AARP Movies for Grownups

As an AARP Virginia volunteer, I look forward to our Movies For Grownups free screenings. From the attendance at our first movie this year, it was apparent that our attendees felt the same way. When Russell Schiavone, Community Ambassador, asked attendees to raise their hands if this was their first movie, only about 10% of attendees raised their hands. With 435 people registered and only 319 seating available, the first movie of the year, Judy, netted nearly 300 attendees at the Grandin Theater on Wednesday, January 15.

Judy, the movie, was Patti Tribley's second Movies For Grownups. As she was searching the internet, she stumbled on the first movie she attended last year, Downton Abbey.

When she was a kid, the Wizard of Oz came on during New Year’s Day or the Christmas holidays. Her parents would play cards, and all the kids would be escorted into another room to watch The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland. So, when she saw the trailers on TV about the movie Judy, she had to attend. Patti also saw Renée Zellweger on a Sunday news show, where Zellweger indicated that she did most of the scenes herself.

Tribley also wanted to share she just received AARP The Magazine and read the article about blood pressure medications. She said, "I have learned something new about taking BP meds, and it's best to take them at night instead of in the mornings."

Roanoke-area AARP volunteers were there in full support, as well as the local staff member, Associate State Director Brian Jacks. Other volunteers who greeted attendees at the door, registered attendees, and assisted them in signing up for prizes were: Lorraine Bratton, Siclinda Canty-Elliott, Judy Dickerson, Sylvia and Eugene Journiette, Connie Scaggs, and Russell Schiavone.

Prize winners were Emily Hall, AARP box of chocolates, and Mary Jo Mark, who won the AARP mug. Congratulations to the winners!

AARP free screening of a Movies For Grownups favorite, JUDY, starring Renée Zellweger, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell, and Michael Gambon.

Nominated for two Movies for Grownups awards, including Best Actress and Best Time Capsule Movie, Judy follows showbiz legend Judy Garland to swinging London in 1968 for a five-week sold-out run at The Talk of the Town. Featuring some of her best-known songs, the film celebrates the voice, the capacity for love, and the sheer pizzazz of "the world's greatest entertainer."​