her heart. Meanwhile, if you want to revisit the role that earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy back in 2017, you can find the full run of Grace and Frankie streaming with a Netflix subscription now.

9 to 5 is a comedic classic, but that doesn't mean that plans to reboot or revive the movie haven't been around for decades. With another stab being taken at bringing the story into the modern era via an actual sequel, we've heard how Dolly Parton, along with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, might come back for the new film. Apparently, the current plan is to have a new trio of wronged ladies seek out the originals for a bit of advice. According to Parton:

In case you don't know the joys of 9 to 5 (and shame on you, if that's the case), the film focuses on three women, Judy, Violet and Doralee (Fonda, Tomlin and Parton respectively), who work for a company with highly sexist and generally unfriendly business practices, and also happen to have a boss, Frank (Dabney Coleman), who firmly embraces those practices and directly sexually harasses Doralee. After becoming unlikely buds when work woes get them down and bonding over how they'd like to take care of Frank and make the company better, things take an even more hilarious turn when they find themselves kidnapping their "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" of a boss and secretly running the company.

If this sounds like the kind of idea that would drive disgruntled workers to the theater in droves, you're right. 9 to 5 came out in 1980 and made almost $104 million dollars, which led to it being listed as one of the highest grossing comedies of all time. Along with giving the world Dolly Parton's catchy hit song "9 to 5" and fully launching her into broad pop culture stardom, the movie also spawned a TV show of the same name that ran for five seasons on ABC, and later in first run syndication, from 1982 through 1988. A Broadway musical, with new songs by Parton, opened in 2009 and received 15 prestigious Drama Desk Award nominations, the most for any production in a single year, and also scored four Tony nominations.

Dolly Parton also mentioned, in her interview with Entertainment Weekly, that Pat Resnick (who wrote the original film and the stage show) is working on this new film with Rashida Jones. While Jones is best known for her work as an actress on television and in movies like Parks and Recreation, Angie Tribeca and I Love You, Man, she's also worked behind the camera and wrote the film Celeste and Jesse Forever, as well as an episode of Black Mirror and the recent documentary about her father Quincy Jones, Quincy. And, it's pretty clear that these two know that getting the original 9 to 5 trio of badass ladies to join in on the fun is a good idea.

With so many reboots, remakes, revivals and the like already coming down the pike or currently on TV and in theaters, it's become pretty clear that for every audience member that enjoys reliving these stories (or enjoying them for the first time), there are dozens who would rather just watch the original and are either actively against favorites from days gone by being updated or simply don't understand why so many remakes / reimaginings / long-awaited sequels are happening now.

Of course, everyone who makes a movie or TV show is looking to get as many eyeballs on it as possible, so the idea of finding a way to bring a classic that was beloved by many back to the screen seems like the perfect way to ensure an automatic audience. And, it's clear that Pat Resnick and Rashida Jones know what they're about by starting with the idea of getting Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda to reprise their roles from the first movie.

Part of what makes 9 to 5 so funny and memorable is not just the basic performances of the leads, but the friendship that quickly grows between the women, who are all in a bad place when it comes to their careers. The camaraderie between the three is what really makes 9 to 5 sing, and as much as I'm sure that every effort will be made, when casting the young leads for the new film, to find a new group of ladies who have the same rapport that Parton, Fonda and Tomlin did, you simply can't go wrong by adding them to the cast to bring in some of that familiar zing.

Another way that the writers and stars are hoping to have the 9 to 5 sequel connect with modern audiences is that the topics the original film covered are still relevant. Dolly Parton mentioned in her interview that the #MeToo movement now has many women standing up for themselves and their rights, especially in the workplace, so the comedy can be used, once again, to highlight important issues while still giving people a little bit of a break from bad news, something we have always needed comedies to help us with.

While I am always skeptical when folks start talking about rebooting or remaking classics, it does seem like the team working on 9 to 5 has the right idea, so I'm willing to give this a shot if it continues to develop. It's also a good sign that Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda are willing to jump back in as long as they like the story that Pat Resnick and Rashida Jones come up with, so here's hoping that they create something as funny, weird and meaningful and the original.

The 9 to 5 sequel is still in the early stages of development, so there's no word right now on when we could see it on the big screen. But, be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend, and we'll let you know about any updates on the project as they become available to us.

On screens both big and small, there's no denying that Jane Fonda has cemented her legacy. Throughout the past five decades, the actress/activist has propelled herself into becoming a prominent figure of Hollywood. With the continued success of the Netflix series Grace and Frankie, which she stars in alongside Lily Tomlin, Fonda continues to hold onto that high-standing legacy. Now, that life and those achievements are celebrated and explored in the new HBO documentary Jane Fonda in Five Acts, where recently premiered on the premiere station. Inside that documentary, the actress makes a number of confessions and revelations from hours upon hours of recorded conversations. One of those revelations relates to plastic surgery.

The revealing admission, as recorded by Entertainment Tonight, is one of many made by Jane Fonda throughout the television documentary. It's all part of the "intimate look" promised within the promotional materials for Five Acts. As Fonda admits in the film, while she is happy she looks good for her age, she also knows that her looks are the result of plastic surgery -- at least, to some extent -- and she doesn't find herself afraid to admit that. Jane Fonda looks at a few of her contemporary actresses, including Vanessa Redgrave, and Fonda wonders if she would have been better off not going forward with getting plastic surgery in the first place. But alas, the decision was made, and it's one that Jane Fonda lives with now.

To be clear, it doesn't sound like Jane Fonda is disappointed in the plastic surgery she got. Rather, the veteran actress seems disappointed that she went forward with the decision in the first place, opting to change her looks (if even marginally) rather than age naturally and provide an example to others. As she confesses in the open-hearted documentary, Fonda wishes she was "braver" in her choices (at least, in this particular regard) and decided not to make this choice.

Nevertheless, what's done is done. But Jane Fonda continues to remain active and optimistic. In addition to Grace and Frankie, which was renewed for a fifth season on the streaming service back in February, Fonda is also signed on to the upcoming follow-up to the workplace comedy 9 to 5, where she is expected to reunite with Dolly Parton and her Grace and Frankie co-star Lily Tomlin. The famous actress considered making this new sequel/follow-up to be the easiest decision she ever made. In addition to starring in the upcoming film, meanwhile, she also serves as a producer.

Additionally, Jane Fonda was recently seen in Book Club earlier this summer. If these projects were keeping her busy already, she is also reportedly in the midst of writing another book. Despite all these achievements, however, Fonda claims she didn't feel like she made it until she turned 80, which happened on her last birthday in December. There's no denying that Fonda continues to be a powerhouse figure in Hollywood -- in this decade and several others.

It's becoming increasingly apparent in the modern era that it's never too late for a movie to get a direct sequel. We've seen this happen with Indian Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Tron: Legacy and Blade Runner 2049 (to name a few), and the latest title being thrown into this group is 9 to 5. The comedy starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton came out in 1980, i.e. nearly 40 years ago. But all three actresses are still around, and after years of talk about reuniting for a sequel, Jane Fonda has confirmed that such a project is now in the works. Speaking about the 9 to 5 sequel, Fonda said the following:

It was reported earlier this year that a 9 to 5 sequel was entering development, with Rashida Jones and Pat Rosnick, and Jane Fonda confirmed this yesterday at an event promoting her upcoming HBO documentary (via THR). For those unfamiliar, 9 to 5 was a workplace comedy that followed Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton's characters trying to overthrow their sexist, hypocritical and egotistical boss, played by Dabney Coleman. Nearly four decades later, this subject matter is still relevant, particularly in the wake of the #MeToo movement, but Fonda implied that this sequel would take a different path. Instead, the actress suggested that "technology and corporate voyeurism" could be the foil in the 9 to 5 sequel, which will be set at the same office of Consolidated Companies.

Directed by Harold and Maude's Colin Higgins, 9 to 5 was well received upon release and made over $103 million worldwide off a $10 million budget. A TV series adaptation followed that originally aired on ABC from 1982 to 1983, and then returned for first-run syndication from 1986 to 1988. Two decades later, the movie was adapted into a Broadway musical that earned a Drama Desk Award and was nominated for four Tony Awards. Although this 9 to 5 sequel will mark the first time that Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton have all re-teamed together since the original movie, Fonda and Tomlin have been spending a lot of time together lately starring in the Netflix comedy series Grace and Frankie.

In this age where reboots and remakes are more plentiful than ever, it's nice to see that rather than make a brand-new version, the original trio is instead being brought back together, 9 to 5 is one of the more popular comedies of the 1980s, and if Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton are game for a reunion, this is the best way to evoke the spirit of that original movie as closely as possible while still exploring modern day life and how the office setting has changed since the early '80s.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for any major updates concerning the 9 to 5 sequel, but in the meantime, be sure to look through our 2018 release schedule to find out what movies are arriving in theaters later this year.

Jane Fonda is an icon of showbiz who has turned in fabulous performances on the large and small screens over the many years of career. She is an Oscar winner, an Emmy winner, and a Golden Globe winner, and pretty much everybody knows her name. She's still active in showbiz today, thanks to her starring role in the sitcom Grace and Frankie and her upcoming role in the movie Our Souls at Night. Fonda recently appeared on Today to promote Our Souls at Night with co-star Robert Redford, and the interview took a distinctly uncomfortable turn when interviewer Megyn Kelly suddenly began to ask Fonda about her plastic surgery. Take a look!

The interview starts off innocently enough, as Jane Fonda and Robert Redford reflected on the early years of the careers, before they really hit it big and became the icons they are today. Then, about a minute and a half in, Megyn Kelly switched from talking about how hunky Redford was in The Way We Were and All the President's Men to bring up Jane Fonda's history with plastic surgery. The tone of the interview changed very quickly as soon as Kelly uttered the words "You admit you had work done." Jane Fonda clearly wasn't expecting the interview to go in that direction. While Fonda kept her composure a lot better than many of us viewers probably could have, she was clearly not happy.

Kudos to Jane Fonda for moving the conversation on from the awkward moment that could have derailed the entire interview. Despite Megyn Kelly's best efforts to get Fonda to talk about her plastic surgery -- which Kelly specifically mentioned as something Fonda has said she's not proud of -- Fonda made a quick segue back to discussing Our Souls at Night. Really, Kelly's query about Fonda's plastic surgery felt more like something that should come out of her evening news show than a fun interview to create buzz for a Netflix movie. I'm guessing most viewers were watching to see Jane Fonda and Robert Redford bantering rather than Kelly questioning Fonda's cosmetic decisions.

Robert Redford helped Jane Fonda make a joke out of Megyn Kelly's question about plastic surgery, and they managed to shift focus back to Our Souls at Night. The interview got nicely silly and charming once Redford and Fonda hit their comedic rhythm again, but it's difficult to argue that there weren't some seriously uncomfortable moments. Interestingly, this wasn't the first instance of an interview going somewhat sideways for Kelly. Debra Messing wasn't happy with some of Kelly's comments after an appearance on Today to hype the upcoming Will and Grace revival.

You can catch Jane Fonda and Robert Redford together on screen again when Our Souls at Night debuts on Netflix on Friday, September 29. For your other streaming options, take a look at our 2017 Netflix premiere schedule, and be sure to drop by our fall TV guide as well.

Well, here’s a mental image that you probably thought you’d never have to picture: Jane Fonda and Michael Jackson went skinny dipping together. Nope, that’s not a randomly thrown together joke in the vein of Family Guy. It legitimately happened. And now Jane Fonda has decided to open up about it.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter as part of their Hollywood Masters interview series, Jane Fonda revealed that while shooting the 1981 film On The Golden Pond, Michael Jackson randomly popped up for a visit. Fonda admitted that the pop music sensation had come to the New Hampshire set to visit her, screen icon Katharine Hepburn, and her father Henry Fonda. Fonda explained:

Jane Fonda didn’t go into any further specifics, except to add that she’d also shed her clothes and decided to go for a swim with Greta Garbo, too. I'm guessing not at the same time, because that would have just been all kinds of awesome. Either way, Fonda has had a pretty impressive list of skinny dipping partners. And while Katherine Hepburn wasn’t overly fond of Michael Jackson to begin with, the singer soon won her over because he was eager to become a movie star and he wanted to learn more about the craft.

And he picked a pretty impressive film to study from, because not only are Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, and Jane Fonda three of the best thespians to have ever been seen on celluloid, but Henry Fonda and Hepburn picked up the Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively, for their performances in On The Golden Pond, too.

While on set, Fonda revealed that Hepburn became more and more comfortable with having Michael Jackson around, to the point that she soon began regaling him with stories about her past as an actress and tales from Hollywood. All of which Jackson recorded on his tape recorder, a device that Fonda wishes she had her hands on today.

Unfortunately, Michael Jackson wasn’t able to quite match the on-screen exploits of Hepburn and the Fondas. But I think we can all admit that Moonwalker, and his cameo in Men In Black II, deserve at least some recognition. One for being preposterously bad. The other for being surprisingly funny. I'll let you figure out which is which.

You can check out an abridged version of Jane Fonda’s discussion with The Hollywood Reporter below:

Meanwhile, Jane Fonda can next be seen in Youth, which will be released on December 4.

While most networks are busy worrying about bringing in the key 18-49 demographic, Netflix is skewing older with its upcoming comedy Grace and Frankie, although I’m sure the streaming service would like for younger crowds to check it out as well. Especially since it was put together in part by Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman. Check out the fun and breezy first trailer below.

Created by Kauffman and former Home Improvement writer/producer Howard J. Morris, Grace and Frankie’s all-star cast includes 9 to 5 co-stars Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda as two lifelong rivals who become friendly-ish after being left by their respective husbands, who then start a relationship together. Grace was married to Robert, played by the always enjoyable Martin Sheen, while Frankie was married to Sol, played by Sam Waterston. While this would certainly make for a horrifically uncomfortable situation for most people, how can you hate on gay Martin Sheen and gay Sam Waterston? They’re absolutely peachy together.

Judging from the trailer, Tomlin’s Frankie is the edgier extrovert of the two women, while Fonda’s Grace is more self-concerned and perhaps a little egocentric. Understandably, the sudden shift takes both women head-on, and they’re forced to deal with it both together and with their children.

Grace’s oldest daughter Brianna, played by the hilarious June Diane Raphael, struggles to understand who she is while rebelling against who Grace thinks she is. Brooklyn Decker plays younger daughter Mallory, who is now questioning everything after modeling her own marriage on that of her parents. On Frankie’s side of things, Ethan Embry is there to play the charismatic son Coyote, a man with a newly cleared and sober head, following a life of drug abuse and self-destruction. His brother Bud (real name Nwabudike), played by Isaac Dunham, was adopted from Uganda at a young age and has attached himself to the life of a Jewish man, keeping kosher while working at Sol’s law firm.

All in all, I like what Grace and Frankie is delivering, which is basically older folks coming to grips with the fact that their lives aren’t all that much more solid than those of younger folks. And even if you’ve never had your spouse leave you for another person of the same sex, this talented cast is bound to make it feel relatable. Real talk: that moment when Fonda is slapping her dangling forearm skin is definitely something I’ve done in the mirror, even though I’m a generation behind her. It’s just something that has to be done!

Catch all 13 episodes of Grace and Frankie’s Season 1 when they hit Netflix on May 8.

Ellen DeGeneres was planning to have actress and former fitness instructor Jane Fonda on talk show this week, so she took one of Jane Fonda’s workout tapes home for her wife Portia De Rossi to try out, then secretly videotaped her while she attempted some of the more ridiculous workout moves from the 1980s. Give The Ellen Show segment a watch, below.

I think we can all agree that everything about eighties workout tapes was a little ridiculous. From the headbands and the neon-colored legwarmers to the oddball squats and jogging in place, there’s a lot that we can look back on and giggle at. It’s especially funny to see Portia De Rossi giving the butt-toning moves a try several decades later. It’s hard to bend and snap!

While I think even Jane Fonda would agree that her fitness guru fashion choices were a little over-the-top back in the day, it’s actually incredibly interesting to hear Fonda talk with Ellen DeGeneres about the fitness revolution in the 1980s. Prior to that, woman weren’t expected to be athletic in any sense and if a woman did want to be buff or toned, it was hard to find an outlet in which to get in shape. But then the VCR revolution hit and with it came the exercise tape, which gave women the freedom to exercise in ridiculous get-ups. When you put it that way, there was a lot more going on with Fonda’s workout tapes than those funny positions.

You have to think that De Rossi has a good sense of humor to be cool with Ellen just splashing her butt all over her popular TV show, but I guess if my butt were in that nice of shape, I wouldn’t mind either. And by far, that’s not the funniest trick Ellen has played on unsuspecting people on her show. Ellen is a woman who has been able to get Oprah Winfrey herself to indulge in an epic rap battle. We’ve seen the actresses in Mom throw on their own goofy exercise gear and engage in an American Ninja Warrior course on the show. (Allison Janney crushed that, by the way.) Ellen even convinced Britney Spears to learn “Gangnam Style” from pop singer Psy. She has an incredibly way of helping celebrities to get in touch with their goofy side, even if that means dancing around to Jane Fonda exercise tapes.

The only thing that could have made this video better is if Ellen had gotten the relatively reserved Jane Fonda to give her old tapes a go. These days, Fonda is just a little too elegant for those shenanigans, coming off a stint as a badass boss on The Newsroom, although she will delve into comedy for her next project with Lily Tomlin over at Netflix. Something tells me there won’t be leg warmers involved.

File this one under "ohmygodthissounsdamazing!": Friends creator, writer, and executive producer Marta Kauffman has done it again, crafting a comedy we’re fairly excited about. Grace and Frankie. An original comedy series from Kauffman and Howard J. Morris, has received a 13-episode first season order from Netflix. Oh, and in case you weren’t sure whether or not to be excited about it, the show will star two of its executive producers — you might've heard of them before? — the incomparable Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda.

That’s right, the gals from 9 to 5 (that’s where we got that picture from, above) will reunite for the Skydance Production, where longtime rivals are “brought together by a rather unusual change in their marital circumstances,” according to a press release from Netflix today.

The single-camera affair will follow Grace (Fonda) and Frankie (Tomlin) as they go, it seems, from enemies to frenemies. Facing the “last chapter of their lives,” the women are shocked when their husbands confess they are actually in love with each other and plan to get married. Things, as you can imagine, go topsy-turvy from there as the two women find their lives intertwined forever, forcing them to look to each other, surprisingly, for support.

The half-hour comedy will star the incredibly accomplished ladies who, really, need no introduction. But just in case you were unaware of the myriad talents, allow us to set the record straight for you. Fonda, in addition to recently guest starring on HBO/Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom, has had a career for the ages. Her credits include Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Nine to Five, Coming Home, Barbarella, and many more. She’s won two Oscars in addition to numerous Emmys, Golden Globes, Ton Awards, BAFTAs, and more.

As for accomplished comedian Tomlin, the Oscar-nominated funny lady also has an Emmy under her belt for the HBO film An Apology to Elephants in addition to several Tony Awards, Emmy Awards, Peabody Awards, and even the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. She’s been featured in such things as I Heart Huckabees, Lisa Kudrow’s web series Web Therapy, Damages, The West Wing, and was even the voice of Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus. Ms. Frizzle!!

“Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are among the funniest and most formidable actresses ever and it’s an incredible privilege to give them the opportunity to run riot on Netflix,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix Chief Content Officer. “The show created for them by Marta and Howard is warm, very funny and anything but wholesome. We can’t wait.”

“Netflix is redefining the way we produce and consume television and it’s a true privilege to be in business with Ted and his amazing team,” said David Ellison of Skydance. “Working with the wonderfully talented Marta, Jane, Lily, Howard and their producer Paula Weinstein is a dream come true, and the story they have crafted is both hilarious and heartfelt.”

Gosh, we are just so excited about this.

Lee Daniels’ The Butler explores the taboo topic of race relations that have influenced American society for decades, but it’s a totally different political issue that has one theater owner in Kentucky boycotting the biopic. THR has drawn our attention to The News-Enterprise interview with Ike Boutwell, owner of MoviePalace and Showtime Cinemas in Elizabethtown, Ky, and proud Marines Corps veteran. It’s been 38 years since the Vietnam War ended, but some wounds are slow to heal - for instance when a movie star calls you a war criminal for your service in the U.S. military.

During the Vietnam War, Fonda was an outspoken anti-war protester, and her actions were considered by some to be downright treasonous. “I trained hundreds of pilots to fly, many of whom Ms. Fonda clapped and cheered as they were shot down," Boutwell said in the interview. “Our Constitution only mentions three crimes. Treason is one. That’s aid and comfort to the enemy.” In the 1970s, Fonda visited with North Vietnam forces, which drew much ire from Stateside soldiers and earned her the nickname “Hanoi Jane.”

Over the past 30 years he’s run them, Boutwell has never to his knowledge shown one of Fonda’s movies in his theaters. But her role as First Lady Nancy Reagan in Lee Daniels’ The Butler has him especially aggrieved, “I just really think it’s a slap in the face to have a person of treason portray a patriotic lady, Mrs. Reagan,” he told the paper. “I just think that is throwing gas on the fire.”

This Marine Corps veteran isn’t the only one boycotting the film because of Fonda. Across the nation U.S. military veterans have made public their decision to avoid Lee Daniels’ The Butler because of her role in it. A Facebook group called Boycott Hanoi Jane Playing Nancy Reagan currently has over 31,000 members. But Fonda, doesn’t care. When she was asked about the response her casting created, she told THR,

She took this incendiary statement a step further on The Butler’s press tour by wearing a t-shirt that shows her from her protesting days. You can see it in the video below:

Lee Daniels’ The Butler has been doing well in theaters, having pulled in nearly $25 million on its opening weekend. But Boutwell won’t be swayed by the money the star-stacked movie might earn him. He declares, “In life, you’ve got to stand for something, and that’s where I stand. It makes me feel that I’m honoring those who died for this country.”

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Jason Bateman has plenty of experience dealing with difficult matriarchs. As Michael Bluth on Arrested Development he found himself going toe to toe with Jessica Walter's Lucille. In the upcoming film This is Where I Leave You Bateman once again finds himself dealing with a dysfunctional family, only this time it's Jane Fonda who is contributing to his grief.

According to Deadline, the veteran actress is now in talks to join the cast of the Shawn Levy-directed comedy, which is also set to star Tina Fey and Corey Stoll. The film is based on Jonathan Tropper’s 2009 novel and is about a family that is forced back together to mourn the death of their father. Should Fonda sign on for the film she will play the "newly widowed Hillary Foxman," the mother of the three aforementioned actors' characters.

Tropper wrote the adaptation himself and Levy is aiming to start production in the late spring. The director has the Vince Vaughn/Owen Wilson comedy The Internship coming out this summer and is also attached to the sequel Night At The Museum 3 with Ben Stiller.

Most recently Fonda has been playing a recurring role on Aaron Sorkin's HBO drama The Newsroom, but she's also kept busy on the big screen as well. She co-stars alongside Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, Michelle Monaghan, Ray Liotta and Ben Schwarz in the dark comedy Better Living Through Chemistry, and also has a historical role in Lee Daniels' The Butler, set to play Nancy Reagan opposite Alan Rickman as Ronald. Despite the fact that both films have stellar casts, neither has a set release date yet, but both films have finished production.

Gaumont International Television, the American based production and distribution offshoot of the famed European feature studio, continues to add to their incredibly intriguing line-up of new programs. GIT is already behind Bryan Fuller's small screen reworking of Thomas Harris' famous character Hannibal as well as Eli Roth's turn to television with the horror story Hemlock Grove and now they've set their sights on Nicolas Winding Refn's vision for counter culture icon Barbarella.

Deadline reports that GIT and producer Martha De Laurentiis have teamed up with the hot Danish director to bring Jean-Claude Forest's famous character to TV. The potential Barbarella television series would be based on Forest's graphic novel about a highly-sexualized heroine from a distant future tasked with hunting down and defeating the evil Durand-Durand. The story was made famous thanks to the cult classic 1968 sci-fi movie of the same name directed by Roger Vadim and staring Jane Fonda.

As Deadline's story notes, De Laurentiis’ late husband, Dino, had been busy working on a Barbarella movie for some time before his death two years ago. There was ongoing talk of Robert Rodriguez directing Rose McGowan in the picture but the last whispers we heard were the 2010 rumors that the film was finally moving forward with Anne Hathaway of all people in the lead. As interesting as that, or the Rodriguez-McGowan, version may have been, the project being put together by Gaumont sounds far more promising.

I mean, just listen to the sound of 'Nicolas Winding Refn's Barbarella.' Pretty rad right? GIT CEO Katie O’Connell agrees stating how they "are thrilled to have secured the rights... and to be pairing the bold visceral style of Nicolas Refn with the pop culture icon Barbarella.” And the company is clearly invested in the young filmmaker since they have, well, literally invested in two of his next features including Only God Forgives which reteams him with his muse Ryan Gosling. Perhaps the director even had some sway in convincing Gaumont to go with Mads Mikkelsen as their Hannibal since the actor has starred in several of Refn's films.

Speaking of stars, who might they have in mind to fill the role made famous by Fonda? If schedules permit, I wouldn't be surprised if Refn turned to his Drive supporting actress Christina Hendricks because, not only does she have the look, but she was also his first choice when fantasy casting the Wonder Woman movie he wants to make. Hendricks is amazing on Mad Men and her brief turn on Firefly makes me think she's could pull off Barbarella, what do you think?

Jane Fonda is proud of her mugshot. Of course, it was taken in 1970, when she was 33 and a vocal anti-war activist, but she's proud of it all the same at 74, featuring it prominently on a website that includes health and fitness tips, photos from her various film sets, and a lengthy post about her conversion to Christianity. To say Jane Fonda contains multitudes barely even begins to cover it-- she's lived more lives than almost anyone, famous or not, and as she enters what she calls the "third act" of her life, she seems convinced that things are only going to get better from here.

Really, it's hard to argue with her-- she's starring in films like Peace, Love & Misunderstanding (which opens this Friday) and the upcoming Aaron Sorkin HBO Series The Newsroom, continuing her charity work, writing books about sexuality for adolescents in Georgia, and last fall even gave a TED Talk about how other people can achieve the kind of awesome third act that she has.

Offered the chance to join Fonda and her Peace, Love and Misunderstanding co-star Catherine Keener for a roundtable conversation over breakfast earlier this week, I admit, I really just wanted to see Jane Fonda in person. And naturally, she didn't disappoint, commanding the room with the kind of presence you'd expect from Hollywood royalty, but also opening up about how her marriage to Ted Turner affected her acting, how she believes in a divine feminine spirit, which item she recently crossed off her bucket list, and the witch she phoned up to help with a key moon ritual scene in Peace, Love and Misunderstanding.

In the film Fonda plays an aging hippie living on a farm in Woodstock, New York who takes in her daughter (Keener) and two grandchildren (Elizabeth Olsen, Nat Wolff) for a summer. Though Fonda insists she's not playing herself, and she never was a hippie, she's clearly riffing on her own association with 60s counterculture, and told stories during the roundtable about meeting up with Levon Helm at his studio near Woodstock, and as you'll see in the interview, explained a bit about how political activism has transformed since her anti-Vietnam War days. Check out the conversation with her and Keener below, and see them both in Peace, Love & Misunderstanding this Friday.

How does this role and this movie fit into your third act?

It fits very well in the sense that I'm a grandmother, I've had daughter issues that are resolved, and as I get older, more and more I realize, is there anything more important in life than love and forgiveness? The reason I wanted to do the movie, aside from work with Bruce Beresford and Catherine Keener, was to make a movie about love and forgiveness, and a movie that made you feel good when you left.

Did you ever imagine yourself starring in a movie at 74?

Several years ago I didn't imagine I'd be alive at 74, much less starring in a movie. Everything is a surprise to me, including as I said during the TED talks, I'm happier than I've ever been.

Your role in the French film And If We All Live Together has parallels to this one, about portraying a woman's full life including sexuality and relationships and all that.

[Doing a film in French] was part of my bucket list. I was in the middle of writing a book called Prime Time, about aging and how important it is to countenance one's death, to prepare and not be afraid of it, and realize that if it wasn't for death life would have no meaning, and how much easier it is to live with the sense of wanting to get to the end of life without having any regrets. And then here's this character in this French movie who plans her death, nobody knows she's dying, and she wants a pink coffin and wants people to drink champagne at her funeral. It seemed to be talking about the same things i wanted to be talking about in my book.

You seem so much more comfortable in your skin in general now. Does it change the way you prepare for your roles? You seem much looser now than you were 30 years ago.

I am, I know. Isn't it wonderful? A chunk of it has to do with Ted Turner. You don't come out of 10 years with Ted Turner the same as you went in. I come from a long line of depressed people,and actually so does Ted, but Ted is this rambunctious, over-the-top person who can be very outrageous. But I learned how to laugh with him. I learned it was OK just to be out there. Everything became lighter.

Some of it has to do with Ted, and some if it has to do with just getting older. It's not just me-- doing research for my book I found out that over 50 most people don't get happier, they get better in their skin. There's this sense of "I've been there, I've done that, I survived." You tend not to make mountains out of molehills. It's very hard to be young, because you don't know what you need to know. What you're describing comes from very deep inside me. I hope that it continues in other things that I'm doing.

Do you think that roles for older women are getting better?

I think it's just beginning to get better in what could become a substantial way. It's a business, it's a market, and the marketers know that older women is the fastest growing demographic. The fact that The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has done hugely well, Meryl Streep's movies do hugely well financially, and I think that matters. More and more television is making it possible for older women to be full, multi-dimensional people. I think it's going to be better.

Have you done a moon ritual like the one in the film? Do you believe in lunar power and all of that?

I believe as the early Christians did that the divine spirit is a feminine spirit, she was called Sophia. December 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar says the cosmic energy is going to tip, and I think it's going to tip to the feminine spirit, which is not anti-man, just that part of the energy that is more loving and forgiving and healing and so forth. I have never done a moon ritual in my life, although I think the moon is powerful, so I called a friend of mine who's a witch. She came up and stayed with me for a few days and she taught us the chant. So we did a real chant, there was a lot of witch energy. It's not something I would ever do, but I was really happy to experience it.

What's your take on the politics in the film?

I think people think that I"m playing me, with the anti-war stuff and the hippie and the pot. I never was a hippie. I had to go to [Keener]--she helped me understand. She told me what music to listen to, she brought me documentaries. I lived in France [in the 60s]! I wasn't even here. I didn't understand very much about Woodstock. She brought me this documentary that helped me totally understand. Whose water wouldn't break? But I'd never played a hippie before, I never wore tie-dye or anything like that. My anti-war work was never carrying a placard like that, more organizing stuff. It was fun to play something like that that I'd never done before.

Keener: Do you think the anti-war movement has changed?

Fonda: Totally, because of the internet, and no draft.

Keener: But the persona has changed?

Fonda: The Occupy movement is more like what people imagine it used to be, though it's not really. The fact that there's no draft, and there's internet and tweeting, it's changed everything.

Elizabeth Olsen's huge breakout year is behind her, and none of the roles she's filmed since getting enormous buzz with Martha Marcy May Marlene have yet come to theaters, but her career is one that came out of the gate fast. Before anybody knew who she was beyond "the sister of Mary Kate and Ashley," Olsen had also filmed roles in the thriller Silent House, which opened earlier this year, and the comedy Peace, Love & Misunderstanding, which is on its way to a June release. Today we've got our first look at the movie, which as you'll see, has quite the all-star cast to back up newcomer Olsen. Take a look below.

If you're a moviegoer of a certain age or a fan of older films, the draw here is clearly not Olsen but Jane Fonda, who rocks a huge wig and some really outlandish clothes as the aged hippie grandmother who winds up dispensing advice right and left. The set up for the movie is a little groaningly familiar-- even Catherine Keener seems to indicate she's already read this story of an uptight lawyer converting to free love-- but Fonda seems to be put in the middle to make it all worth it. The resume of director Bruce Beresford, most famous for directing Driving Miss Daisy, doesn't really suggest there will be a lot of nuance here, but you really never know what a bunch of good actors can do when put in a scene together.

Peace, Love & Misunderstanding opens June 8, opposite Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and, er, Prometheus. OK, so maybe you won't see Misunderstanding over the giant Ridley Scott sci-fi epic, but there's plenty of time to spend at the movies this summer, right?

It seems more has developed for the new HBO series that was once going by the name More as the Story Develops. The show, created and written by the unparalleled Aaron Sorkin, is adding even more pedigree to the already incredibly prestigious series, now operating under the title Newsroom. And while the tentative title couldn't be any more boring, adding two-time Academy Award winner Jane Fonda to the show should certainly help keep the finished product from being anything but bland.

TVLine broke the news that the veteran actress would be joining the series (in her first major TV role) to play the recurring role of Leona Lansing, the CEO of the cable news network's parent company. She will be a main source of conflict as her company's corporate concerns often conflict (and perhaps trump) with objectively reporting the news. As the article notes, the character's name is an interesting combination of two legendary Hollywood business women, Leona Helmsley and Sherry Lansing. This is even more coincidental (or not) given the fact that Fonda was recently given the Sherry Lansing Award for Leadership by The Hollywood Reporter during their annual Women in Entertainment Power List hoopla. She joins an already stunning cast that includes veterans and fellow award winners Jeff Daniels and Sam Waterston.

Newsroom, which follows the behind the scenes exploits of a fictional news network, is just one of many projects that Mr. Sorkin has on the go - including a Chateau Marmont mini-series at HBO with John Krasinski as well as hovering around the Steve Jobs bio-pic as a possible scribe. Sorkin's return to television with Newsroom is obviously an exciting prospect since he is the man responsible for creating and writing several of the most engaging shows of the last few decades like Sports Night (another exercise in title blandness) and The West Wing. Lastly, with the talent that he and HBO have accumulated for the new series, well, I can't wait for it to hit my TV screen. In the meantime, get your Sorkin fix with Moneyball and your Fonda fix by renting Klute. You won't be disappointed with either.

Newsroom (or whatever the final title will be) will air on HBO sometime in 2012 and stars Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, Alison Pill, John Gallgher Jr., Olivia Munn, Dev Patel, Thomas Sadoski, Sam Waterston and now Jane Fonda in a recurring role. It was created by Aaron Sorkin.