I stopped watching a movie because it was offensive in the extreme

[kickassangel]

when i know that i have a load of ironing to do, i like to have some 'mindless' tv to watch, so i got a 'romcom' out of the library. obviously, i expect a huge array of stereotypes & lazy writing, but I was actually quite shocked at how appalling this was.

It's the 'Heartbreak Kid' with Ben Stiller in it. The 'plot' is that he marries in haste to a woman who turns out to be a nightmare whilst they're on their honeymoon, so he spends all his time with another woman who he falls in love with.

i was expecting the 'nightmare' things of the wife to be deliberately manipulative, or cruel or something, (but in a slapstick kind of way) in order to justify this plot.

No.

The 'nightmare' is a woman who is over emotional, over dramatic, and a bit needy. There are some things about her that in rl you'd struggle with, e.g. she's an ex-drug user, but all the other aspects are just exaggerated stereotypes of 'traditionally feminine' characteristics.

I didn't bother watching to the end as the film was pretty boring as well, but I doubt that they turned it around to show a more balanced view.

I was just so disgusted that it
a) used an exaggerated stereotype in such a crass manner,
and that then
b) justified him ditching her on their honeymoon to go out with another woman!!

Shame on everyone involved with the movie. I'm pretty laid back and rarely get upset about light hearted media as I just don't take it seriously, but the attitude behind this was horrific.

No real point to my post except to vent, cos i was so appalled. I've never even started a thread in 'feminism' before.

I've never seen this film but I was inspired to Google it upon reading your post. I found it interesting that it's apparently a remake of a 1972 film, which sounds much less offensive and more interesting.

Quoted from the Wikipedia summary of the original film (Kelly is the woman he leaves his wife for):

"Because of his lack of depth and lusty adolescent anxiety, an ongoing comedy of errors befalls Lenny during his courtship with Kelly. Each scene peels back the converging of the morally bankrupt superficial and narcissistic personalities of the characters: Lenny, Kelly, and her dad. It is hyperbole, irony, pointed disregard, and lack of empathy played out as a moral fable, a lesson for the audience to consider before making any permanent life-changing relationship choices, which, ultimately a pathetic Lenny, who brought about his own anguish, never fully comprehends."

Sounds like the Ben Stiller version dumbed it down and missed the point (says she having only read Wikipedia summaries of the films )

Depressing, if that's the case... some progress!

goodness

OP, you are not alone. I hate this creepy, woman hating crud masquerading as humour too.

Elephants, great link to the Tiger Beatdown reviews! Thank you.

If you think that's bad try watching The Devil Wears Prada then read the book to understand exactly what Hollywood does to what was originally a pretty good, strong women story.

I haven't got time to go into it now but will gladly sit here one evening next week talking about my hatred for TDWP film.

can't wait Plumm! The film feels oddly heartless, maybe that's why.

OTOH I did love Miss Congeniality 2 , which basically undoes all the bad work of MG1, and has a great message about doing your job, having friends and not dressing up like a mannequin.

Did anyone see "He's Just Not That Into You"? DP's friend was watching it and I kept catching horrifying snippets - was it as bad as I thought? There was some guy trying to tell the main girl all the things she was doing wrong, and basically what a fuckup she was and how hopeless with men - I guessed her would turn out to be "the one for her"

typos - MC1 = Miss Congeniality 1

"I guessed he would turn out" etc

That Sex in the City film is another example: fucking and shopping, that's all
women are interested in, basically.

I did find Superbad hilarious though so am definitely a bad feminist.

McLovin anyone?

Haven't seen Superbad, haven't exactly been tempted though.

My least favourite film in feminist-and-indeed-normal-human-moral terms is You've Got Mail. Anyone seen it? Nice woman who runs a great independent bookshop falls in love with man over the internet, he turns out to be the bastard wanker whose global corporation is trying to put her out of business. Great tension eh? How will they resolve it? Oh, by her merrily going to work for him in his global corporation, giving up her lovely business, in the name of True Lurve. I mean, what?

Close run thing with What Women Want - another great instance of female lead falling for male lead who has treated her like shit throughout the film, on the basis of...the scriptwriters whim basically. No earthly reason is given in the film anyway as to why she would fall for him.

Oh no - do I have to sit on the naughty step?

No all time sappy shit is '9 weeks notice' see it and try to keep your lunch down.

It hurts me that Ben Stiller is in The Royal Tenenbaums (and Gwynnie too, sorry Gwyneth) because it's one of my favourite films. He is such a TWAT.
I agree totally about Hollywood films in general.
But if you've ever met any intelligent American heterosexual women you realise the game they play has been mastered by the men. They don't stand a chance.

Fraid so semicolon.

Oh I was just waffling. I know some absurdly bright American women who seem to spout feminist texts yet submit totally to their men. It's scary.

:o Proles.

UP - really, urgh. Sometimes I wonder how different things are with feminism in America these days. I read a lot of US feminist blogs and it seems like things are better there is some ways...but really not in others. More of massive culture of beefy masculinity for instance.

With American feminism, it seem to me that the reality is that you are allowed to use big words to explain in minute detail why you are happy cleaning for him. Nothing adds up for me. It's all 'but it's more graceful to let some things go' and back to the slog.
(Sorry, I am really embittered on this point and therefore not rational.)

Yeah it seems to have more of a masculinity/feminity thing going than the UK. TBH in this country anyone taking themselves too seriously (with cupcakes or wood-hewing or whatever) is likely to be ripped to shreds anyway :)

And of course the God Wants You To Hoover contingent

Personally I find the Bridget Jones films to be some of the worst in the history of cinema.I say this from an artistic and feminist viewpoint. Silly woman obsessed with weight desperate for a man. Oh do fuck off.

The Bridget Jones films, yes.

There's a nice tongue-in-cheek line in the book though, about nothing being so off-putting to men than strident feminism, when Bridget is trying to shut up her friend Sharon.

Aha:

""And men like Richard," fumed Sharon, "play on the chink in the armor to wriggle out of commitment, maturity, honor and the natural progression of things between a man and a woman."

By this time Jude and I were going, "Shhh, shhh," out of the corners of our mouths and sinking down into our coats. After all, there is nothing so unattractive to a man as strident feminism. "

Actually, I learnt quite a bit about gender politics and feminism from reading the books (I was about fourteen, don't worry, I have branched out since then and don't rely entirely on Bridget Jones for intellectual nourishment ). The books are much more intelligent, and interesting, than the films. Much more irony etc., not as many nicely choreographed comedy fights though of course.

I am a real ignoramus about films because I just don't bother to watch very many, but one thing that had me shrieking with righteous feminist rage about 10 years ago was the TV adaptation of Christopher Brookmyre's Quite Ugly One Morning. Now this book is not the world's greatest feminist text and I rather think it fails the Bechdel Test but the TV adaptation destroyed it - by making one of the female leads the ex-wife of the protagonist(because she couldn't possibly exist if she wasn't connected to a male character - in the book she is the ex-wife of the murder victim who only encounters the protagonist while trying to look for clues as to who killed her XH but it's made clear that her XH was a tosser she felt sorry for - and making the other main female character be desperate to shag the protagonist when in the book she's a lesbian who the protagonist initally fancies, realises she's not interested but likes, respects and works with her anyway.

Most people just hated this adaptation for having cast Jimmy Nesbit (an Irishman with an Irish accent) as the protaganist (a, erm, Scotsman) presumably on the grounds that one Celt sounds a lot like another.