James Caan's Role in Queen Bees and His Age

Introduction to Queen Bees

Queen Bees chronicles the lives of senior citizens living in the Pine Grove retirement community, and one of its residents is Dan Simpson, played by James Caan. The 2021 romantic comedy film, directed by Michael Lembeck and written by Donald Martin, revolves around Helen Wilson, an older woman whose daughter wants her to move into a retirement home despite Helen's desire to stay at the home she has lived at for years. However, when Helen locks herself out of the house (again), resulting in a fire that destroys the kitchen, she is forced to move into Pine Grove while it is being repaired.

James Caan as Dan Simpson in Queen Bees.

Aside from Caan, the rest of the cast of the rom-com includes Ellen Burstyn as Helen Wilson, Loretta Devine as Sally Hanson, Jane Curtin as Janet Poindexter, Ann-Margret as Margot Clark, Christopher Lloyd as Arthur Lane, Elizabeth Mitchell as Laura Wilson Crane, Matthew Barnes as Peter Crane, Alec Mapa as Lito Santos, French Stewart as Ken DeNardo, and Ricky Russert as Pablo Leon. Queen Bees received mixed reviews from critics and only grossed $2.3 million against a $5 million budget. Nevertheless, the movie is experiencing a resurgence after being added to Netflix in January 2024.

James Caan as Dan Simpson in Queen Bees.

James Caan's Age in Queen Bees

James Caan stars as Dan Simpson, Ellen Burstyn's Helen Wilson's love interest and a senior citizen living in the Pine Grove retirement community, in Queen Bees. In the 2021 romantic comedy, Dan is 80 years old. Meanwhile, in real life, Caan was 78 while filming the movie in 2018 and 81 years old when it premiered on June 11, 2021. So, the actor and his character were of similar ages, which added to the film's authenticity.

When Helen moves into the Pine Grove retirement community in Queen Bees, she comes across Caan's character, Dan. Helen previously had trouble fitting in because of the Queen Bees, a group of women who seemingly ruled the community. However, after she meets Dan, Helen starts to feel less lonely at Pine Grove (even though she hesitates to progress her relationship with Dan due to a sense of loyalty to her late husband). Of course, things get more complicated when Helen learns the truth behind Dan's motives for befriending her, but like most rom-coms, Queen Bees has a happy ending.

James Caan's Final Movie

Sadly, the 2021 romantic comedy film was James Caan's final movie to be released before his death. Caan died on July 6, 2022, at the age of 82, from a heart attack brought on by coronary artery disease. Although Queen Bees was the last of Caan's movies to premiere while he was still alive, Fast Charlie, the 2023 action thriller starring the actor, served as a posthumous release for Caan.

Queen Bees, starring James Caan, is available to stream on Netflix.