in Hacks portrays a legendary comedian fighting for relevance with wit and fire. Frances McDormand

The patron saint of the comeback. Coolidge spent decades as the "horny best friend" in teen comedies. Then Mike White cast her in The White Lotus . They gave her grief, vulnerability, desperation, and, finally, power. Her Golden Globe speech, sobbing about losing hope, resonated because it was the story of every woman who felt the industry had looked away.

The paper you are likely referring to is titled Frail, Frumpy, and Forgotten: A Report on the Movie Roles of Women of Age published in 2020 by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

The Resurgence of Mature Women in Entertainment and Cinema (2026)