It’s Happening…spoiler alert

If you haven’t seen the movie, you can find the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsUEd2cUIqo

I’m sure there are a lot of “haters” of this movie, naysayers who think that this movie still reinforces patriarchal norms for some reason or another, but I will attempt to address that in an upcoming post.  For now, I’d like to talk about some reasons why I think the movie challenges some of these norms.

 

I think there are a lot of elements of the movie that prima facie make Judd Apatow look like he’s making “The Hangover for women” (a phrase I’ve seen written in articles and heard from friends).  But, I think this phrase might do more harm than good because it seems to suggest that someone took a “bro genre” and simply implanted female characters, as if the movie wasn’t written with women leads in mind.  Granted, I don’t spend countless hours pondering the philosophy of “Bridesmaids,” but I think that analysis is a little shallow…even for an Apatow film (kidding :).

 

So, let’s try to put this phrase out of our minds (at least for the remainder of the post).

 

Anyways, here are a few reasons why I think this movie deserves some “cred”:

 

*It includes very diverse female characters, some stereotypically attractive, some not so much.  Some have stereotypical “perfect” heterosexual relationships, but most don’t.

 

*In fact, the two characters I am thinking of who are in “perfect relationships” make countless jokes about why their relationships are patriarchal and/or are lame.  I believe a few examples are in the link I pasted above.  (The entire conflict wraps up because Rose Byrne’s character admits she tried to steal Annie’s friend because her marriage is failing.)

 

*Furthermore, the actors themselves could be considered non-normative choices for female leads.  I’m not saying the characters are ugly so hold your horses….What I am saying, though, is that the cast choices are just as diverse as the characters are.  They don’t just rely on looks to get them through movies (cough!, Megan Fox, cough!).  Some of them had impressive careers on SNL, some did standup, and all of them are pretty funny ladies.  Comedy is one of the hardest genres and, in my opinion, the actors do a great job.

 

*The last reason I’ll post here (at least initially) is a little more interpretive.  I think the movie, whether the writers meant to do this or not, breaks down other gender/relationship norms through Annie’s friends with benefits style of dating.  This is for several reasons.  I’m sure many people will disagree here and say that Annie started out thinking she could be single but in the end, she ends up in a relationship.  But, I think that’s more the progression of her character (that she really can end up trusting people in monogamous relationships).  To me, this is a role reversal of sorts.  I think the “stereotype” of having casual sex because of trust issues is more a male stereotype than a female stereotype.

 

Either way, I really liked this movie, not because I found it hilarious and almost peed my pants (or maybe I did a little…) but also because I think it serves as an active critique of these stereotypes.  In the end, the “perfect” women admit their “normal” relationships are flawed and the “catfight” between the best friends is resolved, but not in the way you’d think.  Sure, they actually duke it out (literally…it isn’t pretty), but I think there’s more to it than that.  I guess you’ll have to check it out and tell me what you think!