The author of the review refers to a common belief by stating “In most wedding movies an actress may have the starring part (though not always), but it’s only because her character’s function is to land a man rather than to be funny. Too many studio bosses seem to think that a woman’s place is in a Vera Wang.” This quote directly addresses the stereotype that men take on the important role while women stand on the sideline, though most women would disagree. Dargis uses a sarcastic tone in this passage in order to pull in women and address women’s thought processes. The sarcasm tone allows the female readers to see that the author of the review is on their side and agrees that not all women belong in a “picture perfect” role.
The author also uses descriptions that give equality to women in a quote saying “Lillian and Annie laugh, cry, hurl, and board a plane to Vegas to test the bonds of friendship en route to a hangover of their own.” This text compares the movie Bridesmaids to the movie The Hangover. The Hangover is a movie centered on the irresponsible and mischievous behaviors of men. This comparison puts women at the same level as men and emphasizes that women aren’t perfect.
This movie review is written specifically for women and shows how the movie Bridesmaids unexpectedly switches the roles of men and women in the movie. The review gives a sense of power and superiority to women.
I agree with the stated purpose of the article, which conveys the idea that women aren't (and don't have to be seen) as perfect. Likewise, I agree that the audience addressed in this movie review is women. With support from the author's statement, "Too many studio bosses seem to think that a woman's place is in a Vera Wang," the purpose of the review is clearly addressed; the producers want Bridesmaids to be viewed as an atypical movie...one in which the bride is a comical, flawed, but perfectly entertaining character. As Sarah points out, the author appeals to the female audience stating that Bridesmaids is equivalent to the Hangover for women. In the same way that the Hangover focuses on the mischievous actions of men, so Bridesmaids focuses on those of women. Sarah then accurately concludes with the claim, "This movie review is written specifically for women and shows how the movie Bridesmaids unexpectedly switches the roles of men and women in the movie. The review gives a sense of power and superiority to women," as the female audience is now drawn into and inspired by the movie Bridesmaids.
ReplyDeleteBridesmaids is a movie that breaks new ground with the woman stereotype. It shows women in the roles that are not usually associated with them on a sliver screen particularly with a wedding movie. While this is true I must disagree with the author that,
ReplyDelete“The review is written to pertain specifically to women and it addresses the idea that women aren’t perfect, although this is a common expectation throughout movies.” I do not believe this is a common held belief in the movie industry. There are many examples that show that women as being far from perfect in the wedding movies. The Hangover is a prime example for this as one of the character’s fiancés is bitter, angry and controlling. Far from the idea of perfect. Where Bridesmaids shines is in its giving women roles and opportunities to not simply be the bride to be or being swept off her feet by the perfect man, but giving them depth and problems and humor. This is where Bridesmaids holds its own, not so much in breaking the stereotype of the perfect woman.
After thoroughly reading through this blog post I have come to the easy conclusion that I agree with your thoughts Sarah. Nobody can deny that for as long as history can show, women have not been treated fully as an equal to men. I am not saying that women are being treated poorly or being forced to do slave work but what I’m saying is that women are still, to this day, portrayed as men want to see them and not how they really are. As you said, women may commonly take a lead roll in a motion picture, yet it is only in an effort to throw in a “normal” person as to where the comedy usually is portrayed through the man characters. I agree that the modern misconception of women is that they cannot also play a roll in a film where they are anything but perfect or proper. I believe the comparison between the Hangover and Bridesmaids is a great one because when you truly observe it, both movies have nearly identical plots! Wow! The reason this is such a great comparison is because the Hangover was, and still is, a very successful movie that had the audience rolling on the floor in laughter as they watch 3 men stumbling around Las Vegas frantically searching for their lost friend who will be getting married the next day. When this movie was being written it is safe to say that the writers probably never considered their main characters actually being women, because common’, that could never be funny? Right? Wrong, as you pointed out Sarah, Bridesmaids’ successfully portrayed a group of women as the main characters/comedians in this “Hangover-like-film”. I agree that this movie has helped to create a greater understanding to men that women are not as perfect as we see them, but they are normal like us. This, without a doubt, has to give women more of a sense of equality. Well written Sarah… simply beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sarah's assumption of the author's purpose and structure. Sarah does a great job of explaining her assertions and backing up her statements. I agree with her explanation of the parallelism between Bridesmaids and The Hangover. The experts she pulled from the original review “Deflating That Big, Puffy White Gown” written by Manohla Dargis are a great tool that Sarah implements to further emphasize her points and opinions. Specifically her point about the stereotypes of men and women. She points out that men typically take center stage in these movies and woman are meant to stand on the sideline looking pretty and being perfect. I couldn’t agree more with her on the idea that this review strives to negate that entire way of thinking. Sarah does an excellent job of explaining the learning outcome and tying everything back together in relating the learning outcome back to the article.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sarah’s claim that all throughout movie history women have been held to the standards and expectations of being perfect. She backs this up with a specific quote from the movie review: “In most wedding movies an actress may have the starring part (though not always), but it’s only because her character’s function is to land a man rather than to be funny. Too many studio bosses seem to think that a woman’s place is in a Vera Wang.” Also, I do agree with the idea that this movie review, and pretty much the movie itself, is aimed more toward women. She addresses the idea that this movie takes those typical male and female roles and switches them up. I also like the way that she ended this blog. She basically summed up all her ideas and ended with the sentence, “The review gives a sense of power and superiority to women.” This sentence sums up not only the point of the movie and the review, but also the whole idea of her blog and her learning outcome.
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