Women in films used to be sassy, brilliant, full of quips, But somewhere along the way, we lost it all. Rosalind Russell was replaced with Shannon Elizabeth (The actress in American Pie, who was there to be a sex object and show her breasts), and Katherine Hepburn, replaced by, oh, all those actresses in those dire 1980’s films, too many to name, who were there solely to take their clothes off.
Some people think the film Bridesmaids is ‘ground-breaking’. It is, because Bridesmaids just became a Box Office hit, taking a smidge below $150 million – so far. It was a mainstream comedy written by women, starring women, about women, which won in the only way Hollywood recognises, by making money.
Helen Mirren once said that Hollywood wasn’t sexist, it just made films that people wanted to see. Young men go to the cinema more often and go to see films they liked. Women will only see more films with women if they go out and see them. Vote with your purses!
Bridesmaids is funny, it has wowed critics and audiences alike and it breaks even more boundaries, the actresses are (shock, horror!) not all 21 and a size zero. Some of them are in their 30s and are beautifully curvy. There is nothing wrong with being thin (I have been discriminated against for being thin, so I know it works both ways), I am just sick of my friends thinking they are fat when they are not.
Zoe Williams said this film was more feminist that Thelma and Louise and urged everyone to go and see it. I am doing the same. Salon’s Mary Elizabeth Williams went even further, saying the film is ‘your first black president of female-driven comedies’.
It is ironic that as women have progressed, on screen we’ve only gone backwards. As an actress, I know more than most about what people cast and what they want. Women have to be between a size 8-12. Size 12 being a grey area, it hurts an actress to be more than a size 10. I was told by one casting director than anything above a size 10 meant ‘character actor’.
Some people have attacked Bridesmaids for not being ‘feminine’. Do they ever attack men for not being ‘gentlemen’? I think not. Women have to be celebrated, we have to have our stories told and not just as naked, skinny, 21-year-olds. I will soon be making my own movie about women and their lives, and I thank Bridesmaids for clearing the way.
1.Bridesmaids
2.Production year: 2011
3.Country: USA
4.Cert (UK): 15
5.Runtime: 125 mins
6.Directors: Paul Feig
7.Cast: Chris O’Dowd, Ellie Kemper, Jill Clayburgh, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Matt Lucas, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Terry Crews, Wendi McLendon-Covey