#100GreatestMovieCharacters and barely 10% are female

I know I harp on about this all the time, but Empire Magazine’s latest issue – featuring #100GreatestMovieCharacters (and, for the subscriber edition, artwork featuring a barely-dressed Marion clinging to #1 Indiana Jones on a vine) – has brought fresh fuel to my frustration.

There are not enough good female characters in movies, not just nowadays, but ever it would seem.  The only women to make it to the top 100 include a cartoon (Edna Mode) and a handful of female protagonists including Lisbeth Salander, Katniss Everdeen, Sarah Connor, Wednesday Addams and Amy Dunne (Gone Girl). In the top 10, only Aliens’ Ellen Ripley makes it. To be honest, the only two I truly rate from that list are the Bride (Kill Bill) and Marge Gunderson, playede by a fantastic Frances McDormand in Fargo.

Is it possible that Empire readers (historically a male readership) simply don’t recognise or recall any good female characters. Well, yes.

As an aside, I have been a subscriber for some twenty years now and never more has it felt that the magazine is totally geared to men, from content to adverts. Under the new editorial leadership, the magazine has had a bit of a refresh with new regular features and a subtle shift in direction of the articles and angles. Either I have become more girly (reprehensible but not entirely unbelievable) or the magazine is taking a much more male tone. It’s all gadgets and toys, drones and SFX. Cara Delevingne has secured herself the only female focused feature in this month’s issue (August 2015).

But Empire cannot shoulder the blame alone, surely. Indeed, I point to an earlier blogpost (http://wp.me/p1hR2I-a9) where I debate the sorry state of affairs that is female representation in mainstream movies.

I recently read Hadley Freeman’s excellent ‘Life Moves Pretty Fast’, a discourse on the meaning of 80s movies, and was reminded of fantastic female characters that came out of this crazy decade. Baby in Dirty Dancing, Andy in Pretty in Pink and M’Lynn in Steel Magnolias to name a few. You’re going to say that these are chickfilms made for chicks with chickish leads. Well, I still say they are great characters and Hadley will back me up in emphasising that these characters did more than dance, make a prom dress or become an overbearing mother.

What then of Cher in Clueless? Juno in Juno? Viviane in Pretty Woman? Mrs Flax in Mermaids? or again Cher as Loretta in Moonstruck? Sally in When Harry Met Sally? or incredible Dorothy Michaels in Tootise (admittedly, she is a man). If you want female characters in movies not made specifically with the female audience in mind, then what of Annie Wilkes in Misery or any of the other homocidal psycopaths in 90s domestic-horror movies, starring Glenn Close, Demi Moore, Rebecca de Mornay…

I come back to the same point, that movies today don’t make the space for strong female characters… sadly, it could simply the be case that audiences today don’t make the room in their hearts for protagonists of the fairer sex.

The world is a sadder place for it.

Are all female baddies written in the image of Eve?

Long-suffering husband and I had a lively debate about movie baddies this evening.  As we were watching the time-warp special, Days of Future Past, we started the discussion in the comic world and we couldn’t between us come up with a single good female baddy from the recent roster of comic book based movies. Not a one.

In fact, we couldn’t identify more than a couple of good examples of any kind of contemporary woman baddie who masterminds an entire plot of a movie…. or at least is a constant villainous threat against whom the protagonist must play out his or her fate.

Before you throw the O’Ren Ishii at me, may I remind you that she was, in essence, Bill’s henchmen and simply doing his bidding which drove Uma’s Bride onto her path of revenge. Then back to Uma in Batman the Forgettable where she was the pretty panto baddie Poison Ivy, but again as one of a set-of-two baddies. Same story for Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman, who partnered with a Penguin.

Any sisters doing it for themselves (in the evil mastermind department?)

Perhaps we must turn, as always, to the typical American high schools, where popular girls make naturally good baddies.  They have the power to do bad things, the beauty to influence people and the ‘youth’ to get away with it – think Regina (Mean Girls) and Kathryn (Cruel Intentions) as good examples.  Reese Witherspoon’s Tracy in Election does have the dogged determination and blind self-belief that makes a goodish villain.

I can think of a handful of truly terrifying, obsessed, fanatical female baddies and they were in horror films and none of them are particularly recent… note, these characters were genuine baddies, but all motivated by the usual seven deadly sins guff – jealousy, lust, false idols etc

• Glenn Close, Fatal Attraction 1987
• Kathy Bates, Misery 1990
• Rebecca duMaurier, the Hand that Rocks the Cradle 1992

In this age of Ultron (see what I did there), villainy can have worldwide/galaxy-wide implications and villains are driven by (misplaced) political, religious or socio-economic beliefs – want to change the world, heal the world, destroy the world type thing.

The few female baddies I can think of are noticeably more self-serving in their motivations – they’ve been hurt by a man, they’re jealous, they’re in love, yawn.  Are we basically saying that women cannot be bad unless it is because they have succumbed to their baser urges, old testament styleee? Are all female baddies written in the image of Eve?

Strangely, and interestingly, there is a more equal gender spread in Disney’s universe of baddies – some of their most popular movies have women baddies. Recognise the motives anyone?

1. jealousy & vanity (Wicked Queen Grimhilde, Snow White)
2. a woman scorned & unfriended (Maleficent, Sleeping Beauty)
3. vanity & pride (Mother Gothel, Tangled)
4. proper fashion victim (Cruella DeVille, 101 Dalmations)
5. power mad (Ursula the Sea Witch, The Little Mermaid)
6. motherofthebride-zilla (Lady Tremaine a.k.a evil Stepmother, Cinderella)

wait a minute… wait a minute, wait a doggone minute. are we saying that only children can fathom a world in which women are truly, deeply and madly bad? Seriously, how does my son see me?

Anyway, someone needs to write a screenplay with a deliciously evil, evil genius villainess. She must have some kind of diabolical motive to bring humanity to extinction shaped around a deep-rooted (and mostly ill-conceived) belief system. She must not have been recently scorned.

 

 

 

 

Whose hand is it anyway?

I’m getting a bit fed up of being fed a line. 

As a consumer,  I know I’m going to be on the receiving end of a lot of information about products and services available to me on the market.  As a communications professional,  I’m slightly more in tune to how brands present and profile themselves.

This does make me uniquely qualified to rant about ….

Why does everything have to be hand-selected, hand-picked and hand-made?

Often these meticulously selected,  picked and made things aren’t naturally things I’d ever need or want selected, picked or made for me by hand…. and whose hand is it anyway? Holidays, experiences, ready meals, beauty products.

Even if I truly believed one person was using all his or her senses to hone in on my dream (blank) product, it would still be a bit silly. But really, are they feeling,  tasting and smelling these things to give me a higher quality experience or better value for money? Doubt it. … and value isn’t what I’m getting as soon as someone gets their ‘hand’ in.

… don’t even get me started on handcrafted.

Edutainment… I’m all for it

Who said TV fries your brain?  As a child, I was forever being told off for watching too much television. 

Stop watching so much TV, it’ll make you stupid. Read a book!

This did not deter me. I’ve been a TV addict my whole life and I’m not ashamed of it.  I get sucked in.  I get involved and invested in characters and storytelling.

But I’m still fairly selective.  I’m watching for more than just ‘switching off’ (though this is a strong plus point). I’m interested in being amazed and enthralled, I want to fall in love.  I enjoy being made to feel a bit uncomfortable.  I want to see things in a different way.

TV today is more than mindless entertainment.  Programmes are smart, provocative,  challenging and sometimes even difficult to watch. The best programmes spark endless debate in the office,  overheard on the tube,  online.  Great characters and plots inspire fan-fiction and YouTube video mashups.

My husband and I have just started on a new show,  HBO’s award magnet True Detective. The dialogue is slick and efficient.  The plot is engaging and the script takes you on an incredible journey both live and retrospective.  The characterisation is incredible and the acting. .. The number of movie stars invested in TV is testament to the quality and power of the medium.

For sure, I can see how the habit of TV watching can develop and how time is easily lost to the 21 minute sitcom or 43 minute drama/serial. Build in your advertising (we now have Sky+ which has revolutionised my life) and toilet breaks and you find whole weeks’ of evenings gone in a flash.

Is it time ill spent? Usually not. But with any habit it really needs checks and balance.

I’ve been a TV addict my whole life and I’m not that stupid. I’m probably marginally happier than someone who emphatically avoids any TV. It helps, I suppose, that I read too. And I’m largely a discerning viewer.

All in though, I counter that good TV is as good as good books. New ideas, and creative characters, human insight,   technology,  trends,  society’s vernacular even. It is all there. In abundance, more so today than ever before.

Of course, if the TV in question is a show about a group of young people documenting their flings in a psuedo reality format, then why not pick up a Mills & Boon … bad TV is as bad as a mediocre book. Maybe even more so because someone once told you to turn off the TV and pick up a book. 

Cheap thrills

Zach Braff got a lot of faff last year when he launched his Kickstarter campaign for Wish I Was Here. Many thought he was milking his loyal fan base for some get rich quick scheme, when he surely had enough of his own money to make a movie without crowd sourced funding. Why couldn’t he just fund it himself?

But ZB’s campaign was about more than raising the money for this movie (and he was pretty open in his Q&As), it was making a statement about how difficult it is to get any movie made in this day in age, a recurring theme in Hollywood (see Alec Baldwin’s docufilm Seduced and Abandoned). Anyway, funding it himself would have made it look like a glory project and not the product of a serious filmmaker.

Sure, it would have been amazing if the backers were to receive dividends from their investment but the law isn’t quite there yet apparently. Maybe it will be one day. Until then, I happily said goodbye to my USD$10 just to be part of something completely different, something I could not ordinarily even dream about.

And I would bet (another USD$10) that the majority of backers did it for the same reason. It was a relatively cheap thrill. Unless, of course, you went for the high end backers package – like an appearance in the actual movie, but who has that kind of dosh lying around?

Anyway, the question now on everybody’s lips is “Was it worth it?”. Well, that depends. What can you get today for $10? A crapaccino, half a pizza, a pedicure on one foot?  Tickets at my local theatre are £12 a pop.

As a backer, I got to watch the movie last week at an exclusive online screening for GRATIS ahead of the official launch. Add to that the regular updates, behind the scenes Braff-cuteness and, of course, getting access to the rather lovely soundtrack and I ended up feeling like I had actually earned interest, like being part of the movie was worth the money.

If I had simply paid to see it at the cinema, however, I might be singing a different tune. For all ZB’s earnest, hopeful determination to make a great movie about something meaningful, it did end up a bit of a glory project. The plot is really unsure of itself and the various story lines don’t ever really converge so at the end of the movie I neither loved nor hated anyone, I didn’t feel sorry enough at the pivotal moment and I found myself cringing a little bit at some of the dialogue. It was often try hard and cutesy, without a strong foundation of any single emotion. Garden State had that strand of darkness and loneliness running through the plot and all the characters that helped move the story in a direction. The lack of it in Wish I Was Here meant that the characters don’t commit to their personalities and it is as if they themselves were never really there.

I think Zach has the vision and passion for a project of this sort and certainly he has a good eye for the scene and makes a beautiful looking movie, but the substance that is missing is in the script and characterisation. His passion helps create an incredible package – the spirit of the production, the love across the cast and crew, the stunning and well-considered soundtrack and bringing all those elements together is certainly a skill. That should be his future focus and perhaps he will find a collaborator on the weaker elements…. Hey, look at that, it turns out I’m looking for work right now. Kickstart with me, ZB.

 

 

Pop Quiz, Hotshot …

In your opinion, what was the best year for movies?

Of course every man and his dog will have a different view, and a lot of it is wrapped up in what you were doing that year and the memories you have mixed into it etc etc.

HOWEVER, that being all well and good, I would like to put forward for consideration the very fine year of 1994.

Admittedly I was 14 years old, so all that Keanu Reeves (sweaty and rescue-ish) and Brad Pitt (tortured and undead) and Hugh Grant (floppy haired and nervous) was all just too much for my poor, romantic heart. Swoon. But do not be deceived into thinking it was love alone that keeps the film fire of 1994 burning bright.

This was the year that brought us Pulp Fiction and Leon. That should be enough to put 1994 at the top of everyone’s movie years list, really.

But wait… we also got Natural Born Killers and Interview with a Vampire.  For quality family viewing we rejoiced in Forrest Gump and The Lion King. It was also the year for the incredibly beautiful and sad When a Man Loves a Woman (Meg Ryan doesn’t get enough credit for this and Andy Garcia is so beautifully hurting). Not to mention we have the piece de resistance of the British Romcom (sorry, Bridget Jones)… Four Weddings and a Funeral.

What really sets the year apart is the number of initially OK films that turned out to be seriously enduring and highly re-watchable still today 20 years on… I mean, of course, the eminently fun and cultish Speed, True Lies, The Mask and The Shadow. Even Stargate gets a mention in this list for spawning an excellent TV series and giving MacGyver something to do with all his spare time.

As is often the case, US Box Office earnings baffle and confuse – The Santa Clause, The Flintstones and Dumb and Dumber all make the top 10. I’d add Legends of the Falls to the list of UGHs though many would disagree (my libido included). Sad too that 1994 is also the year that gave us Timecop, Junior, On Deadly Ground and Streetfighter. We are owed an apology.

Putting aside anything starring Jean-Claude, Steven Segal or Arnie… surely 1994 has an unparalleled claim to greatest year of movies (in modern time)?

Can anyone suggest a better year for all round awesomeness?

Ever get the feeling you are being fed bull?

I buy a magazine to read the reviews of the respected and experienced journalists who watch movies for a living (lucky sods) and help me enjoy movies even more. That being said, I understand as much as the next media person the importance of sponsorship and advertising to the magazine industry today. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to swallow especially when it is messing with my movie time!

The March 2014 issue of Empire has two ‘Sky Movies’ presents features. I wouldn’t mind if the sponsorship was just a brand or tag at the top of the page, but the Channel is also commenting on film reviews and adding helpful suggestions of movies we might want to catch “now showing”. Is this Empire’s lazy journalism or Sky’s over-zealous negotiating? Either way, back off a bit!

I have been an Empire reader since 1994. That is a lot of years and a lot of money spent.  When do I get my review slot?

 

 

The Sure Thing

There are a handful of actors who can be reasonably relied upon to give good movie, and for these select few, I will sit through almost anything.  I know they choose to associate themselves with strong writing and beautifully crafted films, and their acting ability is such that I am rewarded for my faith everytime I get onto Netflix.

As the Oscars are about to kick off,  I am remembering my favourites and wishing they were up there on the nominations list for just being darn good.

• Paul Giamatti
• Stanley Tucci
• William H Macy
• Richard Jenkins
• Steve Buscemi
• Allison Janney
• Patricia Clarkson
• Helen Hunt

Why is John Cusack not on that list? While my friends are well versed in my (borderline obsessive) esteem for this actor, I am able to recognise that he is not the best judge of films. When he picks from the heart and it becomes a campaign, he is brilliant – be it music (High Fidelity) or his politics (War Inc, which is basically Grosse Point Blank in fictional Turaqistan). But some of his films in recent years have baffled me (and this based on not seeing any of them, the marketing is enough to deter) – 2012, the Raven, Paperboy. So even though he remains one of my favourite actors of all time (come on, Lloyd Dobler), he does not make my Rolling Reliable Roster.

Haribo fails to offend

It’s been a long time since an FMCG advert hasn’t made me want to boycott the brand altogether, so imagine my delight with the new Haribo advert for Starmix sweeties.

Inoffensive, not sexist, not sexy, not cutesie, not trying too hard … Just plain old-fashioned good advertising that is both memorable and persuasive. And it’s a hoot!

HariboStarmixAdvert

A corporate type board meeting is underway with usual paraphernalia and the suits – but thee grown ups are silly on sugar and they’ve been dubbed over by children – it is just good clean family fun.

“then we can make, a big, a big SANDWICH”

Yoghurt advertising continues to baffle and bewilder

I am still boycotting Muller yoghurts. I am sure this is hurting me more than it is hurting Muller, but I am unmoved.  The ridiculous firemanhosingdownanakedwomaninabath fiasco is still being aired on daytime television, and it makes me ill. But now other yoghurt brands are jumping in on the action.

Please someone explain to me the most ridiculous yoghurt advert since the above mentioned fiasco. A woman in a tight, low cut dress bringing an inmate some yoghurt – oh… it’s a clever pun on the word “liberty”… and here I was thinking that maybe her boobs were on show to remind us that yoghurt is made from milk?

I despair.