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.

A Depraved (Yet Not New) Source of Entertainment

The entertainment industry goes to great lengths for our attention and our money. And we all love music, the Great Unifier. But I took a step back and realized that references to rape in our popular culture happen far more often than anyone would like. As a sequel to my previous blog post (I just couldn't hold back), here are more subtle and not-so-subtle, yet casual, references to rape.

There is, of course, the music industry and its contributions to casual pop references to rape. A blogger for the Washington City Paper compiled a list of the top five date rape anthems. At #5, she placed Jamie Foxx's "Blame It On The Alcohol." Yes, the song was played non-stop on the radio for quite some time, but it saddens me that Jamie Foxx would encourage his listeners to take advantage of drunk women. As if an attractive man like him, or any man for that matter, should "do" a drunk girl without a second thought.

This reminded me of a comedic movie released just last year, Observe and Report.

A usually hilarious actor, Seth Rogan, stars in this as a mall security officer who is supposed to be protecting actress Anna Farris' character from a streaker. Case in point: the two go on a date, she gets horribly drunk, stumbles around, throws up, and Rogan's character still proceeds to have sex with her. Some may claim it was consensual; after all, in the brief pause when Rogan asks himself "Is she unconscious?" Farris' character drunkenly complains for him to keep going.

Glad we cleared that up. Total consent on the nearly-passed-out girl's part! But seriously? Rape is a source of comedy now? I wonder how many people paid 10 bucks to see that and felt they had gotten their money's worth...

But back to Date Rape Anthems of our time. A song blogger Amanda Hess chose for her list is by once-popular ska band Sublime's "Date Rape," which documented a girl who wen through the experience, and her struggle and legal battle to punish the rapist. The song would seem not to fit here, but the end of it advocated prison rape, another horrible yet common phenomenon in our society. "Well, I can't take pity on men of his kind...Even though he now takes it in the behind.” Oh, Sublime, you almost had me.

A final moment in date rape song history, and I do mean history, confused me at first. "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Yes, from back in 1944, and it has stuck around until today, a popular Christmas time song, sung by a woman who plans on going home, and a man insisting that she stay. Will Ferrell's character sang it in the adorable movie "Elf," and I doubt countless generations considered the lyrics. I had a look, and realize now that this song is one of the first of its kind to perpetuate the idea that, if a woman says "no" once, just keep plugging away. She'll give in eventually. *nausea*

Have a look:

The neighbors might think—Baby, it’s bad out there
Say, what’s in this drink—No cabs to be had out there
I wish I knew how —Your eyes are like starlight now
To break this spell—I’ll take your hat, your hair looks swell
I ought to say no, no, no, sir—Mind if I move a little closer
At least I’m gonna say that I tried—What’s the sense in hurting my pride
I really can’t stay—Baby don’t hold out
Ahh, but it’s cold outside

I'll be looking out my window the next time it snows at night, and I'll wonder "How many women are being convinced, right now, that trying to get home in the snow is a horrible idea and wouldn't they rather have a few more drinks and 'cuddle by the fire'?" Or the heating vent, in most cases...

Unless the snow storm is anything like the blizzard the DC area saw this winter, I want to go back to the days of this picture, when the song first came out, and tell this lovely woman, "His ego is the delicate one, not you! Close up that mink coat and get on home, miss!"

Photo credit: cemetarian at 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 :)

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

Film Festival: OUTFEST 2009

Going into its 27th year, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival may be one of the best summer events in LA. Offering student discounts and an opportunity to lounge with a picnic and wine (a few screenings are at the Ford Theatre !), Outfest gives you the opportunity to ‘see a movie made for an LGBTQ audience with and LGBTQ audience.’

While the festival is drowned in everything feminist, gender, and queer related, a couple movies sparked my feminist interest:

WHO'S AFRAID OF KATHY ACKER? - (84min, Germany and Austria) Sat. Jul 11th at 7:15pm - WHO'S AFRAID OF KATHY ACKER? explores the life and ideas of the late literary pirate, feminist intellectual and punk icon whose groundbreaking and sexually explicit postmodern novels blasted conventions of gender, heteronormativity and the male artistic canon. Fusing rotoscoped animation, rare archival footage and interviews with a who's who of the literary and punk worlds, director Barbara Caspar's essay film channels Acker's seductive, disarming and sometimes vulnerable spirit and keeps the legacy of this important feminist thinker alive

Straightlaced-- How Gender's Got Us All Tied Up - (67min, USA) Sun. Jul 12th at Noon - Academy Award-winning director Debra Chasnoff crafted this powerful documentary about the lives of teens and young adults as seen through the gender lens. Approaching society's ideas and ideals of gender through clothes, sexuality, sports, dance, safety, consumerism and emotion, the film addresses the complexities of conceptions of masculinity and femininity for Generation Z. STRAIGHTLACED is a striking and diverse film for all ages, genders and sexualities.

Lion's Den - (113min, Argentina) Sat. Jul 11th at 7:30pm $13 - After murdering her abusive boyfriend, pregnant Julia is sent to the special maternity wing of a notorious Argentinean jail. There she discovers a cruel world utterly different from the one she left outside, one where the female inmates must depend on each other for support, protection and love. LION'S DEN takes the familiar tropes of trashy 'girls behind bars' flicks and deepens them, creating a tale of survival that is both inspiring and devastating.

Off and Running - (75 min, USA) Sat. July 12th, 5 PM - Avery, a model student and track star, appears to be an average American girl, but when the search for her birth mother causes rifts in her seemingly comfortable sense of identity, she is forced to confront long-suppressed tensions. With the help of her adoptive lesbian moms, Avery must examine what it means to be an African American girl raised white and Jewish while discovering insights about her mysterious birth mother. An inspiring portrait of a modern family founded on love.

The Stories We Tell - (19 min, USA) Friday, July 10th, 8 PM and Wednesday July 15th, 7 PM - A documentary about the drive, challenges and unique perspectives four queer women of color filmmakers bring to the craft when they pick up the camera and make the films they want to see.

With 182 films from 25 different countries, in 7 venues over 11 days, dubbed as one of the Oldest, Continuous Film Festival in LA, WOW! I will see you there!

To find out more information and locations go to: www.outfest.org

Now Showing in a Movie Review Near You: Queer Criticism!

I am a habitual movie review reader. Sometimes, movie reviews are even more entertaining than the actual movie itself. And sometimes, reviewers make really intelligent, insightful comments (beyond "Keanu Reeves can't act" or "Terminator Salvation is heavy on special effects"). Case in point: a review of Sandra Bullock's new movie "The Proposal", written by MSNBC writer Alonso Duralde, who dares to point out one of many ways a rom-com takes for granted the rights of heterosexual couples!

For anyone who hasn't heard about "The Proposal," Bullock plays a Canadian working in the US as a high-powered book editor. When she finds out she's about to be deported, she decides she'll secure that precious green card by marrying her assistant (Ryan Reynolds).

Ah, the classic green card marriage. Always a good way around those pesky expired visas, right? Not so fast! Duralde points out a different POV:

"There’s a lot of heterosexual privilege on display in “The Proposal” — foreign-born men and women in same-sex relationships with U.S. citizens often find themselves deported to their home countries and have no legal standing to fight to stay; with the Uniting American Families Act making its way through Congress, it’s hard to feel too sorry for Margaret’s career obstacles."

I'm pretty impressed--in the midst of (ahem) cheery chick flick land, an act of subversion that mentions heterosexual privilege and Congressional legislation in one sentence! While it can be said that every rom-com displays some form of heterosexual privilege (for obvious reasons), I think it's great that Duralde points out specifically yet another way same-sex couples are at a severe disadvantage without marriage rights. Kudos to him!

I'm curious whether the movie does anything with the non-traditional female boss/female "proposal" aspect of the plot. I had high hopes when I first saw a poster for the movie (at the time I didn't know anything about the movie's plot) which shows Bullock presenting a ring to an anxious Reynolds. But then again, the whole "woman forces reluctant man into marriage" plot is nothing new...