"The Descendants," which already has started racking up honors including Golden Globe awards for best picture and best actor, has been named this year's Best Movie for Grownups, AARP announced Thursday.
The film stars George Clooney as Matt King, a middle-aged Hawaiian lawyer who runs a family trust involving 25,000 acres of pristine Kauai land handed down through the generations. As the story opens, King's cousins want to sell the land to a resort developer, his wife (Patricia Hastie) is in a coma following an accident in a canoe race, and his rebellious older daughter (Shailene Woodley) informs him that his comatose wife had been involved in an extramarital affair.
The film, directed by "Sideways" chief Alexander Payne, was adapted from the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings.
"Is there any brand of 50+ angst this funny, tragic film does not dissect?" AARP wrote in the awards announcement. "There’s love and loss, disappointment in others (and others’ disappointment in us), personal betrayal, and the urge to reveal lifelong secrets—or keep them to ourselves, even when they’re clawing to get out. George Clooney gives the performance of his career as Matt, whom we find sitting mournfully at the bedside of his comatose wife—unaware his life is about to be shattered by a shocking revelation. Through it all, Matt is driven by one motivation: to do the right thing sans whining."
Also nominated for the award were "The Artist," "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," "Midnight in Paris," "War Horse," and "Win Win."
BEST ACTRESS
The best actress nod went to Glenn Close, who also was nominated for a Golden Globe for her title role as Albert Nobbs, a Victorian-era woman who pretends to be a man in order to work and survive in 19th century Ireland.
Also nominated were Meryl Streep for her Golden Globe-winning performance as Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady," Ellen Barkin for "Another Happy Day," Helen Mirren for "The Debt," and Tilda Swinton for "We Need to Talk About Kevin."
BEST ACTOR
Oliver Litondo was named best actor for his role as Kimani Maruge in "The First Grader," a true story about an 84-year-old Kenyan man who enrolled in a remote elementary school so he could learn to read.
Also nominated were Golden Globe winner Clooney for "The Descendants," Mel Gibson for "The Beaver," Gary Oldman for "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," and Kevin Spacey for "Margin Call."
BEST DIRECTOR
Stephen Daldry was voted best director for "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," the story of 9-year-old Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), whose father (Tom Hanks) was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack on New York. The boy scours all five boroughs of the city in search of a lock that goes with a key he found in his father's belongings.
Also nominated were Golden Globe winner Martin Scorsese for "Hugo," Woody Allen for "Midnight in Paris," George Clooney for "The Ides of March," Cameron Crowe for "We Bought a Zoo," and Terrence Malick for "The Tree of Life."
The 2012 Movies for Grownups awards will be presented at a star-studded gala on February 6 at the Beverly Wilshire hotel, three weeks before the Oscars. Robert Redford, Rob Reiner, and Colin Firth were among the presenters last year.
Read more about the 2012 Movies for Grownups and see the movie trailers.
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