December 11, 2008
Women in Hollywood (and Beyond)
Are We There Yet?
I was catching up on my movies yesterday (Zack and Miri was the order of the day), and watching the previews sent me into a major funk. It appears that in January we have a couple of "women's" comedies to look foward to, including Confessions of a Shopaholic and Bride Wars. Confessions is an adaptation of Sophie Kinsella's novel, and stars fantastic funny lady Isla Fisher; Bride Wars, starring Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson, chronicles the ultimate catfight between two former best friends with competing weddings on the same day.
Both great actresses! Someone write better roles!
Do I have to see these wretched movies? I've bitched before about serious chick flicks and their warped vision of femininity, but now it strikes me that comedies are no better. And yeah, I know, Shopaholic was originaly written by a woman and both screenplays have one female co-writer. But Jesus, shopping and being bridezillas, talk about the worst of stereotypcially "feminine" activities.
With movies like this, is it any wonder that actresses are still making much less than men? No, it isn't, according to Dr. Martha Laurzen. She points out that women's earnng power is directly proportional to the budget of the movies they are in (read: how many things blow up). "Chick" movies tend to have lower budgets, and gross less at the box office. And hell, I don't blame any of these actresses for taking the roles, given that there aren't that many to choose from. I'll probably see Shopaholic because Isla Fisher's in it. Bride Wars I'm not so sure I can stomach.
Oh, and there was a trailer for The Uninvited in which Elizbeth Banks--whom, again I adore--plays a wicked stepmother/nanny/witch/whatever. Didn't we do this already with The Hand That Rocks The Cradle??? And can't we find something more interesting than this stuff for such fine actresses? After all of this, I was actually happy to see Banks and the other actresses in Zack and Miri doing porn, a fact which disturbed me greatly.
It had already been a very strange week for women in the public eye. First, The Hollywood Reporter published its list of Most Powerful Women in Hollywood, and Oprah came out at the top. Days ealier, the same source announced that Angelina Jolie was the highest-paid actress in Hollywood. I guess we're supposed to be jumping for joy that these women are billionaires, but I dunno, I just feel kind of puzzled and/or disappointed. Sure Oprah has her own empire, but she herself is a joke. And not just a one-liner, a la Kathy Griffin saying that Oprah thinks she's Jesus. Even Oprah's personality, and her enormous influence on women, is a joke that basically reflects badly on their judgement. Oprah as leader is problematic because she's...uh...not the brightest bulb, let's just say. For example, just after her top position is solidified, she decided to publicly announce her weight (200 pounds). What, pray tell, motivated that decision?
