It’s official. Madonna hit the big five-three this week, which clears her from the early-50’s realm and on to—gulp—mid-50’s status. But the icon who made us believe “40 is the new 30” is now commanding us to believe “50 is the new 20”. (Which means we get to scream at Justin Bieber on our 60th, right?)
There’ll be hell to pay if we play heretics to the new world order: enforced by thighs that have been vetted by PowerPlate, arms hardened on years of Ashtanga Yoga and abs that could play a game of quarters all by themselves. If all of that isn’t daunting enough, consider the macrobiotic diet, to which her Madgesty strictly adheres: the woman doesn’t eat eggs, but she’ll fry you like one if you even try to keep up with her three-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week fitness regime.
Ironically, the element that constantly pulls us back “into the groove” with Madonna is the very thing she wants us to ignore: her age. She’s a beautiful woman because of those 50 years, not in spite of them. More than that, her decade of existence has been a gift to her fandom, not a memento to stuff away. We’ve all grown up together—through all the fashion fads, the dance routines, the boyfriends, the marriages and yes, even that book—and now, as Madonna shines her way through to her 6th decade, she’s showing us how to do it once again: with grace, guts, determination and dignity.
She’s even embarking on a new challenge in her career: that of film director. Though she wrote and directed an indie in 2008, Filth and Wisdom, the themes of the movie rambled, including everything from S&M to saving the Third World. Reviews were mixed, but she landed a respectable 28% “up vote” on RottenTomatoes.com. The stakes will be considerably higher when her second directorial effort, W.E., is released by The Weinstein Company in December this year. As summarized on HollywoodReporter.com:
“The film tells the story of a young woman who becomes enthralled with the love affair between Wallis Simpson and the British monarch, who famously abdicated the throne for the woman he loved. Their romance is in stark contrast to the woman’s own unhappy marriage—and an example to follow.”
Only time—which the woman seems to have plenty of!—will tell what hyphen “The Fab Madge” will add to her job description next. Just don’t ask her to add another candle to the birthday cake!