Disturbing facts of life, and "Baby Mama"
May. 6th, 2008 11:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
loony_moonySo today I discovered that apparently I'm hot rich Jewish mama commodity. My mom revealed over sushi tonight that she's basically been blocking dozens of matchmaking offers from her colleagues' wives for me. Wtf, world.
Also, ironically, I saw "Baby Mama" with her before the groundbreaking sushi discovery happened.
All in all, I'm not very impressed. I thought Tine Fey actually wrote the script, but a short imdb check revealed that she actually only starred in the movie, for which I was very grateful, let me tell you. Because the premises of this movie are very misleading. It's full to the brim with almost all of SNL's cream of the crop (seriously, they were one Jimmy Fallon away from a reunion), and some other fantastic actors, you'd think it was because she wrote the script. But the comedy itself is very conservative, and even insulting.
My Issues (yes, they're capitalized. the feminist in me demands nothing less):
1. So you make a movie about two straight women living together because one is paying the other to carry her child. That right there is just a fucking WELL for lesbian jokes. Bad lesbian jokes. The movie didn't disappoint.
2. So one is a surrogate mother for the other, but they both end up being knocked up the old fashioned way, and then they live happily ever after! WTF. Is that the point of the movie, then? To just negate this process? Why, I didn't know we have suddenly regressed to the 1950's!
3. And of course the surrogate mom is the trashiest white trash that ever white trashed. I mean, does she even go to that college in the end? We don't get that solved. Fuck you, Hollywood.
4. And of course the intelligent, successful woman can't possibly end up with a douchebag who runs a local Jamba Juice. No, he has to be an ex-successful corporate lawyer who made gazillions of dollars so he can run his little Jamba Juice and be a douchebag. Because smart, successful women must mate with the smart, successful men!
5. Oscar, the black doorman, is the most emphatic male character in the entire movie. He not only protects Tine Fey's character, he also mentors Amy Poehler's character, and in general is far more interesting, smarter and funnier than the rest of the guys combined. But he's a BLACK DOORMAN, so of course he won't end up with any girl. GAH.
6. I love how in a movie that has an initial strive for a feminist air the wardrobe looks like it's been dictated straight out of Anna Wintour's mouth; Bottega Venetta bags, Diane von Furstenberg dresses, D&G shoes. Oh yes, I can smell the bras burning.
7. The recurring joke about how the hell can Sigourney Weaver's character possibly get pregnant naturally. Because she apparently is 1891739283781319 years old, despite the fact she looks 40. Jesusfuck with the stereotypes.
8. Ayyy, the plotholes. They buuuuurn, precious.
Things I liked:
1. The were some funny lines in the movie. Some of the more experienced comedians were better delivering them (I think Oscar's DMX crack is one of the funniest things I've seen in the last couple of years onscreen), but everyone had good lines.
2. Dax Shepard as Carl (the white trash baby daddy), makes even a guy who looks douchier than Chad Michael Murray sound adorable. However, I'm not giving him extra nice points for best male character, because I strongly suspect that Carl is written really, really badly and Dax Shepard is a really good actor.
3. Romany Malco (Oscar) is fucking fantastic. He's already been fantastic in "Weeds", but now he just went all awesome onscreen. I hope he stays for a long time too. :D
4. Tine Fey and Amy Poehler work great as a team. Their characters are intentionally extreme polars, so I wonder if the script weren't actually tailored to their size, to make it work. I don't always like it, but there's definitely something to say for their comedic timing with each other.
Should you go? Well, the movie is funny. If you ignore the glaring chauvinism, sexism and even mysoginism, you're in for a goodish hour and a half of laughs. *shrugs*
Love. :)
Also, ironically, I saw "Baby Mama" with her before the groundbreaking sushi discovery happened.
All in all, I'm not very impressed. I thought Tine Fey actually wrote the script, but a short imdb check revealed that she actually only starred in the movie, for which I was very grateful, let me tell you. Because the premises of this movie are very misleading. It's full to the brim with almost all of SNL's cream of the crop (seriously, they were one Jimmy Fallon away from a reunion), and some other fantastic actors, you'd think it was because she wrote the script. But the comedy itself is very conservative, and even insulting.
My Issues (yes, they're capitalized. the feminist in me demands nothing less):
1. So you make a movie about two straight women living together because one is paying the other to carry her child. That right there is just a fucking WELL for lesbian jokes. Bad lesbian jokes. The movie didn't disappoint.
2. So one is a surrogate mother for the other, but they both end up being knocked up the old fashioned way, and then they live happily ever after! WTF. Is that the point of the movie, then? To just negate this process? Why, I didn't know we have suddenly regressed to the 1950's!
3. And of course the surrogate mom is the trashiest white trash that ever white trashed. I mean, does she even go to that college in the end? We don't get that solved. Fuck you, Hollywood.
4. And of course the intelligent, successful woman can't possibly end up with a douchebag who runs a local Jamba Juice. No, he has to be an ex-successful corporate lawyer who made gazillions of dollars so he can run his little Jamba Juice and be a douchebag. Because smart, successful women must mate with the smart, successful men!
5. Oscar, the black doorman, is the most emphatic male character in the entire movie. He not only protects Tine Fey's character, he also mentors Amy Poehler's character, and in general is far more interesting, smarter and funnier than the rest of the guys combined. But he's a BLACK DOORMAN, so of course he won't end up with any girl. GAH.
6. I love how in a movie that has an initial strive for a feminist air the wardrobe looks like it's been dictated straight out of Anna Wintour's mouth; Bottega Venetta bags, Diane von Furstenberg dresses, D&G shoes. Oh yes, I can smell the bras burning.
7. The recurring joke about how the hell can Sigourney Weaver's character possibly get pregnant naturally. Because she apparently is 1891739283781319 years old, despite the fact she looks 40. Jesusfuck with the stereotypes.
8. Ayyy, the plotholes. They buuuuurn, precious.
Things I liked:
1. The were some funny lines in the movie. Some of the more experienced comedians were better delivering them (I think Oscar's DMX crack is one of the funniest things I've seen in the last couple of years onscreen), but everyone had good lines.
2. Dax Shepard as Carl (the white trash baby daddy), makes even a guy who looks douchier than Chad Michael Murray sound adorable. However, I'm not giving him extra nice points for best male character, because I strongly suspect that Carl is written really, really badly and Dax Shepard is a really good actor.
3. Romany Malco (Oscar) is fucking fantastic. He's already been fantastic in "Weeds", but now he just went all awesome onscreen. I hope he stays for a long time too. :D
4. Tine Fey and Amy Poehler work great as a team. Their characters are intentionally extreme polars, so I wonder if the script weren't actually tailored to their size, to make it work. I don't always like it, but there's definitely something to say for their comedic timing with each other.
Should you go? Well, the movie is funny. If you ignore the glaring chauvinism, sexism and even mysoginism, you're in for a goodish hour and a half of laughs. *shrugs*
Love. :)
