The Scene and Herd

Perhaps you’ve heard of Lars Von Trier’s “Hitler gaffe” by now. If not, the above clip is definitely worth watching. It’s a real train wreck of a clip and Kirsten Dunst is PRICELESS.

I tend to really relate to folks who put their foot in their mouth in public, and the morning after an international incident I always feel so thankful that it wasn’t me. The interesting thing about it being caught on camera, is that you can sometimes see the moment of realization, when the offender realizes that SOMETHING HAS GONE TERRIBLY WRONG, THE JOKE DIDN’T TAKE, THE STATEMENT WAS MISUNDERSTOOD. Let me tell ya, there’s a real lesson in there: as soon as you realize you said something stupid, stop. everything.

I need to bring up Michael Richards for a second, that terrible, terrible thing that happened a few years ago. Both he and Von Trier went on their own, unique racist tirades and both outbursts may have been, to varying degrees, motivated by underlying racism. But neither Richards or Von Trier are idiots and both, definitely realized early on that it was not going well, but chose to take things up a notch in order to diffuse the situation. This never works.

Now I need to bring up Sarah Silverman, that wonderful, wonderful interview that happened about a year ago. She didn’t say anything racist (for once) but there is a familiar moment in this interview in which the viewer can see the exact moment when she realizes, “this is not working out well.” There is an incredible (and delightful!) lesson here about how to diffuse the situation (happens at about 1:15). I wonder how differently things would have gone for Richards or Von Trier if they had just done what Sarah did. Things sure couldn’t have gone any worse. Cheers!

Does the jackass who said of Bridesmaids, “Proof that chick flicks don’t have to suck!” have any idea how anxiety inducing those words are? Do the marketing geniuses who essentially made that line the tagline for the film have any idea how offensive it is? Good Lord. I saw the film yesterday and it was amazing and I’m hella relieved about it. I have this idea that women can be funny, without any disclaimers, and I went into the theatre feeling like the honour of all womankind was on the line.

So now that I can rest easy, I want to address the main question at hand – Chick Flick: What does it mean?

1. It might mean a film with female protagonists. Granted, these are few and far between but if this is the definition of a chick flick than surely there is a precedent for a chick flick that doesn’t suck. Ever heard of a little flick called Mermaids?? It was on television last week and it’s awesome. Then we have, like, every other film that Winona Ryder has ever been in, plus Beaches and, more recently, Black Swan. There you go, I’ve listed at least three and I barely even thought about it.

2. It might mean a film that is sappy and poorly written, with female protagonists. There are a plethora of these and I don’t think I need to give any examples. But a film that is sappy and poorly written does, by definition, have to suck, rendering the chick-flicks-don’t-have-to-suck line illegitimate.

3. It might mean a film that subverts traditional, Hollywood film language that favours the male perspective and objectifies women and … actually, no. Nevermind. That’s probably not what it means. (And if that was what it means, chick flicks would MOST DEFINITELY NOT SUCK!!)

4. It might mean a film that has been written and/or directed by a woman. Wow. That would be so, insanely derogatory. I don’t think that’s what it means.

So then, Bridesmaids cannot be “proof that chick flicks don’t have to suck.” Can it be proof that we don’t really know what a chick flick is? Because me, I don’t. Should we root for #3?