It’s funny to imagine the petty rivalry that existed between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone in the early 90s. Apparently, they DESPISED each other and never passed on the prospect of undermining one another. The script for Stop! Or my Mom Will Shoot crossed first through the hands of Arnold, who emphatically turned it down, (or he would have… had it not occurred to him to seize the opportunity to pull a practical joke on his old frenemy, Sylvester). The two action stars often competed directly for the same roles in the same movies, so Arnold encouraged a rumor, which reached the ears of Mr. Stallone, that the Terminator was gunning to bag the part of Joe Bomowski in Stop! Or my Mom Will Shoot. Sylvester Stallone could not miss this moment to pull the rug out from under his adversary and signed onto the project before Arnold could officially declare, “I’ll be back.”

Now, the popular opinion is that this film is a real stinker, hence why Arnold not only didn’t want the lead role but sought to sabotage Sylvester Stallone by duping him into accepting it. Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot won itself a Razzie for Worst Screenplay and was nominated for a Stinker award for Worst Film of 1992. Critics were dramatically unkind and Sylvester Stallone, himself, claims it to be his least favorite project (to put it mildly). In fact, he took to calling it “one of the worst films in the entire solar system, including alien productions we’ve never seen.”

So why did I feel the urge to write an article focused on this notorious film? The reason did not immediately make itself obvious to me. Early on, I thought maybe it was because of my inexplicable attraction to a certain kind of “bad” movie. The baffling choice to write a script with the typical romantic comedy formula but have it unfold using a mother-son relationship at its center instead of a romantic relationship sparks a joy in me for which I will not apologize. It’s that certain kind of “bad” that I like. The year 1992 has quite a few of these sorts of gems, glistening like rhinestones or pyrite beneath the dust of several decades of “better” films; glittering enough for me to blow away the overshadowing prestige of the others and let that fool’s gold dazzle my eyes. There have been movies from 1992 I’ve disliked so thoroughly within the first 15 minutes that I promptly switched to an alternate streaming service just to more thoroughly cleanse my palate of the foul distaste of my displeasure (looking at you Meatballs 4). But others have had the opposite effect. Despite (or maybe because of) the tendency of certain films to fully lean into their ridiculousness, I settle into the couch with a gusto and eagerly await the inevitable delivery of the film title in the dialogue . . . in this case, “Stop! Or my mom will shoot!”.

And yet, that still didn’t feel like the true reason I felt compelled to write this article. Campy ridiculousness aside, it was Estelle Getty’s enormous, adorable grin that kept flashing in my thoughts. (This is Estelle Getty of Golden Girls fame, ICYDK). She is the quintessential, super cute 90’s gramma and I couldn’t get her performance out of my head. Finally, it landed on me like a tornado-swept house from Kansas: It stood out to me because she played a character that belongs to a certain underrepresented demographic in films, that of the vivacious and lively 60+ woman.

Seeing an energetic older woman on the big screen was a novelty then and, unfortunately, it is still a novelty today. Although progress has been made towards more age inclusion in film, within the almost three decades since 1992 we have only made baby steps forward. As a society, we are currently undergoing a huge shift of the American population moving into retirement and elder care. Eventually, an even larger group will follow when we millennials get to be of retirement age. The elder care industry is in dire need of restructuring. As it stands, the system places individuals in nursing homes to be neglected or, for those that can afford it, in nicer but basic facilities at exorbitant prices that slowly bleed them dry of their life savings. This is a racket with which all of us must one day contend, so why isn’t elder care reform a bigger part of the ongoing conversation?

Why might it be consistently overlooked? The immediate thought that comes to mind is our preoccupation with youth and anti-aging. Key word: anti-aging, because aging=bad. And what constitutes one of the largest contributing industries that controls and influences what we see, who we see, how we think about them and how we think about ourselves? Hmmm.

The first time I was introduced to the concept of ageism in film was while listening to a radio interview with one of the badass ladies in Mad Max: Fury Road, Melissa Jaffer (then 78). She talked about how unusual it is for someone in her age bracket to get offered a role that requires the attitude and energy necessary for an action movie. More often, the roles for which she auditions are more along the lines of grandmother with dementia or relative in hospice, the character attributes limited to: burden, infirm, or dying. As a fairly sensitive person, I was ashamed that this notion had occurred to me so late. But that’s the thing: it’s such an integral part of our culture to dismiss people past a certain age, we don’t even realize we are participating in bigotry. How many times have you heard someone insinuate that a person has missed their opportunity for great success because they are too old? Sometimes with an age cap as young as 35! “If it was meant to be, don’t you think it would have happened already?”-- a great American myth that confronts us over and over again. If you did nothing remarkable in your youth, better get ready to settle into the mediocrity of middle age, because it’s all downhill from here.

It should go without saying, that the consistent depiction in media of older individuals as feeble or irrelevant has a dramatic effect on the people who see themselves represented in these portrayals. Ageism is a complex and subtle prejudice that is deeply internalized. Which brings me back to Estelle Getty. She plays Tutti, proud mother of Joe Bromowski (Stallone) who, through her well intentioned yet misguided meddling in his personal and professional life, unwittingly takes the role of the buddy in this unconventional buddy cop comedy.

Throughout most of the movie, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, Joe Bromowski treats his mother, Tutti, like a nuisance. He labels her proactiveness in the world around her as meddling. When she insists that she not only can be helpful but has vital information that can assist him as a cop, Joe dismisses her by saying, “You’re a little old woman, you live in a little old apartment in Newark. You knit, make jam, talk on the phone and that’s it!” Bristling at his underestimation of her capabilities, she divulges an absurd amount of detailed information regarding a person of interest. Because of this narrow minded and tiny box called age into which he has placed her, Tutti continues to surprise her son. Tutti’s lines, such as “His ass was grass and I was the lawnmower,” are funny and cute because they defy the expectations of not only Joe Bromowski, but also of the audience, as it is anticipated that the audience (a culture that has normalized ageism) has placed her within the same tiny box.

Tutti refuses to be relegated to fitting the mold of stereotype. Because the majority of the other characters in the film also underestimate her, she constantly works their bigotry to her advantage and inevitably gets them to do what she wants, whether that be haggling for a lower price on an illegal gun or climbing atop someone who has to hold an awkward hunched angle so she can slip free of handcuffs. The only character that treats Tutti with immediate respect is the only other female character in the film, Lieutenant Gwen Harper played by JoBeth Williams. As a result, Lieutenant Harper is the only character that isn’t made a fool or made to eat her words. In some ways, this film contains a subtle message about who truly gets the last laugh when people are blinded by prejudice.

Tutti as a character is not perfect. Her one-note fixation on her son does not qualify her to pass the Bechdel test, there is too much comedy derived from her unlikely innocent naivete of how the world works, and she has to work too hard for a modicum of respect, but thus far Tutti is the most prominent role for a 60+ woman I’ve encountered perusing the year 1992 in film. The only other film that immediately comes to mind is Sister Act, in which Maggie Smith is 57 and the other older women are cast in fairly small roles. Tutti’s role may be unique in that it takes an older woman out of the realm of the retirement home or the hospital and into the action-packed streets of Los Angeles, but it still designates a spry, assertive old lady as a source of comedy.

Estelle Getty got a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress for her performance, which gives me very complex feelings. The Golden Raspberry Awards are touted as an opportunity for the elite of the film industry to “own their bad.” Well known at this point mostly for her appearances on television, I think it can be agreed upon that she hardly had the same major motion picture laurels upon which to rest as did some of the other people nominated for Razzies that year, including Jack Nicholson, Michael Douglas, Sean Young and Melanie Griffith. Contrary to being the ‘worst,’ I find her performance very endearing, and definitely not any worse than some of the other performances from 1992 I have watched. I cannot pretend to know how Estelle Getty felt upon receiving a Razzie for this role, but she did not appear on the silver screen again until Stuart Little in 1999.

Sylvester Stallone also won a Razzie for Worst Actor for Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. The fact that both received the award for the same movie directs my speculative mind to look more askance at the writing and directing, but I really think that the movie simply became one of the movies that the critics of 1992 loved to hate on (because there are definitely more forgettable movies from 1992 than this one.)

When I’ve talked to people about this subject, often I get the response: “That’s why Grace and Frankie is so great.” Yes, it is… and? If that’s the only show that comes to mind, you know what that makes it? A novelty. There needs to be more age representation in content and not just about affluent older white women. Stop! or My Mom Will Shoot is a very silly movie, decidedly not for serious film viewing but nonetheless accessible for some kooky ‘90s fun.

Journey Through 1992: Ageism and STOP! OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT!