Here’s the comforting thing about moving on in your midlife years: the stars you adored when you were young are moving on as well.  If they’re not just stars but real icons of popular culture, then they have the moxie and the means to make movies about what interests them–which is the stuff of life and midlife.

Enter Tom Hanks, who will be 55 in a couple of weeks.  With Nia Vardalos, who will be 49 in the Fall, he has written Larry Crowne, a film that is set to open at the beginning of July.  Hanks, a definite icon, has also directed the film, and he’s cast it with another icon, Julia Roberts, who is 44.

The film is a rom-com-dram (I just made that up…I think, unless Hollywood beat me to it) about two midlife people who figure that accepting your reality and settling for whatever is the mature thing to do.  Then our economic times–losing your job to downsizing; being underwater on your mortgage–throws some major roadblocks on that freeway to settling.  But those roadblocks end up being game-changers (I’m going for a record on mixed metaphors here), and–well, life should only be so good for all of us as it is for Hanks and Roberts characters.

Is this not the perfect summer movie for the midlife crowd?  The producers think so and they’re sponsoring a giveaway on MidLifeBloggers: a $50 Fandango certificate is the first prize.  You can take a crowd–or at least a couple of friends–to see Larry Crowne.  Second prize is a sure-to-be-a-collector’s-item Larry Crowne T-shirt & Notepad.

Here’s what you have to do:

• Tell me in a comment why you should win this giveaway.  Be funny or tragic, but never dull.
• Your comment must include a valid email address.
• Entrants must be at least 18, but really, why are you on this site if you’re not in midlife?!
• Entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m on June 28, 2011.
• Winners will be chosen from qualified entries using random.org and announced on June 29.
• I will contact the winners by email, and Universal Pictures will be providing the prizes.  The movie opens July 1, so if we all move quickly, you can use your Fandango certificate for opening weekend (and you do know that for the movie business, opening weekend stats are the only ones that count!).

Giveaway Results

The fickle hand of fate has moved and writ large and is pointing to Stacy as our first place winner.  She will be receiving a $50 Fandango certificate from Universal Pictures.  Not quite so lucky, but still in the winner’s circle, is Little Latina, who will be receiving a Larry Crowne T-shirt and notepad.

UPDATE:  Stacy and Little Latina–I need your snail mail addresses to give to the producers.  It seems that Little Latina did not include an email address, so if I don’t hear from her by Thursday, 6/30/11 at 3:30 pm, I’ll do another drawing for that prize.

UPDATED UPDATE:  Never heard from Little Latina, so I threw all the entries back in the hopper and Margaret Smith came back the winner of the T-shirt and notepad.