Week One: January 1st - 6th
So I managed to mess up right off the bat.
1.30am on the 1st of January, I’m sitting in Melanie’s flat in Edinburgh with her and Fi and I realise I’ve just watched the Hogmanay Special of Still Game.
If you’ve never seen Still Game – it’s a BBC One sitcom about Glasgweigan pensioners. It’s very Scottish. I don’t think I’d ever watched a full episode of it before and I have no idea how we ended up watching it.
I’m going to blame it on the booze and that blur when it’s after midnight and you’re not really sure what you’re watching or even really paying attention … it wasn’t even a new episode as I discovered later on IMDB. It was about 3 or 4 years old.
And it was written and directed entirely by men.
So no more episodes of Still Game for me this year. Oh, no. I’m devastated.
It’s not the end of the world but it’s a good example of how conscious I’m going to have to be – how easy it is to just sit and watch things and not really give a thought to what is in front of you.
The other experience I had while in Edinburgh was the awkwardness of imposing the project on other people. Mel suggested the cinema on New Year’s day … and that proved to be impossible considering what was on release.
Instead the three of us decided to see The Favourite on Hogmanay. But it turned out there was only one cinema showing it that day – and the afternoon show was sold out.
I um-ed and ahh-ed about was it suitable for the next day … yes, it’s directed by a man (Yorgos Lanthimos) but it was co-written by a woman (Deborah Davis) … BUT unfortunately the male co-writer (Tony McNamara) was not the same man who directed so that meant the creative team was only a third female. And I did say 50% - so I ruled it out and we didn’t make it to the cinema at all during my trip.
It’s been the first frustration of the project as I was a big fan of The Lobster and Yorgos Lanthimos – plus Element. But considering its success last night at The Golden Globes, I think it’s highly likely that The Favourite will get a Best Original Screenplay nomination at this year’s Academy Awards, which will qualify it for the project.
So what did I watch this week? If you’ve been following along on Instagram - @watching_women you’ll already be in the know as I’ve been posting short reviews as I go.
Three romantic comedies and one post-apocalyptic thriller … all films that fit nicely within a clearly defined genre.
I love genre films and have a great respect for writers and directors who understand and play with the conventions and tropes of their chosen genre. I’d rather see a well-executed, entertaining, but perhaps not hugely original genre film over a tedious, bloated, supposed work of genius – no matter the gender of who’s writing/directing.
The Big Sick
Director: Michael Showalter, Writers: Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani
I’m going to point out that I started the project with a film directed by a man that was co-written by a man with a male protagonist.
But … this has the same ratios that disqualified The Favourite you might protest … I know. BUT it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay so that’s the qualifier.
Last year was actually a great year and almost reached gender parity. Four men and three women were nominated for the award. It’s the first year since 2007 it’s come close to gender parity.
I’m not going to do a synopsis of this film as it got a decent amount of press due to being based on a real-life story. I found it utterly charming and really enjoyed it. Plus it had Zoe Kazan AND Aidy Bryant so yay.
I thought the benefit of having a female co-writer who was writing her own story with her husband, meant that the female love interest of the protagonist was a fully-rounded, believable human being and not just a plot device to facilitate a man’s emotional growth.
Funny how that is a rare thing in films.
Dumplin’
Director: Anne Fletcher, Writers: Kristin Hahn
I’ve been waiting to see this since it popped up on my Netflix account in December. I added it to my list and have been tempted to watch it quite a few times. You may not know that Anne Fletcher directed 27 Dresses, which despite being a Katherine Heigel vehicle is a very good RomCom and was written by one of the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend showrunners.
I love RomComs. AND I love teenage RomComs, especially when I’m a little tired and just want something fun to watch that I don’t have to take too seriously. Someone on facebook commented that this is perfect Sunday night fare, and they’re right: Dumplin’ is the kind of film you can sit down and enjoy with friends and bask in the Dolly Parton songs and the gowns and the romance of being young and confused and finding some kind of truth.
But it’s also a film that feature a fat female protagonist – and that is a RARE thing. I think there’s a longer post to be written about Dumplin’ and the representation of fat women on film so I’m just going to say, it’s not perfect but it’s very watchable and enjoyable.
Soltera Codiciada (How to Get Over a Break-Up)
Directors: Bruno Ascenzo, Joanna Lombardi, Writer: María José Osorio
I literally just decided to watch this because the English title caught my eye on Netflix. I was actually really tickled to discover it was Peruvian and so was delighted it had a female screenwriter and female co-director.
María Fé is a copywriter living in Lima. Her boyfriend of six years has moved to Madrid and she’s supposed to be joining him … but he dumps her over Skype.
There’s a lot of the standard rom-com tropes going on – fabulous living space, funky office space, dedicated and quirky best friends, someone starting a blog and it instantly becoming a smash-hit without any effort on the writer’s part.
But it’s so truthful about what it’s like to have someone you love deeply dump you suddenly and without much explanation and I think it’s very good representation of how a lot of women try to get over a break-up. I think there’s an element of the autobiographical (there’s a moment in the film where Maria-Fe goes on a tinder date and he calls her Maria-Jose … the screenwriter’s actual name). And I think this is part of why it’s so important to have women writing these stories – I watched Bad Moms last year and it made me insanely furious because it was three great actresses behaving like idiots in a way that was completely unbelievable. Yes, it was written by men. I don’t know why it was successful enough to have a sequel – I can only imagine it’s the on-screen charisma of the trio of actresses.
I predict an English-language remake at some point because this is very charming – and I am available to write that script if anyone needs a wry, English-speaker to do that.
Bird Box
Director: Susanne Bier, Writers: Eric Heisserer
By now I’m sure you’ve heard about Bird Box so I’m not going to do much of a summary. This was very tense to watch as a mother of a young child. And I did enjoy it – I also love the post-apocalypse genre and was an avid The Walking Dead watcher until it go so stupid in the Series 8. But the more I think about it and the further I get away from the film, the less I rate it.
The best parts of Bird Box are Bullock and the kids making their journey on the river – but the bulk of the film is set when she’s pregnant and inside a suburban house with people being picked off (did they blow the budget on all that water work?) – and feels very predictable.
If you want a truly interesting take on motherhood in a horror film, watch The Babadook.
It’s not amazing but it’s good – AND that’s okay.
Because the absolute BEST thing about Bird Box is how well it’s done – 45 Million streams on Netflix within 7 Days. And Netflix don’t usually boast about things like that.
And the better films by women do – the more that get made.
Otherwise …
With the wee one I’ve also watched a lot of CBeeBies this week – Waffle Doggy, you’re such a good doggy – and saw the last 30 minutes of Flushed Away (meh) and parts of Mirror, Mirror (very off-the-wall, and not in a good way).
No TV this week. There were no new episodes of my regulars and it’s a lot easier to start a film than a new series.