The new trailer for “I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With” looks funny enough, right? And the title, well, you can’t beat the sentiment. But while I got a chuckle out of seeing portly Jeff Garlin and babelicious Sarah Silverman yuk it up together, it is also a prime example of one of the more gently misogynistic trends in film today. Namely, the rise of the schlubby guy/hot girl romantic comedies. (For reference, please see “Knocked Up.”) Now, this debate has already been far more eloquently and exhaustively discussed on other far more eloquent and exhaustive sites. So, I won’t bore you by throwing my own two little cents into the din.
Instead I’ll just say that while the man-boy slacker meets ambitious-uptight beauty genre is irksome, what irks me most is how the equation almost never gets reversed. We’ve come to a point where Andy Samberg, Seth Rogen and Jack Black are all legitimate leading men. And fine, whatever, good for them I guess. But where is the equal screen time for the female equivalent of your Andys, Seths and Jacks? Where are the funny but average (or downright goofy) looking women and their hunka-hunka burning loves? Look, I’m all for funny folks landing smoking hotties. Just don’t forget the funny gals.
When the trend comes for hot women for schlubby women, I'm all set.
ReplyDeleteThat trend is coming, right?
There was a show on TV for a while w/Joan Cusak and her boyfriend was some hunky guy. While Joan isn't a total schlub, she ain't no Lady Godiva either. I agree that we need to see the reverse in action now
ReplyDeletei can't vouch for the blokes(to me there all plugugly but the chicks in a tv show in oz called rockwiz go there http://www20.sbs.com.au/rockwiz/
ReplyDeleteaint
Yuck- if these guys are the new leading man, I'm glad I'm a lesbian.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you in theory, that it would be nice if the trend were more balanced, but I think it's in some way a reflection of our society.
ReplyDeleteI do think women are attracted to more than just looks, whereas a lot of men don't see beauty without the physical. i think a lot of women (not me!) can find these guys attractive because of their personalities. So I have to say, as annoying as it is, I think the trend is somewhat realistic, as art imitates life.
I don't think filmmakers should create characters or movies with hot guys with schlumpy, ugly girls just on principle alone.
how about bridget jones? or perhaps she's all that? okay perhaps not the latter. but they're something i guess.
ReplyDeleteOn the 30 Rock rerun this week, Liz Lemon landed quite the hunk. Of course, I think Tina Fey is totally sexy, so that might comparison might not work. But she is more of the traditional funny girl than a love interest lead. Too bad the hunky dude turned out to be her third cousin.
ReplyDeleteThe chubby-schlubby guy/hot girl TV pairing has always gotten under my skin, although I do see it occasionally in real life (prime example being Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel -- what on earth?).
Joan Cusack still had to lose a lot of weight before she could do TV. And Renee Zellweger famously had to gain weight to become Bridget Jones (because why, they couldn't find an actress who doesn't weigh 12 pounds who wanted a job?).
ReplyDeleteWhich means that there are no roles for leading ladies shaped like me, and that the men who are kind of shaped like me (even if they have great personalities and sparkling wits) are now going to expect that they "deserve" someone like Katharine Heigl. I don't mind these kinds of guys--for me the personality makes attraction. But many men don't feel the same.
Want a witness? Try "brutaldude"'s comment on this post.