Ladies, Amirite?

If you are a fan of Bridesmaids, or ladies, or humor, or humorous ladies, or comedic films, or empowering women in filmmaking, or of fart jokes, then you might be a fan of this news:
Since 2011, when "Bridesmaids" became a global hit and expanded the range of female-driven comedy, Hollywood has been desperate for its screenwriters, Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, to team again on another big movie.

They have finally agreed: Ms. Wiig and Ms. Mumolo will write, produce and star in a wide-release comedy for TriStar Productions, which described the film as the story of "best friends who find themselves in over their heads and out of their depths, which were, perhaps, not too deep to begin with." The plot involves a town called Vista Del Mar.

"We're very excited to be writing," the two women said in a statement. "We will be going into a cave for months to finish. An actual cave. We found one that's nice and big. We're putting a couch in there."

...Why did Ms. Wiig and Ms. Mumolo wait to write another screenplay? "We wanted it to be the right time and the right idea," they wrote in an email response to the question, "and both of those elements have come together."

...Ms. Wiig is also expected to direct, a first for her. A release date has not been set. ...Ms Wiig added: "I've been wanting to direct for some time now. This seems like the perfect first project."

Asked about the film's tone — whether, for instance, it might recall the quirky buddy comedy "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" — Thomas E. Rothman, TriStar's chairman, played coy. "Kristen and Annie assured me that the film will be a searing and depressing drama, which is what the world needs right now," he said.
Ha ha!

[Content Note: Misogyny; rape culture.]

Like every article ever written about Bridesmaids ever, this one calls Bridesmaids "a feminine answer to 'The Hangover' and other male-oriented comedies."

Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooops!

See, the thing about the narrative that Bridesmaids is just "The Hangover with Women" is that it fundamentally misses the point that lots of women who did not like The Hangover but do like Bridesmaids aren't responding just because LADYFACES. They're responding because The Hangover treats women like objectified garbage, and Bridesmaids treats women like human beings.

That doesn't make Bridesmaids the "feminine answer" to The Hangover so much as it makes Bridesmaids "a movie that does not shit all over women" and The Hangover "a movie that stars an actual convicted rapist."

A woman doesn't even have to like either film to understand and appreciate that difference between them.

Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.

blog comments powered by Disqus