I think Marisa Tomei is the perfect age for this generation's Spider-Man. She's 51. Our childish lusts aside, most teens are gonna think "she's old".
I dunno...some women look 51 and others have personal trainers, professional makeup artists, personal chefs, etc and don't look 51. I don't think most hetero young men will think "she's old."
Perhaps it was the attention stance causing a tent in my pants, but Aunt May doesn't look like she's not working. I'm not certain Pete needs to worry about helping to pay rent.
I think Marisa Tomei is the perfect age for this generation's Spider-Man. She's 51. Our childish lusts aside, most teens are gonna think "she's old".
This is my beef with casting Marisa Tomei as Aunt May. 51 year old (and "hot") Aunt May is fundamentally different from the original, verging on Crypt-Keeper, Aunt May. Poor "old" Aunt May looked like she could crumble into dust at any given moment. NOBODY would deny that Aunt May was ancient. Peter loved her dearly, and it was his responsibility to keep her going. He did all he could to support her, hence the gig at the Daily Bugle (similar to what @bralinator mentioned, for different reasons). Peter was all she had left. Without Peter, May wouldn't have lasted a week. Being Spidey made that responsibility even more difficult. The main reason Peter couldn't share that side of his life with May, is because she was terrified of Spider-Man and the shock would have finished her off.
With Tomei, the whole dynamic shifts. Tomei looks more than able-bodied (does she ever!). It appears that she could easily support both herself and Peter. If Peter is so close to his Aunt, why wouldn't he tell her about Spider-Man? That "responsibility" that is so intrinsic to Peter's character is gone.
One of the best May moments* was when she died** for the first time. Just before that happened Peter took her to the top of the Empire State Building for a look around, and she revealed to him that she'd known for quite some time who he was. Always thought that was a really nice moment in comics. ***
* That turned out to be a retcon where it's revealed she was a clone or something. ** At least I think it was her first time dying. This was way before Peter sold out his marriage to keep her alive. *** That, again, turned out to be a big-league joke. :)
I also don't mind a younger-seeming Peter, and younger Aunt May.
I think the change that I most appreciated, and which rung true to me for a 2016 May and Peter, is that they are living in an apartment rather than a detached, two-story house (even a small one) with a front and back yard. Sure, they live in Forrest Hills, and there are still a lot of blocks in that neighborhood that when I see them I think "Peter Parker's part of Queens". But, if the next Spider-Man movie is going to play on the idea of financial struggles for Peter's family (and likely they will), having them appear to be renters, or maybe people that own a modest apartment in a building, feels more true then if they were sitting on an asset like a house in a good, commuter-friendly neighborhood in New York City.
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With Tomei, the whole dynamic shifts. Tomei looks more than able-bodied (does she ever!). It appears that she could easily support both herself and Peter. If Peter is so close to his Aunt, why wouldn't he tell her about Spider-Man? That "responsibility" that is so intrinsic to Peter's character is gone.
* That turned out to be a retcon where it's revealed she was a clone or something.
** At least I think it was her first time dying. This was way before Peter sold out his marriage to keep her alive.
*** That, again, turned out to be a big-league joke. :)
I think the change that I most appreciated, and which rung true to me for a 2016 May and Peter, is that they are living in an apartment rather than a detached, two-story house (even a small one) with a front and back yard. Sure, they live in Forrest Hills, and there are still a lot of blocks in that neighborhood that when I see them I think "Peter Parker's part of Queens". But, if the next Spider-Man movie is going to play on the idea of financial struggles for Peter's family (and likely they will), having them appear to be renters, or maybe people that own a modest apartment in a building, feels more true then if they were sitting on an asset like a house in a good, commuter-friendly neighborhood in New York City.