“The world is round, people!”
Cate Blanchett yelled this out with enough fury for people out there to sit up and listen. What was she spouting on about? Women in cinema. It is no lie that the Hollywood film industry is controlled by the testosterone-holding, dick-swinging misogynistic white guys of the Earth’s population. In fact, it is still a burning topic of debate that women directors are so few, they are awarded so little and people continue to write stereotypical caricatures as if this were verbatim.
This especially smarts when people mention females being funny. That phrase is usually met with a roll of the eye and a yawn. When in actual fact, women can be utterly compelling, hilarious, rounded and sell enough movie tickets to make a splash. With the release of The Other Woman today, we have a look at the best ones.
There isn't a goddess alive who could touch the power of Whoopi Goldberg. Earning her rightful place as a Queen of Acting, Goldberg can swim effortlessly from cartoon characters to the witty sidekicks to leading dramas. In every instance, she can steal the scene. Here, in the classic and still heart-warming comedy she plays Deloris Van Cartier, a Reno performer having an affair with the mafia casino manager. When she witnesses a murder, she is sent into witness protection in a nunnery, the last place her ex will find her, and finds that life on the religious side isn't what it is cracked up to be. With some hilarious funny moments, a buddy cop pairing of Maggie Smith and Goldberg and some wicked tunes, Sister Act is a phenomenal piece of comedy.
If there is one thing more tantalising than a female comedy, it is a dark female comedy. Coming from the genius mind of Michel Lehmann, this late 1988’s classic is one of the best comedies around. Dissecting high school hierarchy, Heathers revolves around a popular group of girls who are spiteful, vindictive and plain old mean. When bad boy J.D gets transferred to their school, he falls for Veronica, the bottom most rung of the group. Together, they accidentally come up with a plan and suddenly, one by one, the girls start getting bumped off. This cult movie is an ingenious look at the pressure of school and the perpetuated popularity circle that controls it.
Eww, as if! School comedies don’t get better (and also it's as nineties as they come.) Clueless revolves around Cher, a high school girl who is trying to balance her curriculum, her friends and also her love life. When a new girl named Tai, she aims to make her over as a new popular girl. With the added brilliance of a female director, Clueless is a fun filled movie that will make you giggle and adore the characters. Though some may see Cher as shallow, she is actually quite tender and sweet. Based on Emily Bronte’s Emma, Clueless is in fact one of the more quintessential girl movies of all time.
I could rant about this movie till the cows come home but this movie is one of those films that gets better with age. Starring Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino (who is Rotti Largo’s daughter and now my mind is blown,) it tells the story of two high school best friends who have spent ten years as close as anything. They get invited to their high school reunion and figure out that they may not have been as popular as they thought. Nor are they living the high life right now. But could their plans to impress rip their friendship apart? It’s a little bit surreal but it is altogether riveting and witty, with some classic moments that will make you laugh out loud. Always feel good and it never puts a foot wrong.
If I listen really, really carefully, I am pretty sure I can hear a collective “I love Mean Girls” as loud as anything. Written by everyone’s role model Tina Fey, and starring Lindsey Lohan, it revolves around Cady Harris who grew up home schooled in Africa. As she transitions to American public high school, she finds out that the girl world politics are more brutal than the animal kingdom and she must try to infiltrate and take down the Plastics. If you ever were in school, how whatever gender and sexuality, you can pretty much look at Mean Girls and say spot on. Though they are a bit loose with the narrative, it is to a tee and pretty funny too.
What are your favourite female based comedy movies?