Advance word on the new version of the classic comedy,The Women,is that it's not worth the price of admission(and with prices these days,that's saying something there). The movie opens up this Friday and the studio's hoping that it will do as well as the Sex and the City movie or Mamma Mia! did this summer.
From what I've seen and heard,The Women bears more of a resemblance to SATC than Mamma Mia! and yes,I know there are no men in the movie(just like the original)but despite all of the hype about this remake not being a catty throwback to the feminist movement like the first film allegedly was,this modern day remake doesn't sound that much different to me:
2008
1939
Granted that I haven't seen the original(another item to add to my Netflix queue)but it looks like a lot more fun than the new one. Diane English spent over ten years trying to get this film going and while I appreciate that,perhaps time has slowly squeezed all of the true joy out of what she and others liked about The Women in the first place.
The Women is one of those old school Hollywood films known for it's witty dialog and verbal zingers that have inspired writers over the years. It's the fount of witticisms from which shows like Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars drew from to achieve such dazzling word play for their characters to emulate. They don't write 'em like they used to,that's for sure:
My main concern here is the awful new trend that I see hovering over the Hollywood horizon,of Sex and the City clones and copycats invading the multiplexes to lure the ladies into giving up their hard earned dollars.
By as soon as next winter,we'll be getting movies like Bride Wars in which Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway battle it out for the same wedding date and a film version of He's Just Not That Into You. They might be decent but my hunch is that they,and other knockoffs like them,will go more for style than substance.
While female friendly films are meant to be entertaining and a little glossy at times,I just don't want to have the genre coast on a wave of superficiality that will set them back more than the overload of remakes and overindulgence in torture porn is doing to horror movies lately.
Going retro with a modern twist is fine,but it's not as easy as it looks. Chick flicks should strive to be both chic and smart,keeping their edges as sharp as their nails while giving their audiences plenty of snark to chew over. You can do it,gals,I know that you can!:
1 comment:
Lady T - get the original version of The Women to the top of your netflix list now - its a fantastic film with great performances.
I saw the preview to the remake a while ago on Youtube and I was as dismayed as you were. Where is the originality in Hollywood today? It just seems like Feminism = consumerism in shows like Sex and the City and for me, the true feminists are really only shown on TV like The X-Files and Buffy. I really don't think I'll be watching this new version.
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