Review #26: Lucky Them

Release Date: April 21, 2014
Writer: Emily Wachtel
Director: Megan Griffiths

Logline: A rock journalist is assigned to track down her ex-boyfriend. (Source IMDb)
Bechdel Test: Failed. Only passed two of three tests.

Review

First things first: if you watch this movie (which you should), don’t IMDB it first.  There’s a great cameo near the end that would be best left as a surprise.

You know how sometimes you’re watching a movie and totally loving it and you pause to see where you are just hoping you’re not nearing the end? That was my experience with this film. I loved it.

Story wise, it’s pretty solid – a woman is sent to find and interview her ex-boyfriend in order to save her job at a music magazine.  Narratively, it’s not amazing – there are definitely places where it could be smoothed out and characters whose existence aren’t really justified.  In my opinion, these narrative flaws are completely smoothed over by the superb acting and engaging dialogue. 

I’m pretty sure Toni Collette is just the coolest person in the entire world.  Her character, Ellie Klug, is complex and interesting and has the best wardrobe of life.  Collette’s performance is great but Thomas Haden Church really steals the show.  He plays Charlie, an ex of Ellie’s, who decides to make a documentary of her journey to find the elusive Matthew Smith.  He manages to make a neurotic and socially awkward millionaire someone who we genuinely like and root for.  His delivery of each and every line is so perfect that I can’t imagine this role ever being played by someone else.

The beauty of this film is found in the details.  From the names of her goldfish being Kurt and Courtney to the star-shaped twinkle lights decorating her apartment, the little things are what made me want to stay in this world long after the credits rolled.

The dynamic between Collette and Church combined with the cool vibe of the Seattle background make this one of my favourite fempire movies so far.

Portrayal of Women: This film didn't pass the Bechdel. There are more than two named woman who speak to each other, but they don't talk about something besides a man. Although this is disappointing in a movie with both a female director and writer, the strength of Ellie's character helps make up for it.


Ellie is battling her past while trying to navigate her future - that ends up being messy a lot of the time. The typical 40 year old female character is married with a couple of kids and totally devoted to their relationship or trying to find a relationship. Ellie is the queen of casual dating and she has no plans of marriage or children in the foreseeable future.  She makes the mistakes that are usually reserved for male characters to make and that results in a captivating look at what else a woman's 40s can be besides caring for a family.


Sisterhood Moment: Ellie wore white to a wedding. Like what??!! How could you do that?! Anti-sisterhood.

Rating: 4 Belle and Sebastian records + a couple chunky scarves.

IMDb - Lucky Them (7.1)
Wikipedia - Lucky Them
Rotten Tomatoes - Lucky Them (92%)

What to see this weekend

Do you want to see:

 A female lead?
-Maleficent
-The Other Woman (Fempire Review)
-Lucky Them (iTunes) (Fempire Review)

Directed by a woman?
-Night Moves (limited release)
-The Big Ask (iTunes)
-Lucky Them (iTunes)

Written or co-written by a woman?
-Maleficent
-Night Moves (limited release)
-Blended
-Lucky Them (iTunes)
-The Other Woman

#YesAllWomen

On May 23rd, 2014 a young man with mental health issues killed 7 people before shooting himself.

While it's clear that an ongoing battle with a mental disorder is the cause of this tragedy, the gunman, Rogers, made vocal online his misogynistic point of view. Leading up to this event, he claimed that women were to be punished for not dating him.

#YesAllWomen is the response.

"I have a boyfriend" is the easiest way to get a man to leave you alone. Because he respects another man more than you. #yesallwomen
— Rylah (@JBRylah) May 25, 2014

Girls grow up knowing that it's safer to give a fake phone number than to turn a guy down. #yesallwomen
— Kate Tuttle (@katekilla) May 24, 2014

The word "feminism" has taken on ugly connotations in recent years. Women have been attacked for holding feminist points of view because they are perceived to be "man-haters." This twitter phenomenon has been one of the biggest collective feminist responses in recent years. Women from all walks of life bravely share their experiences with every day sexism, hoping to bring to light the severity of this issue.

When a woman makes a video, most comments are about tearing apart her looks. Or if they'd "do" her. With a man, almost none. #YesAllWomen
— Felicia Day (@feliciaday) May 26, 2014

Because I shouldn't have to wonder how posting my experiences to #YesAllWomen will affect my job. And it will.
— Amber Naslund (@AmberCadabra) May 25, 2014

The origins of the hashtag refer to a knee-jerk response to these UCSB murders. Men who responded with #NotAllMen as in, not all men think this way, not all men do this. That stance is a justification to not make any social changes or take any accountability as a community. The #YesAllWomen hashtag response gave a clear message that no, not all men do bad things, but yes, all women experience sexism.

Women shared their points of view criticizing a culture that allows men to feel entitled to women as property, like Roger advocated. Women's equality is no longer simply about access to jobs, it's about simply feeling safe during daily activities. It's about the ways women are harshly judged in area's unaffected by men. Equality isn't an assignment, it's a social construct that needs to be fought for.

While I am typing this some guy is following me calling me blondie and making kissy noises #YesAllWomen
— Shalyah Evans (@ShalyahEvans) May 26, 2014

#yesallwomen because "you're not like other girls" is considered a compliment
— Alyssa Wooldridge (@alyssawool) May 26, 2014

The cops who asked me "Well, what were you wearing?" when I reported an attack and attempted rape. #YesAllWomen
— Aimee Mann (@aimeemann) May 25, 2014

#YesAllWomen because men's issues are social issues, but women's issues are them overreacting.
— Sarah Stack (@Sarah_253) May 26, 2014

Because a lot of you are reading these and thinking "ugh yeah, we get it. Calm down." #YesAllWomen
— Christine Nangle (@nanglish) May 25, 2014

Speak up and share your story. #YesAllWomen we are here, and we are listening. 

Review #25: The Proposal

Release Date: June 19th, 2009
Writer: Pete Chiarelli
Director: Anne Fletcher

Logline: A pushy boss forces her young assistant to marry her in order to keep her Visa status in the U.S. and avoid deportation to Canada. (Source IMDb)
Bechdel Test: Passed all three tests

Review

Everyone loves this movie. 

Apparently the statement above is actually incorrect because I just found some negative reviews online.

To the reviewer who says “Believability really goes out the window here”: I’m pretty sure I’m willing to suspend my demand for a realistic plot when in return I get Sandy B dancing around in the woods with Betty White.

To Linda F who says: “A waste of 3 hours of my life - it was stretched out to this long because it was on tv”: You’re awfully picky for someone just flipping through the channels looking for something to watch.  At least you didn’t end up on the W Network watching Georgia Rule for the 18th time.

To Shiela who says: “My favourite romantic-comedy of all time!!!!!”: Whoa there. It’s not THAT good. Calm it down.

As far as romcoms go, this is a good one. The cast is great, the setting is beautiful, and even though the plot isn’t groundbreaking, it’s fun enough to keep us interested through the end.

The only thing that really stuck out to me as an absolute flaw was the way Sandy B says “Toronto.”  Gracie Hart would’ve done her research, you should have too.

Portrayal of Women: Although this movie is pretty formulaic, it differentiates itself by flipping the gender stereotypes when it comes to workplace romances.

Instead of a woman fighting her way to the top and inadvertently falling in love with the attractive male boss, we have the opposite.  Ryan Reynolds is the Melanie Griffith and Sandra Bullock is the Harrison Ford and I love that.

I also think it does a nice job of highlighting the double standards that can come with women in authority.  Sandra's Margaret is ambitious and demanding when it comes to her career and she is hated because of it.  One particular scene involving her firing an employee results in him yelling at her in front of the entire office for being too cruel.  In reality, she was quite fair to him.  She was firing him because he didn't do his job and she even told him he could stay for 2 months and then resign. He then resorts to calling her a bitch - something less likely to happen if a powerful male editor had done the exact same thing.

I don't love how Margaret reinforces the idea that powerful women are always cold but I appreciate the role reversal nevertheless.

Sisterhood Moment: Did Grandma Annie really have to make fun of Margaret's small boobs?

Rating: 4 cinnamon soy lattes out of 5

IMDb - The Proposal (6.7)
Wikipedia - The Proposal
Rotten Tomatoes - The Proposal (44%)

Review #24: Marie Antoinette

Release Date: October 20th, 2006
Writer: Sofia Coppola
Director: Sofia Coppola

Logline: The retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 15 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen and ultimately the fall of Versailles. (Source IMDb)
Bechdel Test: Passed all three tests

Review

I cannot say I've always been a fan of Sofia Coppola's work. She tends to tell character stories about women who are trapped by social boundaries. Something that when done well is a fantastic enveloping experience, but if you're not in the mood for it, her movies can come across as artsy and storyless. I'm very excited that this blog has given us the opportunity to revisit her work as she is one of the only well known female writer/directors.

Marie Antoinette tells the fairy-tale like story of the 14 year old girl who was married into French royalty during the time of the French Revolution. You might as well forget the French Revolution part because this is only about the charmed life of a young naive queen.

Doted on by dozens at every moment, in the monumental palace of Versaille, she is spoken of, never spoken to. She is surrounded by chatter and finds her only ability to express herself and interact with others through dresses, shoes, tea, and of course, gossip. Even then, those who she is able to spend time with are those same people who spread rumors about her being an Austrian spy. Her French husband Louis XVI, portrayed by the hysterical Jason Schwartzman, has no real interest in their marriage. He is happy to continue on as if she was just another maid in the room, setting her up as a failure for her "wifely duties".

Coppola pulls the story of Antoinette out of it's historical context and makes it relevant to contemporary society by stripping away the historical story and focusing in on her experiences. Antoinette is trapped in a sexless marriage. She's being crushed by the pressure to maintain appearances. As she spends money partying, and gambling, their money begins to dry up. She is unfulfilled and falling apart. As you do in the movie, Antoinette becomes immune to the luxuries she is surrounded by and is unaware of the affect she is having on the political situation in France. She is trying to cope with the emptiness she feels in her life. I don't think Coppola had any intention in telling a historical story but instead uses the revolting French people as a physical manifestation of Antoinette's unhappiness.

With this in mind, I'm constantly surprised when a movie like this is criticised for being historically inaccurate, or not sufficiently portraying the French Revolution. That was never the story this movie was going to tell, with it's modern stylistic choices it's clear that this is supposed to be a fictionalized movie. Perhaps the words "Historical Biopic" make any movie sound like a history lesson. That concept needs to be done with in modern movie making. To insist that this film should tell another story completely negates the story this one does tell.

And the story it does tell is fantastic. Almost a modern tragedy. Marie Antoinette is dreamlike, romantic, heartbreaking, and smart. It's colorful world surrounds the senses. The experience of isolation in a sea of people is something Coppola has seemingly made a signature out of.

Portrayal of Women: To many of the movie's we watch, the portrayal of women reflects the writer's tone on women. There are often so few women, that the one's we do see become a representative for that group.

In this case, I think Coppola does the opposite. She puts the audience in the point of view of a woman, and it's a character film about her experiences. The opinion she projects on gender is really the way this character is marginalized by other characters, which is not a defining characteristic but a social construct. Antoinette herself is a person who is trying to come into her own, but cannot find a way how. Let's face it, that's the kind of representation women have been looking for in film, to be a whole character, not a flat stereotype.

Sisterhood Moment: In one of the opening scene's Marie Antoinette arrives in France and all her belongings that came from Austria are stripped away. Her clothes, her friends, and then her poor dog. Don't take the dog! That's heartbreaking.

Rating: 4 creampuffs out of 5 platters.

IMDb - Marie Antoinette (6.4)
Wikipedia - Marie Antoinette
Rotten Tomatoes - Marie Antoinette (55%)

Take a listen: Seth Rogen learns that women can be funny

"But while Rogen’s bromance comedies relegated their female characters to roles as mature adults (nags, scolds, killjoys), Neighbors lets Rose Byrne’s character share the laughs. In early drafts, Rogen admits, his character’s friends got involved in the pranks, sidelining Byrne. But his actual wife of three years, actress and writer Lauren Miller, pointed out how unrealistic that was. What if the couple liked each other?"

Listen to the interview here and make sure to check out Lauren Miller's For a Good Time Call.

Even Less Women Working on Indie Films

Even though Fempire Movie Club has been promoting women's roles behind the camera for a whole 4 months now, it seems we still have an uphill battle.

The biggest and best source of accurate information regarding women in the film and television workplace is The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film from San Diego State University. For over a decade they have been tracking the jobs women have in the industry. Almost every time you hear about statistics regarding the jobs women get it's usually citing one of their annual reports. In fact, you'll probably read another dozen or so articles using their statistics from us. We think they do fantastic work.

As reported by several media outlets including The Wrap (link below) The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film released their annual report titled Independent Women: Behind-the-Scenes Employment on Festival Films in 2013-14. The report looks at the representation of women working in key roles in the top 23 film festivals in the USA.

Things are doing ok over all this year (2013-14) with the percentage of women working behind the scenes remaining at 26%, the same as last year. This number has slowly been rising from the 24% in 2008-09, but let's be honest, hovering around the 1/4 mark isn't exactly stellar to begin with.

Since our focus on this blog is particularly on writers and directors, lets analyze those roles.

The overall number of women directors is down from 29%  in 2011-12 to 23% this past year. It's interesting to note that this is a combination of narrative film and documentary film. Women directors have had much more success in documentaries accounting for 39% of docu directors in 2011-12. Shockingly, this year women account for only 28% of docu directors - a major backslide. In narrative film, women directors hold steady at an 18% representation, the same as two years ago. In 2008-09, that figure was 15%. Perhaps this is a slow climb, but it would be nice to see representation of female directors in narrative films push beyond 20%.

As for women writers, this year saw 22% overall, up 3% from 5 years ago but still a small backslide from the 2011-12 figures that showed women writers at 24% overall. Similar to the statistics of women directors, women have typically had better showing in documentaries. Two years ago, women made up 32% of docu writers, this year they only accounted for 23%

Again, similar to women directors, the number of women writers in narrative film has been slowly climbing. This year, women writers held steady at 21%, a slight rise from the 15% that was reported in 2008-09.

It might be worth noting that in all areas, women producers gained a lot of ground. Producers and executive producers are the only areas where women maintained their presence in the indie film industry. Across the board, cinematographers and editors lost ground in representation.

At the end of the day, perhaps a micro view of the film industry year to year isn't a significant source of information. Nit picking year to year may or may not reveal trends. However, it's important to realize that this is 2014 and these are pathetic numbers. Women have been involved in these very key roles behind the scenes in the film industry since the inception of cinema.

This article doesn't examine the top big budget movies, these are the indies. Certainly some of these festivals will host films made and sold to major production companies, but in general, this is where small time movie makers prove their worth. If women aren't picking up jobs here, they aren't going to get them in bigger budget productions down the line. These numbers might be small, but they are huge compared to the number of women doing these jobs for studio productions.

Whatever the barriers are that prevent women from picking up that camera and making their own movies, we need to get past it. If you have a story to tell, tell it. You may never see another women doing the job you do behind the scenes but that's no reason not to do it. Push through and inspire someone else.

The Wrap: Women Directors and Writers Lose Ground in Indie Films as Numbers Decline

Review #23: I Don't Know How She Does It

More like "I Don't Know How This Was Made Into A Movie" amirite???

Release Date: September 16th, 2011
Director: Douglas McGrath
Writer: Aline Brosh McKenna (Based on the novel by Allison Pearson)

Logline: There is no story here to summarize. A family-woman goes to her job. (Source: My bitterness)
Bechdel Test: Passed.


Review

I started watching this movie and within 5 minutes started debating whether I needed to keep watching it.

Fortunately for you readers I felt I owed it to woman-kind to represent a voice that says this is not acceptable as female driven cinema, let alone any cinema. Some kid with a dream of making movies, just put down their camera because this horrible film got made.

Here's a synopsis: Kate, Sarah Jessica Parker, is a married mother of 2 who works full time at an investment bank. She has to travel for her job and her famjam doesn't like it. She gets a career boost, which means working for long hours quite intimately with her boss, Pierce Brosnan. She does a good job at that, and reinforces her priority to her family. The end.

For real. There's no romantic push and pull between her husband and boss, even though there should have been. She is given a lot of grief at the beginning for being a working mom, and at the end she's still being given grief for being a working mom. She isn't a neglectful parent and learns to become a good one, she is the exact same person throughout. She isn't a frazzled mom who learns to let go of the minor issues, she is an immaculate MarthaStewart-mom who doesn't change. I don't understand the point. This is a story about a character who is supposed to be overwhelmed, but isn't, and doesn't learn to get balance anything because she makes no changes to her life.

To place blame, the writing is atrocious. There are montages every 20 minutes because there isn't enough interesting action worth watching. There is a bizarre stylistic choice to include talking heads for only two of the characters, even though this is in now way a documentary style film. What's more bizarre is that those two characters who provide much unneeded commentary are characters that otherwise wouldn't exist in the movie without those fake interviews. Busy Philipps' character Wendy is given an elaborate introduction for being the mom that SJP envies, but she's never seen or heard from again in the film. To reinforce this once again, it's not like SJP's character is overwhelmed with mommyhood, and Wendy provides a foil. She just makes strange limp jokes to the camera. I can hardly even say where there would be a beginning, middle, and ending to this, making me wonder if it even qualifies to be a film.

There's something that fundamentally bothers me about the main character of Kate. She's successful in business, and has a pleasant family, both clear goals of hers. She is beyond capable as a mother, holding a HUGE party for her kid, and making pancakes every morning. Her only insecurities are unspoken judgements from other adults, which are some combination of not important or nonexistent.

Let's assume that these insecurities are intended to be the point of the film, her fatal flaw if you will. First, it's insulting to cast the Sex and the City icon in that role. She's an actress that effortlessly MAKES working mom's insecure by her simple existence. Second, the character make's it clear that she doesn't give a damn about the judgements of others, over and over. She has baby spit-up or pancake batter on the lapel of her blazer, and proudly struts into a meeting.

So what's her flaw? There's an argument for the guilt she feels by working but that's not what this movie is about, she doesn't act on that guilt. She doesn't communicate with her husband, and doesn't ever successfully resolve issues. She harbours resentment and doesn't have any outlet for stressors, and is still stressed by the end. Kate idolizes a 1950's view of womanhood, and the only change she has made at the end of the film is that she accepts her unhappiness and decides not to change anything.

What a tremendous waste of time. If a movie is going to set up a premise like pitting working against raising kids at home, then at least have the wherewithal to make a decision about it. This film refuses to pick a side, illustrating that her push and pull at the beginning by wanting both will remain the push and pull she feels at the end by keeping both. It's absurdly condescending to present women this way.

Here's why this bothers me so much. This movie exemplifies the kind of movies that are marketed towards women. It's the quintessential modern chick flick: A model-esque super serious female lead who deals with having a job and a family, with vague romance and no substantial comedy. Every stereotype you can think of, from women hating other women, to male bosses crossing a romantic line, to hating the in-laws. It's a movie as bland as oatmeal and I'm sure there are some guys in the industry who greenlit this thinking it's what women want. What perhaps they don't realize is women have been living with the conflicting expectations society has for them for their whole lives and aren't interested in this sort of tepid presentation of opinionless hodgepodge.

Portrayal of Women: As baby-makers. As being incapable of doing the job of men. "Oh my god, what am I going to do with the kids while I wait for the baby sitter to show up?" Get out of here.

Sisterhood Moment: This movie has the warm fuzzies of a porcupine hug. I'm done.

0/5 stars

IMDb - I Don't Know How She Does It (4.8)
Wikipedia - I Don't Know How She Does It
Rotten Tomatoes - I Don't Know How She Does It (17%)

What to watch this weekend

Do you want to see:

 A female lead?
-Belle (limited release)
-Walk of Shame
-The Other Woman

-Hateship Loveship (available on iTunes)

Directed by a woman?
-Belle (limited release)
-The Selfish Giant (available on iTunes)

-Hateship Loveship

Written or co-written by a woman?
-Belle (limited release)
-The Selfish Giant (available on iTunes)

-The Other Woman