Feminism, alive and needing a good laugh

(This article - though with a few edits - was written for the Oct 10th-Nov 20th edition of The Ryder)


Hey Hollywood – women like to laugh too.

Think back through the movies you’ve seen in the past few years. Besides romantic-comedies, how many comedies can you name that are aimed at women? Females make up over fifty percent of the world’s population, yet only a handful of films produced each year are for and/or about women.

A big reason that movies for women are not at a theater near you is that the film industry is considered a gentlemen’s club. Between 2005 and 2006, the number of women writers, producers and directors has dropped from 16% to 15% of the total people working those jobs, causing professor Martha Lauzen of San Diego State University to conclude "We’re at the same place we would have been in 1999" ("Hollywood’s Shortage of Female Power", NY Times, April 27,2007). Cathy Schulman, head of Mandalay Entertainment, says she sees "a definite problem with the lack of support for women at the lower ranks, which may ultimately create a lack of women who could be viable for the top-dog jobs."

This article also reveals that there is currently only one woman who holds a top job at a movie studio – Amy Pascal is the co-chairwoman of Sony Pictures Entertainment. There used to be four women in executive positions, but the other three were either pushed out by men (Nina Jacobson and Gail Berman, formerly of Disney’s motion picture group and Paramount, respectively), or chose to take a less powerful job at a different studio to avoid working under General Electric (Stacy Snider, former chairwoman of Universal Pictures, now working at DreamWorks). Without women in power positions, there is just not a huge push to make films for women.

That’s not to say that men cannot make movies where woman have strong comedic roles that don’t involve them being a lovesick damsel in distress, but the lack of female involvement in the creative process of filmmaking has made an impact on what kinds of movies are made.

This summer, two of the biggest hits were Knocked Up and Superbad, brilliant comedies produced by Judd Apatow. Both films’ protagonists are chubby Jewish guys (who are likable despite being fraught with faults) seeking attention from beautiful women who need to be won over and shown that the men aren’t as big of slackers as they appear to be. Knocked Up and Superbad are filled with profanity and frank talk of male and female genitalia, which stereotypically appeals more to men. Women went to see Knocked Up and Superbad because these movies are actually heartwarming tales of men looking for a more mature relationship with the opposite sex and the dialogue was smart and gut busting. No one is ever going to forget "I am McLovin."

Women like comedies. Laughing is pleasurable to us; it makes us feel happy and burns calories at the same time. What I don’t like is the lack of comedies made that are more women-friendly. Romantic comedies do not count in my definition of "comedy" – they are predictable and all about women finding love as if that is going to solve all her problems and make her a complete person. I am not saying that all romantic comedies are cinematic trash – When Harry Met Sally…, Sweet Home Alabama and Bridget Jones’s Diary are treasured members of my DVD collection – or that comedies cannot have aspects of love in them, but I am challenging you to think about how few straight-up comedies are made for women.

A Variety article entitled "Can chicks get in the pic mix?" mentions how the combination of women and comedy has been very successful in the past, dating back to silent movies. Once talkie came out, the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s – do yourself a favor and watch Bringing Up Baby (1939) and His Girl Friday (1940). Katherine Hepburn and Rosalind Russell will have you in awe of their comedic timing and amazing delivery of dialogue. The 1980s gave us working women’s comedies like 9 to 5, Baby Boom and Working Girl. It is now 2007 and instead of seeing strong, funny women up on the big screen, our cinemas are filled with comedies from the Frat Pack. What happened?!

In that same article, Gwyneth Paltrow, of all people, was quoted as saying "There’s no reason why, if there’s a Wedding Crashers’ for the boys, there can’t be something really funny yet intelligent for women." You tell ‘em, Gwyneth! In all seriousness, though, Paltrow is absolutely right. There is no excuse for the recent lack of comedies being made for women, let alone smart and witty ones. Lucky for us, 2008 might turn out to be the start of a new cinematic trend.

With the release of Spring Breakdown next March, a string of comedies with women as the central characters begins. With a story by SNL alumna Rachel Dratch, Spring Breakdown is about four women, three in their thirties and one far from popular college student (daughter of one of the older women), taking some time for themselves by vacationing at the equivalent of Cancun during spring break. Also coming out is Sunshine Cleaning; two sisters (Emily Blunt and Amy Adams) start "a biohazard removal/crime scene clean up service" to earn money to put one sister’s son through school (imdb.com). Other titles to look out for is a remake of the 1939 film The Women, and a Frances McDormand picture about a London governess who finds herself out of work, entitled Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.

But for now, we must deal with over-sexed male driven movies filled with gratuitous shots of women’s breasts and behinds (The Wedding Crashers and Good Luck Chuck) as well as routine romantic comedies (The Holiday and Music & Lyrics) which stereotypically all women fancy. Honestly, I loved The Wedding Crashers – I saw it twice in theaters and I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes – I’m just tired of seeing naked women every time I go to get my chuckle on.

Women are completely capable of making the masses laugh while keeping their clothes on and it’s time more movies prove that. Can’t wait until next year to see some comedies with brilliantly talented women? In the meantime, why don’t you watch Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration – Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries which feature Parker Posey, Katherine O’Hara, Jennifer Coolidge and Jane Lynch, four of the funniest women working today.

Ideally, all comedies should not have to objectify women or make female characters hopelessly lovesick in order to get some laughs. We can only hope that more movies get made which showcase the comedic talents of women as opposed to just their physical attributes or their many ways of meeting Mr. Right. Don’t get me wrong, bring on the male-driven as well as romantic comedies – I still need something to give my dad and mom for their birthdays – but bring on some straight-up comedies for women as well.