Stories, Meaning, Aging, and Hope
Saw two wonderful and different movies last weekend that had similar messages. First was the wierd and offbeat, Bubba-Ho-Tep. An aging Elvis impersonator who claims to truly be Elvis and an elderly, African-American JFK (they dyed him to keep him incognito) seek to stop a soul-sucking un-dead mummy who is decimating the already dying population of the nursing home they live in. It is a story of redemption and finding meaning in old age by doing something of value for others. You are never too old to do something of significance, even if people have put you off in the fartherest reaches of a nursing home. Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis are wonderful and the cowboy boot and hat-wearing skeleton is priceless.

The second was the less offbeat but still wonderful Second-Hand Lions with Michael Caine and Robert Duvall as two older, supposedly wealthy uncles who inherit Haley Joel Osment. They weave a wonderful story of high action and the Foreign Legion. But in the stories there is redemption and hope. In the relationship with their nephew brings meaning. They never lose excitement. No matter what they're age.

Wonderful stories always being redemption and hope. These two- as different as they are- do it well.