Jezebel
silver scream
Posts Tagged “
Movies
”
silver scream
hookers, victims & doormats*
Angela Bassett: Boarding The ER Ship To Troubletown
*Inspired by Shirley MacLaine's assertion that the best parts for actresses fall into one of the above categories.
This week in Hollywood casting announcements: plenty of potential victimization for Tinseltown's bold-faced beauties. (Victim characters, of course, are easy to spot: They're usually described as "troubled" or have a "tortured past," have "suffered" a "crisis," are "surviving" and "learning to move on" from their rape/brutal attack/illness...take your pick!) After the jump, take a look at the newest roles for Angela Bassett, Nicole Kidman, and America Ferrera and see how they stack up on the actress-cliche scale.More »
screen sirens
Whatever Happened To The "Comedy Of Equals"?
Good news for lady-helmed comedies! Baby Mama raked in over $18 million this weekend, according to Box Office Mojo, beating out Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay by about $4 million. I asked a friend who works in the film industry, and he says that while $18 mil is a definite hit, it remains to be seen whether Baby Mama's success will lead the way for more female-centric comedic films. "Sisters are doing it for themselves but its no Superbad," in terms of box office brawn, my film-y friend tells me. He also tells me that the highest grossing romantic comedy is Wedding Crashers, which earned $209 million. "How much better could Wedding Crashers have been had they given Rachel McAdams something to do besides stand still and look pretty?" wonders Molly Lambert at culture blog This Recording. More »
screen sirens
Does The Female "Buddy" Movie Exist?
A reader pointed us to a blog called xkcd, where the poster asks, "Quick, name a few recent popular movies where the two top-billed stars are female." Does your mind go blank? Hollywood loves a buddy movie, but when it comes to women, they're usually love interests, or looking for love interests. Especially recently. Of course, indie films and horror or sci-fi flicks often get away with having a woman as the lead (and not in love), but indie ≠ Hollywood. And directors get away with having a woman as the hero in a horror or sci-fi movie because it's not real. It's a fantasy when Milla Jovovich kicks zombie ass or Uma Thurman slashes ninjas with a samurai sword. In any case, the guy from xkcd tallied up the male/male pairings, the male/female pairings, the female/male parings and female/female pairings of a few years' worth of movies, using IMDB to pinpoint the 20 biggest titles of each year. Here's what he found: More »
hookers, victims & doormats
Halle Berry Will Suffer In Black And White In Frankie And Alice
Ever notice how many female characters are "suffering" in Hollywood films? "She was suffering through a break-up," "the character was suffering from an abusive past," "she will play a woman who is suffering through cancer," et cetera. It seems like whenever writers want to throw some "depth" into their scripts they will construct a "suffering" character (usually female) and is forced to learn a lesson the hard way and/or die. Sure, it can be done well (Sophie's Choice) but the suffering victim has become so overused that it is now just a cliche that talent agents foist on their starlet clients to move them into Serious Actress territory. In the latest casting announcements, we hear about more suffering women: Halle Berry plays a woman "suffering" from a personality disorder in a mix between Gothika and Queen; Rudy from The Cosby Show plays a hooker (!), and that girl who isn't Vanessa Hudgens stars in a (hopefully) campy re-make of Teen Witch. All that and more after the jump! More »
critical mass
Forgetting Sarah Marshall: "Raunchy", "Painfully Intimate", "Partially Undercooked"
Judd Apatow movies may be redundant at times, and the female characters can be a little shrieky and flat, but fuck it: His flicks are funny. That's why critics are checking out the latest "Apatow-esque" film, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, to see if his brand of humor is still fresh. (Apatow produced the film, but did not write or direct). The movie follows Peter (Jason Segal), an endearing slacker, who gets dumped by his starlet girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), after she meets a Lothario rock star (Russel Brand). Peter mopes around for a bit before going off to Hawaii to cheer himself up: Only to find he's staying at the same hotel as Sarah and her new boyfriend. Peter meets a new girl, Rachel (Mila Kunis), and awkward post-break up hijinks ensue! But is the film funny? The reviews are mixed. After the jump, read the critics have to say and see if you're still charmed (if you ever were) by Apatow's "endearing dude"-centered films. More »
critical mass
Smart People Is The Type Of Film That, Well, Smart People Have Seen Before
Smart People is a new movie that tries to be both quirky and semi-intellectual by putting respectable actors in roles that they had already successfully played in movies made by more creative people. Dennis Quaid plays Lawrence, a douchebaggy literature professor, who has a wise-cracking, vintage-wearing teenage daughter (Juno! I mean, Ellen Page) and starts a relationship with beautiful but romantically-awkward woman (Sarah Jessica Parker) through whom he has to learn how to be a nicer person. Oh yeah, he also has a lazy but lovable brother played by Thomas Haden Church, who provides some comic relief. But what do the critics have to say? Can they successfully point out all of the hilarious subtle references to life in the intelligentsia? Can they get through an entire review without calling the movie "Stupid People?" The collected reviews after the jump. More »
Chick flicks feel ubiquitous, but their appeal to women has been wearing off. So, how does Hollywood respond? By trying to attract a more male audience to chick flicks, of course! When talking about the upcoming Confessions of a Shopaholic one producer says: "If we do our job right, this could be another Wedding Crashers." Ah yes, the tale of an overspending, searching-for-love young lady who dresses in pink rainbow-ruffled disaster-outfits will surely reel in that coveted 18-35 straight male demographic. That's why SATC was such a big hit with dudes. [NYT]
clips
Feeling nostalgic? John Hughes has been in the news this week. First there was a profile of the writer/director in the Los Angeles Times (he helped write Drillbit Taylor, but under a pseudonym, shh!) and a NPR piece about Long Duk Dong. Now, Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries, has posted a YouTube clip (to promote her new book) in which she reenacts a key scene from Pretty in Pink using dolls. More »
"That Girl Was, Is, And Will Always Be Nada"
Feeling nostalgic? John Hughes has been in the news this week. First there was a profile of the writer/director in the Los Angeles Times (he helped write Drillbit Taylor, but under a pseudonym, shh!) and a NPR piece about Long Duk Dong. Now, Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries, has posted a YouTube clip (to promote her new book) in which she reenacts a key scene from Pretty in Pink using dolls. More »
complicated conversations
Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?
In The Independent today, Johann Hari writes, "Where have all the strong women gone?" Hari gets all nostalgic for Bette Davis: "She was not only a woman; she was an electrical storm with skin. She never pretended to be dumb, or a little girl. She didn't do soft, or simpering. She had a voice like sour cream, and eyes like a raven." But, Hari argues, women on film — and on TV — have weakened. "If the symbol of 1930s Hollywood was Bette Davis in Jezebel, defiantly wearing red to her virgin-white ball, today it is Cameron Diaz in There's Something About Mary, rubbing semen into her hair because she is too dumb to realize it's not hair gel." More »
Delicious Recipes
Meryl Streep and The 40 Year Old Virgin's Jane Lynch are set to star in a new film called Julie & Julia, about the legendary TV chef Julia Child. Streep plays Julia; Lynch plays Julia's sister. The film is based on a book based on a blog written by Julie Powell, who tried to make all 524 recipes in Julia Child's classic cookbook in the span of one year from her tiny apartment kitchen in Queens. Verdict: Tasty! [ONTD]
Meryl Streep and The 40 Year Old Virgin's Jane Lynch are set to star in a new film called Julie & Julia, about the legendary TV chef Julia Child. Streep plays Julia; Lynch plays Julia's sister. The film is based on a book based on a blog written by Julie Powell, who tried to make all 524 recipes in Julia Child's classic cookbook in the span of one year from her tiny apartment kitchen in Queens. Verdict: Tasty! [ONTD]
clips
Meet The Headbanging, Bad-Ass Ladies Of Girls Rock!
Village Voice critic Vadim Rizov calls new movie Girls Rock! a "dreary doc" that "does little more than underline the talking points." But we think it looks awesome. It's about the Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls, where 8- to 18-year-olds from all over the country form bands — and get a boost of self-esteem. 7-year-old Palace shrieks like a banshee; while another girl will break your heart when she says, "I just accept that I hate myself, and I don't really think about it." Honestly, it looks better than the Sex And The City Movie. Clip above; the flick opens this weekend.
Girls Rock! [Village Voice]
Girls Rock! Official Website
Watch It
Over on Radar, Amy Monaghan has a run down of the decade's most misogynistic movies. Did some of your faves make the list? From Superbad ("Dick-obsessed Seth is... a cretin who is afraid of vaginas"), to The Devil Wears Prada ("'Wake up, Six!' was the quip that launched a thousand fingers down girls' throats."), Sin City ("Two-dimensional curvy broads in artsy black and white play strippers, hookers, and waitresses who get beaten, raped, and beheaded."), andBridget Jones's Diary ("She's just like you! Or at least she's exactly what Hollywood thinks you're like: frumpy, insecure, man-hungry, and completely incapable of self-discipline!"), the gang's all here! Whether you agree or not, the fact that the Superbad picture is captioned "There Will Be Blood" is genius. [Radar]
Over on Radar, Amy Monaghan has a run down of the decade's most misogynistic movies. Did some of your faves make the list? From Superbad ("Dick-obsessed Seth is... a cretin who is afraid of vaginas"), to The Devil Wears Prada ("'Wake up, Six!' was the quip that launched a thousand fingers down girls' throats."), Sin City ("Two-dimensional curvy broads in artsy black and white play strippers, hookers, and waitresses who get beaten, raped, and beheaded."), andBridget Jones's Diary ("She's just like you! Or at least she's exactly what Hollywood thinks you're like: frumpy, insecure, man-hungry, and completely incapable of self-discipline!"), the gang's all here! Whether you agree or not, the fact that the Superbad picture is captioned "There Will Be Blood" is genius. [Radar]
celluloid sighs
Katherine Heigl And James Marsden, In The Worst Rom Com You Will Probably Ever Love
Why, whyyyy oh why am I dying to see 27 Dresses? Better question: why do I so hate myself for wanting to see it? Am I a closet tool of the patriarchy? Or a closet misogynist? Is that the same thing? I bet you've got theories! Anyway, beautiful, wonderful, opinionated, outspoken but not-particularly-controversial, blonde blue-eyed lapsed Mormon Katherine Heigl is interviewed in the Washington Post today. We learn she started smoking shortly after she moved out of her mother's house at age 22. We learn that she is beautiful, wonderful, opinionated, outspoken but not-particularly-controversial (On Knocked Up, bc you haven't heard enough: "My comedy came from the naggy, really ambitious, exaggerated female character. We all know women like that. But it's an exaggeration. I'm not that woman. I'm more the girl who wants to chill with the guys at their pad. Well, not that pad. That pad was disgusting.")...and that she loves her mom almost as much as cigarettes. (On quitting: "I've tried Wellbutrin," a drug also used to treat depression, "which made me really happy while I smoked.") Fine, okay, and then there is the matter of the movie. More »
divas
Will The World's Only Bankable Woman Actor Ruin Charlie Wilson's War?
A big story in the New York Times wonders whether the big-budget upcoming movie Charlie Wilson's War will be able to overcome the fact that it's about, like, history and politics and a seemingly obscure would-be footnote in Cold War history that fatefully happened to set the stage for the current War On Terror or whatever. The story is awesome: an obscure liberal Democratic congressman from Texas with a reputation as a drunk and a playboy happened to get a seat on the Defense Appropriations subcommittee, which authorizes top-secret CIA funds, and upon the request of a socialite played by Julia Roberts singlehandedly finances the war of the Afghan "freedom fighters" are fighting against the Soviets, which would eventually grow into a war against, uh,"freedom" itself. He convinced his colleagues to go into all this with the eminently rational statement: "The U.S. had nothing whatsoever to do with these people's decision to fight. ... But we'll be damned by history if we let them fight with stones." More »
So we don't know who made the decision to style Johnny Depp's hair for the movie version of Sweeny Todd but we do know that his 'do is channeling the late Susan Sontag. It's her iconic streak! Maybe Depp is trying do pay tribute to the New York intellectual? Click the picture to see the cover shot. [EW]
john travolta
Oh Boys, We Hardly Knew You.
At the premiere of new buddy movie Wild Hogs (which inexplicably took top spot at the box office this weekend), it's 53-year-old star inadvertently posed the question everyone's been asking for a few years now: More »
tv
