87th Annual Academy Awards - The One Where They Forgot about Women

This week the prestigious annual Oscar nominations were revealed for the 2014 year in film.

In the past, there has been commentary about the quality of roles for women, and the lack of representation for women in the writing and directing categories. The awards have always been drama-heavy, almost creating it's own genre of Christmas released biopics. If we are being honest about what happens behind the curtain, then we can be honest about the way studios intentionally create "Oscar-dramas" then campaign to leverage wins. Thank Harvey Weinstein for that.

Last year was fortunate to have women nominated for writing, and Jennifer Lee won for her role writing and directing the animated feature Frozen. Several of the Best Picture nominees, like Her and Gravity actively featured women. A few years ago Katheryn Bigelow even won for Best Director. Against men! I know, pick your jaw up off the floor.

Unfortunately this year's crop are some of the least diverse awards in years. The writing categories snubbed some of this years talent, like Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, and Ava DuVernay and Paul Webb for Selma. Ava DuVernay was also ignored in the Best Director category. This Martin Luther King Jr. Biopic should be the kind of film the Academy falls in love with, like last year's 12 Years a Slave (Best Picture Winner). Instead the general notion is that Selma was snubbed, only being nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Song. Although not as favorited as Selma, some felt Angelina Jolie was deserving of a Best Director nomination for Unbroken. 

Best Picture

American Sniper

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Selma

The Theory of Everything

Whiplash

Achievement in Directing

Alejandro G. Inarritu - Birdman

Bennett Miller - Foxcatcher

Morten Tyldum - The Imitation Game

Richard Linklater - Boyhood

Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel

In the Acting categories we saw Jennifer Aniston get overlooked for her groundbreaking role in Cake. She's an actress I often dismiss for the "Rachel" typecast, but Cake turns her into a broken down, suicidal woman dealing with chronic pain. Both Amy Adams for Big Eyes and Emily Blunt for Into The Woods were considered front runners early on that got overlooked. While Julianne Moore and Marion Cotillard gave excellent performances, to be blunt, no one saw them. It's hard to get excited about a movie that didn't even make it to theaters. For a comparison, 4/5 of the Best Actor nominees were from Best Picture nominated movies. 1/5 of the Best Actress nominees were. 

Actress in a leading Role

Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)

Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)

Reese Witherspoon (Wild)

Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

Actress in a Supporting Role

Emma Stone (Birdman)

Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)

Laura Dern (Wild)

Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)

Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

While Rosamund Pike picked up a Best Actress nom for Gone Girl the film was snubbed in all other categories. Similarly, Wild picked up acting nominations for Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern, but nothing else. Both films should have been contenders for Best Picture. Interestingly, both films were produced by Witherspoon's newly founded production company Pacific Standard. Perhaps the takaway for her is that good movies aren't enough, political lobbying is needed for the win.

Adapted Screenplay

American Sniper (Jason Hall)

The Imitation Game (Graham Moore)

Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson)

The Theory of Everything (Anthony McCarten)

Whiplash (Damien Chazelle)

Original Screenplay

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo)

Boyhood (Richard Linklater)

Foxcatcher (E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman)

The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson)

Nightcrawler (Dan Gilroy)

Fempire Movies in 2015

As 2014 comes to a close, we here at Fempire Movie Club have loved seeing the diverse films that have been written and directed by women. Before the New Year hits, we wanted to give you all a sneak peek of what's being released, besides the film we can't get away from, 50 Shades of Grey. Here's a preview of some of the Fempire movies to come in 2015.

Spare Parts 

The real life story of how underprivileged Hispanic students took on a challenging national robotics competition with no experience, and almost no money. George Lopez stars as Fredi Cameron in this heartwarming underdog story. Based on an article first published in Wired Magazine by Joshua Davis, this film is directed by Sean McNamara (Soul Surfer) and was adapted by screenwriter Elissa Matsueda. This is Matsueda's first screenwriting credit, although she first became noticed on the scene for winning screenwriting competitions with her spec script Happy for You.

Release date: January 16th, 2015

The Boy Next Door

 A psychological thriller starring Jennifer Lopez and Ryan Guzman as neighbors who become entangled in a dangerous and sinister relationship. After taking a bit of a break from the big screen, 2015 seems to be the year JLo wants to return in full force, with 3 pictures due to come out. This film was directed by Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious, Alex Cross) 

The Boy Next Door was written by Barbara Curry, one of the most fascinating screenwriters you've never heard of. Although this is her first production credit, her scripts have won many major screenwriting competitions, this script being part of the 2011 Bloodlist. She has a MFA in screenwriting from UCLA, and that's only half her career. For almost 10 years she worked in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles, in the major violent crimes unit. Curry also taught at the U.S. Department of Justice, and at the FBI Headquarters. Needless to say, she's one to watch out for. 

Release Date: January 23rd, 2015

Jupiter Ascending

For some fans, The Wachowski's is enough to put this atop the "Must-See" list for 2015. For others it's Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum. As a self-described "Space Opera" this film is about a young, ordinary girl who's intergalactic fate lies beyond her own planet. The Wachowski's had been on a streak of adaptations, and this marks a return to creating original content with their sci-fi screenplay. 

During the release of 2012's Cloud Atlas, Lana Wachowski made her first press appearance as a transgender woman. This isn't something to be glossed over because as it stands, Lana is the first, and perhaps only, transgender director working in Hollywood. I stand to be corrected, but I believe Jupiter Ascending is the biggest budgeted film ever to be directed by a woman. It's certain to be a big blockbuster for 2015, and is being met with some of the highest expectations for the duo since The Matrix. 

Release Date: February 6th, 2015

Kingsman: The Secret Service 

It's not possible to end a list of films in 2015 without at least one comic book adaptation, and that's what Kingsman: The Secret Service brings to the table. Starring Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, and newcomer Taron Egerton, this British film is being marked as an "action/adventure comedy". If stylistically it looks familiar that's because it's written and directed by long time collaborators Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn. Together they've worked on films like Stardust, Kick Ass, and X-Men First Class. Although it looks a bit like a violent version of Spy-Kids from the trailer, I don't think this is going to be as goofy as it reads on paper. In fact, this is one of my most anticipated films. 

Release Date: February 12th, 2015

What to see This Weekend

Do you want to see...

A female lead?

-Free the Nipple (Limited)

-The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

Written or co-written by a woman? 

-Free the Nipple (Limited)

-Gone Girl

Directed by a woman?

-Free the Nipple (Limited)

Review #40: Life Partners

Release Date: November 6, 2014
Writer: Susanna Fogel, Joni Lefkowitz
Director: Susanna Fogel

Logline: Sasha and Paige's co-dependant friendship is tested as Paige gets serious with a guy for the first time. (Source IMDb) Comedy/Romance, 93min.

Bechdel Test: Passed all three tests

Review

When you think of heartbreak, it’s pretty likely that the first thing that comes to mind is the breakup of a romantic relationship. Although this may be the most talked about kind of heartbreak, it is far from being the only kind. Life Partners tackles the heartbreak that happens when your best friend gets a boyfriend – it’s that impossible frustration of being genuinely happy for your friend but also completely miserable over the fact that they no longer need you as much as they once did.

The film begins by making us all wish that we had a spirit as kindred as Sasha (Leighton Meester) or Paige (Gillian Jacobs).  They’re the kind of friends who completely understand each other – they do hilarious bits in traffic, they watch ANTM together every week and they have each other listed as “husband” and “wife” in their phones.

Then we meet Adam Brody’s character, Tim, and he pretty well ruins everything.  As Paige falls in love with Tim, she gradually starts drifting away from Sasha until all of a sudden they are barely speaking to each other anymore. 

What this film does best is capture the gradual build of poignant moments which signal that the relationship is changing.  Their friendship doesn't suffer due to one problem but rather due to little annoyances that combine into a greater issue that becomes too big to ignore. The scene that sticks with me is one where Sasha tries to engage Paige in a strategy session involving a new girlfriend and text etiquette.  Paige's newfound stableness removes any ability for her to relate to Sasha's frustration as her problems now seem trivial and irrelevant. The short scene perfectly encapsulates the disconnect between the two women but also upholds a balance of camaraderie that helps us fully understand why they remain friends despite their disdain for each other.

Although there’s nothing especially groundbreaking about Life Partners, its enjoyable performances coupled with themes that are bound to resonate with a wide range of audiences make it worth a watch.

PS. I'm on board with anyone that references Tyra Banks' "smize" which is a pretty big factor into why I liked this movie.

Portrayal of Women: Female characters greatly outnumber male characters in this movie which interestingly helps set the overall tone of the movie. Just as we barely see a man onscreen, Sasha has rarely had to deal with a man monopolizing Paige's time. It's a romcom about women whose lives have always been about women but are now being disrupted by a guy.

Paige's main problem is an overbearing need for control while Sasha struggles to gain any kind of management over her own life. Each woman must work through these issues and this in turn adds another layer of relatability to the film. Paige struggles to accept that sometimes life isn't perfect while Sasha comes to grips with the realization that dreams can sometimes change.  Paige is straight and Sasha is a lesbian which also brings different perspectives of sexuality into play. Creating these complex characters with defined problems is what solidifies this movie as one that any woman can watch and connect to.

Sisterhood Moment: Within the first few minutes, the girls say to each other, "I hate everyone except for you." I would say that's pretty well the perfect definition of besties.

Rating: 3 pairs of overalls out of 5

IMDb - Life Partners (6.1)
Wikipedia - Life Partners 
Rotten Tomatoes - Rotten Tomatoes (56%)