Monday, December 10, 2007

What do you think?


"It was a little sexist. It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys." — Katherine Heigl, on last summer's smash comedy "Knocked Up"


I really enjoyed Knocked Up but I think she is right. Your thoughts?

12 comments:

KEITH said...

As a lovable, goofy, fun-loving guy, I think it's an awesome movie that only a humorless, uptight shrew would have a problem with.

Kate said...

I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as I enjoyed Superbad. And of course it makes the guy look funny and lovable, look at who wrote it. But I don't think that its sexist when it shows a young successful woman who chooses to have her career and a baby, with or without the father. It just happens that the father makes enough of an effort for her to think,'hmmm, he has no job, and not too much money, and is kinda young, and smokes a lot of weed....but he's sorta funny and is sorta trying, so maybe I'll let him be a part of this whole parenting thing'. I don't see a problem with that.

Hadass said...

I agree with Kate. I didn't read sexist from that movie. I received my Vanity Fair yesterday in the mail and read that same article with her last night. There are several things that she said in that article that kind of make me not like her quite as much. Just a little bit less. I realize that she is brutally honest, and that is refreshing in Hollywood, but she just comes off a little too brash and in your face with her honesty, to me.

Superbad was soooo much better!

Colleen said...

I think she took it like a man from the moment she found out that she was preggers and then for most of the movie she had to delicately ease him into the idea and responsibilities of being a parent. She was just as unprepared for this. Sure she had a job but most adults would probably benefit from having one even if they didn’t have settlement money from a mail truck accident. He didn’t get a job till the very end. I would have dumped his ass that night she told him based on his reaction. He was still getting high and even basically lying about wanting to be involved. If he did he would have read the baby books and got a job in a timely manner.

I thought Seth Rogan was funny but I was kinda glad when she kicked his ass out of the car. I was also a little annoyed that he yelled at her sister to get out of the delivery room. She was the only one who was really there for her and supporting her through the whole process and they made her look like a raging bitch. I would probably acted like her too if I was in her situation. Both sisters were exceptionally patient when dealing with him.

The movie also didn’t really take into account that she had the option to get rid of him, have the baby and then get involved with a mature/handsome/rich guy. She was way too hot for him and was on tv so it wouldn’t be too hard to do. She was practically a martyr for even giving him the time of day after he treated her that way at dinner when she first told him.

Kate said...

Anyone seen Juno yet? Sounds like its totally smart and hilarious and from the female point of view. Plus, it reunites Jason Bateman and Michael Cera. I'm excited.

Colleen said...

Right now it is only playing in New York and LA. and select theatres.

KEITH said...

I tried to see Juno last night at a sneak preview but I got turned away.

On the plus side, I got a free t-shirt.

Corey said...

Just my two cents but there are a few parts that I think rounds out the characters more than people give credit, especially the sister Leslie Mann. I know that she does come off like a shrew in most of the movie but I thought the moments in the waiting room and in the driveway when she said, "I like spiderman," gave her character dimension. With Alison's character I think she just wanted to give Seth Rogan a shot and deep down thought he was a good guy even with all the crap. Should she have, well that's debatable, but I think that her character had enough dimensions not to be sexist.

Colleen said...

I agree Corey. I loved that part when she says she likes Spiderman. I also think it does turn around when Seth talks about how great Leslie Mann is, like, she's funny and always wears her hair differently. I'm not saying it is a totally sexist movie, but it was clearly written by a man who probably was a little slow to mature.

Corey said...

To that I must agree, but then again I think that's true for a lot of men, and maybe even more so writers. I got to say I'm looking forward to seeing Juno, mostly because I'm a huge West Wing fan and I think Allison Janney is awesome. Like Chief of Staff awesome.

Ringo said...

I think that the two main leads (Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd) were very different. Rudd was a great father, a successful bread winner who provided for his family, and a patient and understanding husband, usually giving in to his wife in small arguments, while at the same time being this laid-back and funny guy. That made Leslie Mann's character seem shrewish. But on the other hand, Seth's character was so childish, immature, irresponsible, insensitive and dickish that it occasionally made me embarrassed to be man, like I was going to catch unwarranted backlash for the actions of other men. The fact that he turned his life completely around, simply by getting a crappy job and an apartment by himself, speaks as to how far he had to come. Heigl's character was unbelievable patient throughought the whole film.

Kate said...

Colleen, you're so cutting edge. One step ahead of the rest. There was an article out of Boston that was posted online yesterday about the same quote. They're comparison to tv sitcom love, the ones where lazy slobby fat guys have thin beautiful multi-tasking and very patient wives, made a lot of sense. I guess maybe women want to see themselves as thin beautiful loving multi-taskers, and men need to believe that there is hope of finding those kind of women to actually love them?? its weird, but apparently According to Jim is still on the air. And whats the one with David Spade and Putty that I think, well that must be funny, and then can never see the first commercial break come soon enough?

http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/blog/2007/12/knocked_up_a_li.html