All the prattling hyperbole about suspected “wardrobe malfunctions” such as J-Lo’s left nipple about to flee its incarceration from badly affixed designer duct-tape (pun intended), and the utter vapidity of starlets prattling on about whose shoes they were wearing – because everyone knows they’re surely not wearing their own shoes but serving as mannequins (shoe-trees?) for some designer – bored me more than the interminable litany of Awards No One Cares About.

There was a great deal of comment on age in yesterday’s reviews – the age of the TV audience for these awards, as well as the ages of the winners and hosts. Linda Holmes at NPR.org wondered: “It was not a night where Hollywood attempted to reach a young audience, as it did last year when it paired James Franco and Anne Hathaway as hosts — and wound up with dire reviews for the telecast.”

And the CNN.com article yesterday by John Anderson concurred. “Was it really just a year and a day ago that the Academy Awards made its big play for youth, via the double-edged disaster of James Franco and Anne Hathaway? OK, that didn’t work. At all. But last night’s full-frontal embrace of the past — punctuated in no small way by the choice of a silent movie as Best Picture — was a back flip, a half-twist, and a landing in deep denial.”

Speaking of “full-frontal,” could I be the only one who wants to point out to Angelina Jolie that she is so gorgeous from the neck up, why indulge in a full-frontal leg-lift in every single close-up? Was it some sort of a signal to Brad, who looked more like a hound-dog last night than ever?

Maybe the Academy reads the same business analyses I do, which is that women over the age of 45 are the best target audience for serious adult movies and fiction as well as nonfiction books and, perhaps, the best target audience for the Oscar telecast.

And here’s a factoid that makes it ironic that there were few memorable commercials shown during the telecast: with the TV audience getting smaller, (or is it older?) who needs to spend a fortune on TV ads?

The most wry comment I read yesterday was that the reason The Artist won as Best Picture is the average demographic of Academy voters is a 62-year-old man, and The Artist focuses in no small part on the happiness that a “trophy wife” brings to the film’s main character – a gorgeous Frenchman who, in his eloquent silence, brings new meaning to the term “eye candy.”

The best news is that 2011 gave mature movie-lovers not one but at least a dozen substantive, intelligent characters played by women over 40. Compare this with other years; in the last thirty years or more, older women routinely bemoaned the fact that there were just no good roles for them anymore. They were invisible in Hollywood after reaching 40.

But Sunday night, Meryl Streep, brilliant beyond description, won Best Actress for The Iron Lady. Viola Davis in The Help and Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs were also nominated for the Best Actress category, and Octavia Spencer, who won Best Supporting Actress in The Help, will be 40 in May.

This year older women dominated the red carpet with their grace, beauty, and style. But more importantly, they delivered their talent, depth of character, and passionate artistry to film and to us. They were duly recognized and awarded by the Academy, and I am thrilled to see them acknowledged.

So whether it was a night for a young or old audience, more importantly, talent of all ages was considered and duly awarded – without prejudice to age. Maybe filmmakers are finally starting to realize that grownups go to movies too. Maybe they’re realizing that not all films can be about some transformer superhero or other for which its creators can automatically expect exponential gadget-driven revenue streams into perpetuity. Maybe they’re beginning to see that the movie industry’s best bet for a brighter future, whether the distribution is through theaters, mail-order DVD or streaming, is the population that draws a salary and has disposable income and time to enjoy movies.

Not only is it a population that makes purchase decisions about adult movies, but it is also the demographic that often funds the spending of transformer superhero fans.

As the noble and definitively adult wife of the most noble and defeated salesman of all time decreed: “Attention Must Be Paid.” Or, as I say:  “Piss us off at your own peril. Give us more like Meryl!”

Baby boomers – those of us born in the years between 1946 and 1964 – have been called the most self-actualized and expressive generation in history, but there have always been passionate, committed, and desirable women pursuing all sorts of DARING and fulfilling feats of love, work and advocacy well into their post-40 years.

Here’s our salute to a few Famous Over-40 PASSIONISTAS We LOVE: Salma Hayek, Halle Berry, Diane Lane, Jodie Foster, Robin Roberts, Cate Blanchett, and Vanessa Williams, to name a few.

Over 50 and DARING to be healthier, wealthier and wiser than ever: Diane Keaton, Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dame Judi Densch, Glenn Close, Lynne Whitfield, Stockard Channing, Sigourney Weaver, Diane Sawyer and my personal favorite, Bette Midler.

Ageless icons who have inspired generations of women:

Clara Barton (1821-1912). Teacher, nurse, humanitarian; founded the American Red Cross at 52.

Dorothy Parker (1893-1967). Infamous writer who LOVED talking the nasty and doing the naughty. Indulged her DARING PASSION for words - piercing and pounding - into her 70s. 

Margaret Sanger (1879-1966). Birth control activist, 42 when she started Planned Parenthood. 

Coco Chanel (1883-1971).  Still working in 1954, at 70! The only fashion industry person named to TIME Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Maggie Kuhn (1905-1995). Forced to retire at 66, started the Gray Panthers to promote and defend seniors. Worked passionately for 20 more years.

Estee Lauder (1906-2004).  Driven by quality and to help women look their best, virtually invented the concept of “makeover” and free-sample promotions.  Worked into her 80s.

Liz Claiborne (1929-2007). Disgusted with the quantity and quality of clothes for working women, founded her company when she was 46. In 1986, became the first company founded by a woman to make the Fortune 500. 

Carolyn McCarthy (1944-     ). Launched her political career (U.S. Congresswoman from New York) 10 years ago, at 54, after the murder of her husband and five other commuters by a crazed gunman.  Passionately acknowledges that she will always be known as the “gun lady” though she champions other causes, especially education.

Katie Couric (1952-    ). Was 48 when she began her crusade against colon cancer (who can forget her colonoscopy shown on national TV), after a flawed diagnosis claimed the life of her husband, Jay Monahan, at 42. Continues to DARE – just ask Sarah Palin, A-Rod, and the pompous cynics who wrote her off.

Dara Torres (1967-    ). First swimmer in the U.S. to compete in five Olympics, and the first woman over 40 to swim in the Olympics, winning three Silver medals.

AND, finally, who better to salute in this month that celebrates LOVE, than Dr. Susan LOVE. At 60, she continues her quest, through the Dr. Susan LOVE Research Foundation, to eradicate breast cancer within our lifetime. In 2003, she published the second edition of Dr. Love’s Menopause and Hormone Book, one of the first books to raise concerns about the widespread long-term use of hormone therapy.

For all women who have suffered from breast cancer and survived, and for all those who have LOVED and lost them, we are grateful for Dr. Susan Love, for what she does for LOVE.