Fan Rant: Shopaholics Having Sex in the City With Men Not Into You
Filed under: Comedy, Romance, New Releases, Fan Rant
Seriously, Hollywood. Enough already. I feel like I'm drowning in some frothy pink hell made of Sarah Jessica Parker, Hugh Dancy, and lip gloss. I know I'm not alone, particularly among our Cinematical crew, nor among film chicks in general. All week, sites like Jezebel have been ranting about the New in Towns and Confessions of a Shopaholics.
Look, I'm a girl. I'm a girl who likes boys and runs up massive bills at Sephora. There are chick flicks on my DVD shelves. I own Kate and Leopold, and I have watched it more than once.* I can see why you think women like these movies ... many of them do, and there's nothing horribly wrong with that. Fluff is fun. I don't hate the women who watch them, just as I don't hate you for making them. I'd overlook He's Just Not That Into You if you weren't trying to bury me alive in your pink-and-purple demographic. You just aren't stopping -- and half of them seem to star Jennifer Aniston, who I might just assign all the blame to. As she laughs off that tabloid image of her as some kind of man-hungry, crazy cat lady done wrong by Brangelina, she makes dozens of films that suggest American women are all precisely that. Thanks for that, Jennifer -- as I try to get the plot description and title of The Baster out of my head, could you go do some Shakespeare? Didn't you ever want to play Lady Macbeth?
All I can say is that there's going to be a backlash, and it's starting already. The blogosphere is full of it, and while you may put us down to a bunch of psycho feminist hippies, the box office is proving otherwise. Gran Torino beat out Bride Wars. Taken tromped New in Town ... and on Super Bowl Sunday! Maybe Coraline will beat out He's Just Not That Into You, and really show you executives!
I don't care if you make movies full of shopping, cute boys, and romantic pratfalls. But for the love of film, mix it up. Make something smart that has a woman in it ... you know, make her a cop or a doctor or something, and have her solve a mystery or make a difference in people's lives. Say what you will about Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie, and Keira Knightley, but at least they've tried to offer the world A Mighty Heart, Erin Brockovich, or The Duchess. They may not be groundbreaking films or performances, but at least they lacked pink posters, whining about engagement rings, and being over 30 and single. That's something to be grateful for.
* though not without bitching at how unappealing Meg Ryan is in it. But come on, Hugh Jackman wears a cravat. I'm not entirely immune to this sort of thing.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-06-2009 @ 8:38PM
RvB said...
The Baster?!? Oh, please god, not another "I've got to have a baby or I'll kill you" movie.
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2-06-2009 @ 8:44PM
Julie said...
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! PLEASE HOLLYWOOD READ THIS AND PAY ATTENTION! I am so sick of these fluffy maribou slipper movies colored pink with sparkles. I love romantic comedies, I have a shelf devoted entirely to them. But I love a romantic comedy with brains. Movies that have sharp clever humor and great actors with fantastic chemistry. I want to weep with sorrow and for joy. This never ending supply of strawberry syrup is making me ill. I don't want to see Jennifer Aniston, Anne Hathaway, or Katharine Heigl ever again. And Drew Barrymore? I'm a huge fan, and I know you can do better than this. Remember Ever After? The girl had brains and wasn't mooning around trying to catch a prince. She had some self esteem. Please, there must be something with substance out there. I'm fed up with this smuck.
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2-06-2009 @ 9:49PM
Tamara said...
you took the words out of my mouth - thank you!!!
(though I enjoyed the sex & the city movie - though more shamefully - kind of like porn)
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2-06-2009 @ 11:20PM
Jonathan said...
I empathize, I really do, but you need to put this in perspective or you'll drive yourself mad:
1. This is nothing new. Doris Day anyone? She's just one example. This doesn't mean there isn't a problem, but there's fifty years of Hollywood pablum.
2. These movies are safe. Even if they don't rule at the box office, they make a profit. It's virtually guaranteed that a whole bunch of people will see them.
3. Hollywood, for the most part, tries to appeal to the broadest possible demographic. When they can't do that, they try to appeal to the broadest possible subgroup within that demographic. Why? Because it works, I'm sad to say.
4. There are plenty of small films out there that don't get any support. They're hard to find, but they're there. Make the extra effort to go to them. Buy them on DVD when they come out.
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2-07-2009 @ 2:56AM
Tanya1976 said...
I like shopping and makeup. Hell, I've seen Steel Magnolias, repeat it line for line, and I still love it! But, please, just because I'm a chick, don't think for a minute that I'll rush to see films about self-absorbed, whiny little girls. It's beyond annoying.
I cannot wait for G.I. Joe and The Watchmen to arrive. Yeah, so sorry Drew Nevermore and Jennifer Nagiston will not get my dollars this weekend.
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2-07-2009 @ 12:30PM
Kate said...
I love shopping, I almost never wear heels shorter than 4", and I absolutely loooove pink, but when I saw 'POTC: Dead Man's Chest' four times, it wasn't for the love triangle. It was to see the kraken drag ships to its doom. I'm the loudest, noisiest bitch at a midnight screening because there is nothing more entertaining than Bumblebee and Blackout beating the crap out of each other or Joker slamming a pencil through someone's head. Now, I enjoyed 'Sex and the City', even though I wasn't a fan of the series, and 'Ever After' and 'The Devil Wears Prada' are two of my favorite movies of all time, but OH MY LORD. Hollywood, give girls a break! Have we learned nothing from Ripley and Sarah Connor? What on earth is the appeal of seeing a movie about overly made-up women with too much money whining about how unhappy they are? Let 'Bride Wars' be a nail in the coffin. (And Dear Lord, let 'New Moon' bomb so we never have to hear about 'Twilight' again.)
A thousand times word, Tanya. I can't wait for 'Watchmen' and 'G.I. Joe'.
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2-07-2009 @ 10:39PM
Tanya1976 said...
They're going to be awesome!
2-09-2009 @ 3:03PM
Annie said...
I have three things to say:
1. What exactly is wrong with Hollywood making these movies? I am a smart, sophisticated women and sometimes I like silly movies like these. Just because people watch movies like "Shopaholic" doesn't make them stupid.
2. You seriously need to get your facts straight. Yes, there are a lot of stupid romantic comedies, but you just don't know what they are. "Sex and the City" is faaaaar from a romantic comedy, it's downright depressing at times.
3. If you don't like these movies, here's a genius idea for you, DON'T GO TO THEM!
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