movie reviews

One more on men this morning, cuz I just can’t resist. Charles McGrath of the New York Times speculates on what Scott Rudin and Disney are going to do with the movie version of The Dangerous Book for Boys, which they’ve bought the rights to. Writes McGrath,

A report in Variety suggested that the plot of the movie is likely to involve fathers who struggle to balance their instinctive need to protect and their offspring’s craving for adventure, even though the evidence mostly suggests that these days it is the sons who are risk averse, unwilling to unplug themselves from their iPods, and the parents who are eager for their offspring to go outside and have some old-fashioned fun.

Anyone got other ideas for Disney and Rudin? Who should star? And while we’re on the subject of sneak peaks, of course, don’t forget to preorder your copy of the Daring Book for Girls, which, in an amazing act of daring speed on the part of our ladies of MotherTalk, comes out October 30!

(Thanks to Marco for the heads up on the boy movie.)

Greetings from WY! I’m so excited Karl Rove resigned, but the lovely people I’m staying with are not. Potentially interesting breakfast conversation, as you can imagine.

Meanwhile, the ladies at MotherTalk have done it again. Check out the blog tour for Becoming Jane – which Elizabeth Curtis, Alison Piepmeier, and Consuela Francis so awesomely participated in here at Girl with Pen.

Guest post by Conseula Francis and Alison Piepmeier

Conseula Francis blogs at Afrogeek Mom and Dad. In her real life she’s an English professor with a James Baldwin fetish.

Alison Piepmeier blogs at Baxter Sez. She read Pride and Prejudice once…a long time ago…and has very lowbrow taste in movies.

Alison:
This film is an homage to birth control.

No, really—one of the subtexts that Conseula and I both noticed was the fact that, as a woman, your life is much more difficult if, as Jane Austen’s sister puts it, you’re having “a child every year. How will you write?”

How, indeed.

The homage to birth control is especially poignant because this film is—at least in its first half—unbelievably sexually fraught. And hot. It’s a shame that Conseula and I are both married to other people, because otherwise, we both would have gotten lucky after seeing this film. Whew.

Conseula:
Alison, as usual, is incredibly inappropriate. But she is right. “Becoming Jane” is ultimately about passion—passion for work, passion for life, passion for other people. And it is also about the sacrifices and responsibilities that often make a living a passionate life impossible.

Alison:
Although Conseula would like to take us into a more appropriate train of thought, I’m taking us back to the sex. This film did a great job of letting the audience experience the sexual tension in very subtle interactions—the unexpected meeting at a ball, a conversation ostensibly about literature in a private library. In fact, Jane and Tom’s first kiss, and what Conseula calls their “sneaky hand touches” are far sexier than many explicit scenes I’ve seen in other, less carefully controlled films.

And when Tom and Henry (Jane’s brother) take off their clothes to go swimming in the river after a very flirtatious cricket game, the audience gasped in delight.

Oh, and let me not forget to mention one of the sneaky—but not so subtle—sexy touches in the film happens in the first three minutes, when the Rev. Austen slides under the covers to go down on Mrs. Austen. I love that James Cromwell.

Conseula:
In addition to being incredibly sexy, though (and it was sexy—the actors portraying both Tom and Henry are nothing short of eye candy), the cricket scene also reveals one of the film’s primary themes: the restraints of propriety on 19th century women. As Tom and Henry race from the cricket field to the river, Jane and Countess Eliza (Jane’s cousin) are racing after them, just as alive, just as turned on by the freedom of it all.

But then the boys strip, propriety (as well as other things) rears its head, and Jane and the Countess head back to join the others. The audience is reminded that their freedom is severely constrained, particularly if they hope to marry well.

Alison:
One thing this film does very well is convey the sense, the experience, of those constraints. I could feel myself as a modern audience member searching for the loopholes, the ways that Jane could get out of those constraints and make exactly the life she wants for herself, find ideological and professional (and sexual) gratification. The film knew that I was looking for the loopholes and showed me exactly how they were all closed off for Jane—and, to a lesser extent, for Tom, as well.

Conseula:
It’s difficult to say more about the film without spoiling readers. Though we go into it knowing how the story ends, the journey is, nonetheless, worth it. Instead, I’ll talk about the people in the theater tonight.

We saw “Becoming Jane” at our local “art house” theater and the crowd was typical for such a venue. Well dressed patrons ordering pinot grigio to go with their popcorn. The audience was made up primarily of groups of women, seemingly bonded by their love of Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice (if the little squeals of delight that erupted every time an allusion to that novel was made is any indication). They were also a few dour looking men attendance, but they didn’t say much.

Alison:
Also, Conseula was the one black person in attendance. Which leads to this important sociological query: why do black people hate Jane Austen?

Conseula:
Given the fact that I actually went, willingly, to this movie and own the A&E production of Pride and Prejudice (Mr. Darcy!), I think we can’t make the sweeping statement that black people don’t like Jane Austen. Maybe they just don’t like pinot grigio with their popcorn.

*With all due respect to Lisa Johnson, whose book of this title is not about Jane Austen.

Guest post by Elizabeth Curtis

Elizabeth M. Curtis recently graduated with an M.A. in women’s studies from the George Washington University, where she wrote her thesis on blogging and the formation of feminist networks online. She blogs regularly at A Blog Without a Bicycle.

1. With Prejudice

When sitting in a theater watching the trailer for Becoming Jane in early July, I turned to my movie-watching date and observed, “That film cannot end well.”

My comment, which puzzled my companion at the time, was based on my undergraduate engagements with Austen’s novels in English seminars. Doing critical readings of Jane Austen’s leading ladies at a women’s college – what feminist literary theorist could ask for anything more, right? Studying Persuasion or film adaptations like Clueless or Bridget Jones’s Diary in my courses, though, quickly led me to conclude that I was not quite ready for scholarly critiques of my girlhood heroines and an author I idealized. I’m sure you can imagine the horror I felt when presented with a Lacanian reading of Austen’s novels as pathological and obsessive ruminations on her own “failed” love life.

And now a movie expose of Austen’s real-life romances? Oh, dear. Marketed with the tagline, ““Their love story was her greatest inspiration,” I could only imagine what a historical yet fictional film could do to poor Jane…and it wasn’t very becoming at all.

The early reviews that I read about Becoming Jane did little to assuage my anxiety. On Salon.com, Stephanie Zacharek described Becoming Jane as a <a href="
http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2007/08/03/becoming_jane/”>”weird effort to remake Austen’s life — about which we actually know very little — into a genteel, tasteful Harlequin romance.” Questioning the slim historical evidence that was used as the foundation of this flick (the Jane Austen Society of North America provides a great analysis of fact versus fiction), Zacharek critiques the way in which this film is forced to fit a contemporary sense of romance. BBC Movies provided a similar yet slightly more positive review. There Stella Papamichael wrote, “Mercifully, director Julian Jarrold resists turning a literary icon into a 19th century Bridget Jones, but this story does take a few flights of somewhat dubious fancy in speculating on her relationship with the real Mr Darcy.” None so reassuring.

So it was with great trepidation that I sat down in a theater to finally see Becoming Jane for myself. Personally, I’ve always thought of Jane Austen as one of the great feminist figures in literary history (of course, as it is with most things feminist, whether Jane Austen and her characters are feminist friends or foes is, well, debated) – and I was worried that her dating life would get more attention than her prolific prose thus leaving audiences to forget her accomplishments as an author and to focus instead on a soap opera version of her so-called life.

2. With Pride

I must confess that I was pleasantly surprised by Becoming Jane. Sure, I’m a sucker for period pieces – seeing them is a hobby bordering on obsession for me. But I think most Jane Austen fans will be tickled by the clever blending of her fictional characters with the personalities of her real-life companions in the film.

There were some great feminist-y – though stereotypical – moments in the film, too. You go with that cricket paddle, Jane! You go, girl! I especially appreciated the girl-on-girl mentoring action. Whether it was writerly advice bestowed by Mrs. Radcliffe or sisterly advice shared by Cassandra, it always warms my heart to see strong, positive female relationships in major motion pictures. Because, really, the mean girls just get too much screen-time.

My major issue with the film comes from what I found to be mixed messages about combining career and marriage. Perhaps this issue is a bit too much on the contemporary scene to avoid being incorporated into this historical fiction, but I found myself wishing that I could rewrite history so that Anne-Hathaway-Jane-Austen really could have it all. Women receive so many negative messages in the media about the “consequences” of choosing a career in terms of their personal lives…Wouldn’t it be nice to see a more positive portrayal – just once?

To be fair, Jane’s on-screen love life was thwarted more by class and circumstance than by career. But when questions like “But how will you write?” were posed as counters to Jane’s proposed romantic schemes or when a successful writing career is presented as a consolation for the loss of a lover…It just makes me more aware of the (unfortunate) timelessness of the struggle for women to find a work/life balance that allows them to reach all of their aspirations – personal and professional.

I can’t think of a better place, though, to discuss the life of this literary lady, its cinematic portrayal, or the film’s messages about professional writerly woman than Girl with Pen.

I’m off to Wyoming this afternoon (crossing fingers that Cheney won’t be there!), but an exciting offering is coming to you in my absence. Not one, not two, but THREE guest bloggers will be posting their reviews of the new movie, Becoming Jane, during the next few days here on Girl with Pen. One, Alison Piepmeier, is a professor of literature at the College of Charleston in South Carolina and a blogger at Baxter Sez (described as “a swirling mini-cosmos of academic and cultural quirkiness”). Another, Elizabeth Curtis, recently finished a hot M.A. thesis project on blogging and the formation of feminist networks online and blogs over at A Blog without a Bicycle. The third, Tiby Kantrowitz, is a writer with a background in film production and a passionate interest in women’s issues. I really can’t wait to read their reviews!

Enjoy the weekend, enjoy these bloggers – and hey, you New Yorkers out there, stay cool.

These comments are just too good to leave as comments, so I’m elevating them to post status. Thank you, Veronica, Marco, and Feminist Review for weighing in on my recent post about Knocked Up! The points you all make are quite excellent and astute.

Veronica said…

I haven’t seen it, but I know I will. My lust for Paul Rudd aside…Isn’t it just horribly difficult to watch a movie without our feminist alarms going off? I try so hard to turn it off and enjoy a movie, but like you, after some time that ‘guilt’ creeps over me and I have to face the fact that if they had done this or that, well you get the picture. From 40yr Virgin to Ron Burgundy, we get just enough feminism to keep us smiling.

Marco Acevedo said…

OK, boyly-boy Marco here… I thinks it’s fair to say I loved the movie with some of the same reservations… it’s clearly a geek fantasy dressed as cautionary/coming-of-age fable, while managing to feel honest in its character interactions. But I resent the idea it’s an every-guy movie. We don’t all feel the need to bond by nesting together in our own refuse, or to be that crass in front of the ladies. The constant pop-culture-referencing, though, is pretty spot-on.

FeministReview said…

While I agree that the female anatomy (esp. when being used for procreation) should not be on par with fart jokes as a grossout gag, I think that some might be taking this a little too seriously. Your entry is a balanced review of this film (I viewed the film in much the same way), but the Slate review annoyed me. It’s not necessarily Apatow’s job as a director to address abortion as a viable choice for women. But he does. Katherine Heigl’s character considers it and decides that she wants to keep the baby. She made a choice. And it was completely her’s. That’s something. Just because the character doesn’t choose abortion doesn’t mean that she’s the product of a man’s misinformed imagination. And I also think that Apatow shows that even though his male characters are completely clueless, they are harmless schlubs. While much of the guy bonding is comprised of misogynist endeavors (porn sites, sex mimicry, blow job jokes), it’s not malicious. I am not saying it’s right and I don’t think Apatow is either. He’s not claiming that he or any or his characters are in touch with the female psyche. At least they are trying.

My post on Knocked Up is now up at HuffPo. Check it out, and tell me if you agree/disagree!

(And ps Jessica was a hoot on The Colbert Show last night! Loved that she opened by giving him a t-shirt that said “Feminist Chicks Dig Me” – cuz we do.)

As I mentioned, I came home from a very heady feminist conference this weekend in the mood for some slightly lighter fare. So on Sunday Marco and I went to see Knocked Up–the original plan was Spiderman 3, but Judd Apatow won out. Yesterday, my dear boy sent me the links to reviews in Salon and Slate. “Both positive, but Slate has gender issues.”

So did I.

Let me say first that I enjoyed the movie, wholeheartedly. I laughed. And I cringed. Maybe it was my feminist hangover from the conference, but I pretty quickly got the sense that Knocked Up was a pregnancy movie for boys by boys. Which is great. I mean, we need those, and we need them badly. Men are parents too. It’s about time we had some sensitive stories about what it’s like for men to become fathers–when they’re so-called ready and especially when they’re not. I love that the Ben character (Seth Rogen) walks the three miles to the gyno’s office even after Allison (Katherine Heigl) throws him out of the car, and that he eventually reads the pregnancy books. And Apatow’s portrayal of male bonding throughout the movie was disgustingly sweet–by which I mean disgusting at times, according to this perhaps-too-easily-grossed-out girly girl reviewer, but I get it: genuine and sweet.

Still, I agree with Slate’s Dana Stevens, who comments that, in this movie at least, Apatow doesn’t get (or write) chicks as well as he writes (and gets) dudes. Knocked Up is eons from being misogynist. But the movie’s two basic premises–that, boom! young rising professional Allison wants to keep the baby, recent-life-changing-promotion-notwithstanding, and that she’s willing to take such a heartfelt second look at the guy who severely grossed her out the morning after–struck me as forced vocabulary. This is Guyland indeed: pregnant is “knocked up,” abortion is referred to in euphemism (“rhymes with ‘shmashmortion”), and (spoiler alert!!) the geek gets the prom queen. In other words, it’s a fantasy about the sensitive slacker who, learns, through impending fatherhood, to grow up–and gets the girl. (The girl, to be fair, finds love where she least expects it. Fairy tale endings for all!) (Spoiler ends here.)

When the lights came up and my beloved dude turned to me and said, “I loved it!”, I didn’t want to be a spoilsport and offered up an enthusiastic, “Me too!” But truth be told, my love’s qualified. Sure, I’m willing to suspend disbelief when the Grey’s Anatomy hottie grew soft on a guy she couldn’t even get through breakfast with, and even after he flunked the second date. But when the image of a crowning baby head elicited the same “eew!” as the scene where Ben’s roomies transmit pink eye by farting on each other’s pillows (don’t ask), my grossdar got offended. Next time someone makes a movie about pregnancy for guys, maybe someone could throw us lingering feminist girly girls a little more than just a bone?