Something hit me when I looked at Venice Film Festival photos of Ad Astra costars Brad Pitt and Liv Tyler. A familiar perception, tinged with unfairness and a shake of the head so please understand that I mean no harm or disrespect by sharing this.

The fact of the matter is that Brad, whose Cliff Booth performance is a slam-dunk nominee for Best Supporting Actor, has never looked cooler or salt-and-pepper seasoned or more in the Zen groove while Liv…well, biology can be really unfair. Some actresses age like cork-bottled Cabernet Sauvignon and others have a slightly more difficult time of it. Some women (like my wife Tatyana) look dishier in their 40s than they did in their 20s, but that’s more the exception than the rule.

If guys don’t smoke or put on weight, a lot of them tend to look pretty good in their late 40s and 50s and even their 60s. I’m sorry but they do. If they watch their weight…a big “if”.