Dale Dickey and Wes Studi Take the Lead in 'A Love Song' Movies for Grownups

It s Never Too Late for Your First Kiss ' A Love Song' and Grownup Romance

Stars Dale Dickey and Wes Studi talk about why their on-screen love story is one we really need right now

Bleecker Street vía AP Wes Studi (left) and Dale Dickey star in "A Love Song." “I’ve been known to play pretty-rough gritty characters for the most part,” says Dale Dickey, 60. “People remember me as the skank from Breaking Bad — wonderful small supporting roles.” Besides crushing a man under an ATM in AMC’s lauded series, Dickey ate her werewolf son in True Blood, played Patty the Daytime Hooker on My Name is Earl, and whomped Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone, the film that made Lawrence a star and earned Dickey an Independent Spirit Award. Now she gets her first romantic lead role in Max Walker-Silverman’s . She plays Faye, a widow living in a trailer by a remote Colorado mountain lake, awaiting a reunion with her also widowed childhood sweetheart Lito (Wes Studi, 74, The Last of the Mohicans, ). The pair talk to AARP about their film, which will appeal to fans of Nomadland and is on screens now.

Join today and save 25% off the standard annual rate. Get instant access to discounts, programs, services, and the information you need to benefit every area of your life. Alfonso Herrera Salcedo/Courtesy of Sundance Institute Dale Dickey

​Faye is as tough as any character you ve played but she may be the sweetest character you ve played

​Dickey: It’s a softer, gentler me than you usually see me play. I’m usually pretty fierce. Faye is fierce, but in a quiet way.

​A Love Song is the most musical of movies — it was originally entitled So This Is What the Songs Are All About Faye lives a lonely life but the tunes on her car radio channel her deepest feelings

​Dickey: Those songs can make you hopeful, they can make you sad, reminisce. You don’t need that long title. I love the fact that Max simplified it to A Love Song. ​Studi: I love the idea that being out there all by herself, a radio was Faye’s only connection to the world. Every time she switched on the radio the perfect song came up in terms of what she’s thinking about or something that’s happening in her life. She and Lito’s courtship builds toward the moment when they finally get to sing a song together.

​Kind of like when Romeo and Juliet meet and the lines they say to each other form a sonnet so that the music of their words symbolizes the love they create together

​Dickey: That’s really beautiful. That Shakespeare was poetic. Music is so part of Faye’s life, and I love the mystical element of the powers greater than ourselves that are up there kind of, you know, making the world go around. Music was a connection for Faye and Lito when our characters were younger. It’s a lovely way to bring us back to fruition, and reminisce about the people we were with who loved music.

​In this movie both of you get your first romantic on-screen kiss What s the difference between a first kiss for teens and at our age

​Studi: There is no difference. I mean, life does not stop at any particular age or time. ​Dickey: You’re just wiser and older and it has a different meaning. But there’s still the rush of a first kiss. But there’s also a lot of baggage. They’re there for each other. It's more of a comforting thing. Just to have that connection, whether it goes anywhere or not. Love the one you’re with, comfort the people you’re with. There’s not that teenage angst; it’s a different kind of angst. There’s still nerves. It’s just a more mature anxiety, kissing someone else for the first time after you've been with a married partner for so long. I imagine it's like going out on a first date. It's a strange and different thing. But there's a bond between us so it's not that strange. Alfonso Herrera Salcedo/Courtesy of Sundance Institute Wes Studi

​We are in what one expert called Movie stars like athletes touring musicians and politicians are way older than they used to be not typically in their 30s but their 50s and up With recent shows like Old All the Old Knives The Old Way Old Henry and The Old Man is our AARP demo taking over Hollywood br

Studi: I think audiences are looking for stories that include our demographic — I mean, we have disposable income as well. Characters of our own age are still having the same kind of emotional drives. “Elders,” if you will, will not be tucked away. We're still a part of the world. And I think audiences will appreciate the fact that . ​Dickey: At film festivals, I hear older people saying, “I haven't seen anything I could relate to in a long time.” Everyone can relate to loss and grief at some point, especially when you’re aging, and learning to be alone. Even if it doesn’t come to fruition, the possibility of long-awaited romance can change their lives. There’s a line in the movie: “However long you’ve got, it’s worth it.” You just never know how long you get. A friend of my mom’s had been divorced and finally met this man, and they were just like a teenage couple in love. It was so adorable. They had one great year together and he died quickly of a heart attack. But she got one year and that year with that man was worth it.

​Moviegoers our age are the ones driving blockbuster hits like Top Gun Maverick and also award-winning art house films Why don t studios make more movies for us

​Dickey: Money, money, money, money.

​But wouldn t they make more money if they paid attention to us We have the time and the money

​Dickey: Maybe we’ll start a trend. My 94-year-old dad might get to see A Love Song down in Tennessee. He hates movies, but he'll go to see me! Tim Appelo covers entertainment and is the film and TV critic for AARP. Previously, he was the entertainment editor at Amazon, video critic at Entertainment Weekly, and a critic and writer for The Hollywood Reporter, People, MTV, The Village Voice and LA Weekly.

More on Movies for Grownups

Featured AARP Member Benefits See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures

Close In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails related to AARP volunteering. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly receive communications related to AARP volunteering. In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.