The May-December romance is one characterized by a significant age gap between lovers who are at different stages of life: the younger person is in their supposed Spring while the older partner is in their Winter. Historically this configuration involves an older man and an ingénue, and commonly – be it explicitly or implicitly – their story is presented as one of resource exchange: the older man brings to the relationship his money, power, and status while the younger woman brings youth, fertility, and ripe Spring freshness. While routinely boasting romantic and erotic themes, such stories regularly also stir in taboo and social judgment, power play, manipulation and possibilities for genuine love and personal development too. In 2024, a cluster of films were released that subvert this dynamic, offering a sex-swap of this age-old dynamic. This essay focuses on four of these films - The Idea of You, A Family Affair, Lonely Planet, and Babygirl – examining the why of their close succession releases, and proposing two central explanations for them: economics and the Zeitgeist.
