Rise of the Mom-com

Does a clutch of films starring actresses hitting their forties (shock horror!) mean the older woman is coming into her prime?

Age has withered the careers of many great female film stars who find that once they are over 30, they are considered over the Hollywood hill. However, that might be about to change, with the release of a batch of new films in which the leading lady is approaching middle age.

Dubbed "mom-coms" as many of them are about the tribulations of motherhood, the films are swapping fresh-faced starlets for slightly older actresses such as Tina Fey, Demi Moore and Jennifer Lopez, who are finding that life continues after 40. Tomorrow sees the release of Date Night, starring the 39-year-old comedian Fey as a woman whose night out with her husband is beset by disasters. While Catherine Zeta-Jones and Lopez –both 40 – return to the screens in The Rebound and The Back-Up Plan in coming weeks.

Some are comparing the films to the "women's pictures" of Hollywood's golden age, and have suggested that casting more mature women may reflect a shift in the gender balance of films.

"There used to be the 'women's picture', back in the days of classic Hollywood, films with Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, which were aimed at women of all ages and had storylines around the family and emotional themes," said Dr Rosie White, senior film lecturer at Northumbria University. "The actresses carried the films, and we could see films with mature females as a return to that."

Two years ago, however, the actress Scarlett Johansson, 25, complained that Hollywood threw women on the scrapheap once they reached a certain age. "Women kind of wilt as men sort of achieve as they get older, like wine or whatever," she said. "It's like, 'Oh, she's past her prime'."

The trend may reflect an increased awareness of older women and ageing, as well as the huge success of the film musical Mamma Mia! starring Meryl Streep. "There is a lot of attention being paid to women getting older in the media now, and that is something we haven't seen for a good while. It'll be interesting to see how it lasts," said Dr White.

Ian Freer, deputy editor of Empire magazine, disagrees: "Hollywood has no agenda. Hollywood is pro what makes money and Mamma Mia! uncovered a huge market that hadn't been catered for in a long time. As long as they make money, the mom-coms will get made."

Producers will be praying that the new films don't share the fate of Uma Thurman's film Motherhood. It made £88 on its opening weekend in Britain last month.

MOM-COMS...

Sex and the City 2

Sarah Jessica Parker is 45 and Kim Cattrall is 53, but that hasn't dampened the public enthusiasm for the latest instalment of their love lives, out next month. While plot details are being kept under wraps, there is a cameo from Penelope Cruz, who catches Big's eye, while the girls take a trip to Abu Dhabi.

The Rebound

Catherine Zeta-Jones's new film taps into the current "cougar" trend for older women to date younger men, as with Sam Taylor-Wood, 43, who is engaged to Aaron Johnson, 19. Zeta-Jones, 40, plays a single mother who ends up falling for her children's younger male nanny.

The Joneses

Demi Moore, 47, in her first big screen outing after a string of independent films and straight-to-DVD releases, plays happy families with X Files star David Duchovny. Moore's glamorous character, Kate, inspires envy among friends in her middle-class suburb who are jealous of her perfect life, but her family is a fake marketing ploy.

Motherhood

Uma Thurman, 39, who kicked her way through Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films, fell spectacularly to earth in this turkey about a mother who has a frantic day preparing for her daughter's birthday. It took £88 on its opening weekend in Britain. Only one person turned up to the first screening.

The Back-Up Plan

Jennifer Lopez's latest film takes another modern issue – that of older women with a ticking body clock who have yet to meet Mr Right. As Zoe, Lopez meets an eligible new man on the same day that she is artificially inseminated and becomes pregnant with twins.

Date Night

Stars Tina Fey and Steve Carell as a "boring, married couple from New Jersey" who begin to reconsider their relationship after their friends divorce, and end up being hunted by gangsters in a case of mistaken identity during a disastrous night out.