History Main / HollywoodMidlifeCrisis

* ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'': According to Creator/TeamFourStar, Vegeta's descision to let Babidi would have been the result of one of these had they continued into the Buu Saga, triggered by his growing frustration at getting "domesticated" by life on Earth. This is hinted at in a couple of their side projects and eventually shown in full in the "Buu Bits" included in ''WebVideo/TotallyNotMark'''s "Dragon Ball Z: The Ultimate Review".

* In ''Series/RedDwarf'', Kryten experiences one of these. Kryten is a service mechanoid who has existed for approximately three million years. Turns out his series is built to last six million years. As a result, Kryten starts wondering if he could have done more with his existence, and he later upgrades his chasis to a goofy-looking "sporty" model. If a mechanoid mid-life crisis isn't absurd enough, later in the episode [[spoiler:the crew discover that [[GeniusLoci the universe itself is sentient]] and Kryten accidentally gives ''it'' a mid-life crisis]].

** Parodied twice, with Andy and Roger each suffer one at different times. Roger gets over his when his wife gives him a ShutUpKiss and several more, while Andy finds out that acting young leads to her daughter asking for a belly piercing.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'':

* ''Literature/TheEnchantedFiles'' (by Creator/BruceCoville): In book 1 (''Diary of a Mad Brownie'', later retitled ''Cursed''), Alex Carhart's father undergoes one when he quits his job to focus on his music. Which is terrible. It turns out to be a side-effect of the curse that Angus Cairns, the titular mad brownie, carries with him -- any male of the family he's living with is bound to try to make beautiful poetry, rhymes or lyrics, but which will always come out wretched. Once the curse is broken, the afflicted turn back to their original selves, and Mr. Carhart reclaims his job and gives up trying to write song lyrics.

* Happens to Mr. Krabs in the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Mid-Life Crustacean", which prompts him to spend the night out with [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick doing wild (yet childishly lame) activities. Things start to get interesting when Patrick mentions the "panty raid". Unfortunately, what Mr. Krabs doesn't realize until it's too late is that the panties they're raiding belong to ''his mother''!

* Fathers in animated sitcoms often fulfill a lot of these requirements. Examples include [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]], [[WesternAnimation/SouthPark Randy Marsh]], and [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Peter Griffin]]. All three are depicted as immature, overactive and wilder than their kids.

* Parodied twice in ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' where Andy and Roger each suffer one in different times. Roger gets over his when his wife gives him a ShutUpKiss and several more, while Andy finds out that acting young leads to her daughter asking for a belly piercing.

* Adopt new religious or spiritual beliefs.

* "Middle Age Crazy" by Music/JerryLeeLewis.

* Music/FiveForFighting's AgeProgressionSong "100 Years" references mid-life crisis':

* "Overchewer" by Creator/AnthonyNewley from his 1972 album, ''Ain't It Funny'', which also doubles as RockStarSong.

* Adopting [[TotallyRadical inappropriately youthful]] [[AgeInappropriateDress hairstyle or clothes]]. If he has children, this is guaranteed to [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents embarrass them]] (though they may well approve of the CoolCar).

* In ''Rabbit Is Rich'', a novel in John Updike's Rabbit series, Rabbit Angstrom has become rich, middle-aged and dissatisfied, which includes him becoming enamoured of a friend's younger wife.

* ''Series/{{Ultraviolet}}''. This time is said to be a primary recruiting age for {{Vampire Vannabe}}s.

* Papa Smurf in ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' episode "Papa's Wedding Day" goes through his version of this when he keeps being reminded of how old he is by his little Smurfs. Sometime after he meets the young and beautiful Flowerbell the woodnymph, finding himself falling in love with her, he dyes his beard a youthful shade of brown and has a dating relationship with Flowerbell that would have resulted in a marriage had not the Smurfs figured out that she was an infiltrator sent by the evil sorcerer Balthazar to capture the wisest Smurf of all. After the relationship had ended, Papa Smurf's beard goes back to being white, but he gains wisdom in knowing from the song that he sings to Flowerbell that "you're only as old as you think you are."

* [[Music/RemainInLight "Once in a Lifetime"]] by Music/TalkingHeads is about the mentality that leads to one. Of course, the obtuse nature of the lyrics don't make it obvious right away, but once you know the meaning it's pretty easy to tell.

* A good chunk of Brock's actions over the course of ''Series/{{Reba}} are the result of one of these, including quitting his dentist practice to be a pro-golfer, a brief stint as a biker, considering moving to Las Vegas, to even the affair he had with Barbra Jean before the events of the series.

* ''Theatre/MidlifeCrisisTheMusical'' has the pursuit of younger women, the purchase of fancy cars, the insistence that you can still "hang" on the basketball court, dealing with exaggerated menopause...

* Dorothy in ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' calls out Stanley when he buys a sports car and starts dating a much younger woman. By contrast, Dorothy "took up Jazzercise."

-->'''Mittens''': Sheesh -- look at me, Bolt. Who’da thunk it? I'm a card-carrying midlife crisis cliché. If I were a bank CEO, I’d have bought myself a shiny new red sports car and dumped you for a studly tomcat half my age.