Shocking Twist: Movie Actually Passes the Bechdel Test

Last night I saw Please Give, an indie comedy about Kate and Alex (Catherine Keener and Oliver Platt) , an affluent couple living on Manhattan's Upper West Side who are waiting for their elderly next door neighbor to die so they can buy her apartment and expand their home. As they try to assuage their guilt by befriending the old lady's grown granddaughters (Amanda Peet and Rebecca Hall), all of their lives become awkwardly entangled.

Please Give is an honest and often funny movie about aging, death, generosity, and guilt. It is a credit to both the actors and writer/director Nicole Holofcenor that characters could have easily fallen into stereotypes, especially cranky old lady Andra (Ann Guilbert) and Kate and Alex's frustrated teenager daughter Abby (Sarah Steele), but instead feel very genuine. All of the players are flawed (Andra is cruel, Kate is neurotic and suffering from a raging case of liberal guilt, Alex is immature), but the audience is drawn in and learns to care about these complicated and sometimes frustrating people.

While this is not a particularly feminist movie, it is worth noting for a few reason. First, it was written and directed by a woman (if you don't get how unique that is, check out these statistics from Women and Hollywood). And, amazingly, it passes the Bechdel Rule, a test we've mentioned previously. In accordance with the rule, Please Give features more than two women talking to each other about something other than a man. It's sad how stupefied I was when I realized that this movie actually passed that test. If you want to check out a darkly funny movie about complicated women, created by a talented female writer/director and starring some very talented actors, check out Please Give.

Tina Fey: Celebrity Crush

Brad Pitt, Scarlet Johansson, Jake Gyllenhaal - we all have them. The celebrities that make us swoon. Who's my celebrity crush? Without a doubt, Tina Fey. I simply can't resist a smart, funny, sassy woman who’s not afraid to have a job, crack jokes, and wear glasses on television.

Now, to be fair, Fey is by no means the epitome of feminist expression. Her TV character persona, while single and professional, is also lonely and self-deprecating. Fey’s "30Rock" alter-ego, Liz Lemon, is in a constant quest for male suitors, and relies heavily on jokes relating to a single woman's desperation as she approaches the big 4-0. Despite often unconvincing attempts to pretend she is happy as an unmarried, childless, overworked, underappreciated professional woman, Lemon always falls victim to the seemingly inevitable truth that a lady needs a man to be satisfied.

Such assumptions also provide ample space for another reoccurring joke – if a woman is single, over 35, and more into her career than the way she looks, she must be a lesbian. And while Liz often comically toys with the idea of lesbianism, thinking that perhaps the love of a woman could fill the void left by the absence of a man, she ultimately reaffirms man-centric thought and the hetero woman’s fear of lesbian comparison. Take this favorite Lemon exchange between our plainly dressed heroine and her boss, the ultra-Republican CEO stereotype Jack Donaghy (played by the entertaining Alec Baldwin):

Jack Donaghy: How was your evening with Thomas?
Liz Lemon: You mean Gretchen Thomas, the brilliant plastics engineer slash lesbian? What made you think I was gay?
Jack Donaghy: Your shoes.
Liz Lemon: Well I'm straight.
Jack Donaghy: Those shoes are definitely bi-curious.
Liz Lemon: Regardless, I am straight. One-hundred percent completely straight.
Jack Donaghy: Well I'm sorry if I offended you.

And later

Jack Donaghy: All right then. You're not a lesbian. Duly noted. I'll correct that on your file. It's too bad, though. Thomas thought you were great.
Liz Lemon: She did?
Jack Donaghy: Yes. She said she thought you looked like Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Liz Lemon: Really? She said that?
Jack Donaghy: Yes, I made her repeat it. I was sure she meant Jason Lee.

Feminist? Not really. Funny? Yes. And who doesn't love someone who can laugh at themselves. Again, in the interest of fairness, "30Rock" does deserve props for attempts at gender equality. It's not just Liz Lemon who is unhappy with the single life, but her male counterpart Jack Donaghy is also in need of love and tenderness. The difference? Liz can't get a date (unless you count a hilariously pitiful beeper salesman) while Jack spent last season dating two beautiful women at once. The show, full of witty social commentary, does a great job, however, at pointing out this discrepancy and making fun of the pervasive double standard.

While browsing the blogosphere for insight into public opinion of my celebrity crush, I found that most feminists seem to have a love/hate relationship with Ms. Fey. Here is a woman who is bringing an intelligent, valued female voice to the entertainment world, but yet her favorite comedic targets are single women (interestingly enough Fey herself is married with a daughter). A March Vogue article featuring the self proclaimed "normal" celebrity, describes her comedy as an original "brand of superfunnysmart feminism." How feminist it is may be up for debate, but most people I know can agree on the super funny smart part. At least the folks at the Kennedy Center who just awarded her the prestigious Mark Twain prize for American Humor seem to think so. Taking her brand of informed, satirical, socially conscious humor for what it is, I can’t help but love Tina Fey.

photo credit: Cary Pohlhammer on flickr.com

Good news/bad news: Women in the arts

Round up on women in the arts from the folks at the NY Times...

Good news:

Visual arts
Modernist painter Carmen Herrera's work was recently featured in the Times, and The Observer named her collection one of the best of the year. The 94-year-old painter was born in Cuba and immigrated to France and the US, where she's spent the last several decades painting but rarely exhibiting her work.

Five years ago, Herrera got her big break, and her sought-after paintings are now in the permanent collections of MoMA, the Hirshhorn, and Tate Modern.

Literature
Joan Schenkar's new biography of Patricia Highsmith, the novelist behind crime thrillers like The Talented Mr. Ripley and Strangers on a Train, is receiving critical praise. Highsmith was a groundbreaking writer, notorious womanizer, and virulent racist. Homosexuality was a theme throughout her work from the 1940s through the 70s, which was a risky endeavor in a Puritanical culture. Schenkar, a playwright, strays from a linear recounting of Highsmith's life and instead draws a vivid portrait of her subject with poetic language and critical details.

Music
Keep an eye out for the upcoming documentary about godmother of punk Patti Smith. PBS is airing Patti Smith: Dream of Life on December 30, Smith's 63rd birthday. It's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll, and you have two X chromosomes. But Patti smashed the mold and is still performing today. Fierce.

Film
The Times also recently profiled Nancy Meyers, one of the few bankable, prolific female directors in Hollywood. She creates movies about upper-middle class, older white women who are doing just fine, stumble upon Prince Charming nonetheless, and live happily ever after. Women buy the lion's share of movie tickets for themselves and their families (ie the 15-24 year old boys to whom most films are marketed). But Hollywood remains an inhospitable place for women who want to make, view, or act in films that reflect the realities of our lives.

Bad news:

We were sorry to hear Brittany Murphy died yesterday at age 32. Murphy caught our attention in Clueless as the artless teenager Tai and had a promising B-list career ahead of her. The critics will not miss her. But you know what? Eyes to the stage, pilgrim. Maybe she was just warming up. RIP Brittany.

Photo: chrisschuepp via Flickr

Your Weekend Plan? Seeing Whip It!

Dodai has her review of Whip It up at Jezebel and I could not agree with her praise more. My sister and I were lucky enough to catch a sneak preview of the film last Saturday, and our response to it was a resounding "AWESOME."

A coming of age tale about a small town Texas teenager named Bliss who joins a roller derby league. As Dodai so perfectly puts it in her review, Whip It follows the Bechdel Rule, coined by amazing cartoonist and author Alison Bechdel: "One, it had to have at least two women in it. Two, they had to speak to each other about, three, something besides a man." Whip It features not only a strong female lead, played by Juno star (and feminist!) Ellen Page, but an almost entirely strong, non-stereotypical female cast. Bliss's mother, best friend, and teammates are all funny, smart, genuine women. Even the "villain" character comes off looking pretty cool.

Some of the ads have tried to play up the romantic sub-plot of the movie (which is just that--a SUB-plot), but for the most part the marketing has featured positive messages like "Be Your Own Hero" and "Find Your Tribe." It is very obvious that there is a female director (Drew Barrymore) and production team behind this movie.

So yeah, go see Whip It.I am sure it will be a feminist movie night staple for years to come.

Also, the movie totally made me want to join a roller derby league, despite my general fear of athleticism and falling of my face. My sister even gave me a sweet roller derby name: Ruth Hater Ginsburg :)

Ashley Judd heads to Harvard

Feminist activist and actress Ashley Judd (most recently the target of Sarah Palin's ire) is going to Harvard. According to the Harvard Crimson, she is now enrolled in the John F. Kennedy School's Mid-Career Master of Public Administration program, which aims to "increase the knowledge and skills of well established, high-performing professionals, who seek to enhance their public service careers or to move from the private sector to a leadership position in either the public or non-profit sectors."

Ashley Judd is one of those few actors who actually puts her money where her mouth is. She is a longtime friend of the Feminist Majority Foundation, having spoken at the March for Women's Lives in 2004. She advocates to end human trafficking, on behalf of AIDS prevention education, and for global health, among other issues. She is a tremendous example of using one's fame to create positive change, and I am sure this new program will make her even more effective. Welcome to the feminist campus network, Ashley!

Movie Time: Summer is Feminist!

SPOILER ALERT!

I love the movies. All movies. Even completely unfeminist "chick flicks" that are convinced women can only be happy when men find them attractive and men can only be happy with women who are incredibly and conventionally beautiful.

Tired stereotypes and old cliches still seem to make studios the most comfortable and rightfully so as movies like The Proposal and He's Just Not That Into You are consistent box office hits. While I admittedly see these movies and enjoy the experience of the theater and the Junior Mints I purchase, I can never rid myself of the nagging sense that the experiences being lived out on the screen are just not real.

Growing up in a US where the divorce rate seems to rise by the minute and my young The Little Mermaid viewings were immediately followed by lectures from my wonderful feminist mother about the unrealistic nature of Ariel and Eric's story, I am unable to accept the fairytale love that summer romances try to convince us exists.

Thankfully, our generation proved with the success of unconventional movies like Juno that young people today accept less escapist/romantic fairy tales and want more realistic versions of young love.

Hollywood has responded with the charming (500) Days of Summer.

(500) Days of Summer announces from the get go that "THIS IS NOT A LOVE STORY". The basic premise is Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt 10 Things I Hate About You) meets Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) and is convinced he has found THE ONE. From the beginning the idea that men hide from commitment while women run to it is turned on its head with the commitment phobic personality of Summer and the one true love mantra of Tom.

Summer's character is everything women in most romantic comedies are not. Her top priority is not her love life. She does not go through some sort of makeover transformation. She does not swoon when men fight over her. She makes the first move without thinking twice. She does not engage in woman on woman competition or embrace jealously. She does not have to chose between her romance and her career, smarts, friends, or family.

Finally, my personally favorite, Summer does what no women of summer romances are ever allowed to do...She breaks up with the boyfriend and does not regret it (even Kathrine Heigl was not allowed to break up with the ridiculous Seth Rogan in Knocked Up). Summer is the first female lead I have seen who ends the relationship with the male lead and is not ultimately portrayed as the villain (ie Slut, bitch, uptight, too career driven...).

(500) Days of Summer explores a realistic and relatable relationship. Summer and Tom both turn stereotypes and cliches for "rom-coms" on their heads without being pretentious. While the film is not perfect and holds a fair amount of anti-woman rhetoric (Tom's little sister advises him "not to be a pussy" when interacting with Summer... REALLY? a little girl would relate acting like a girl to acting stupidly? I don't think so...) overall the movie is on point and a very enjoyable watch.

(500) Days of Summer is a truly refreshing take on the typical summer romantic comedy and definitely worth a trip to the movies (with a box of Junior Mints of course). Also get ready for an amazing dance number involving Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a cartoon bird, and Hall and Oates's "You Make My Dreams Come True" (I swear!). I will definitely be seeing this movie two or three more times just to dance in the isle with fellow movie goers... an inevitable side affect of the film and Gordon-Levitt's amazing dance moves.

picture courtsy of Flickr.com