I am sick of movies marketed towards women. I am offended by the premise of most "romantic comedies" today. "Uptight career woman needs jerk/slacker/moron to learn what is important in life." Or "desparate woman just wants to get married! Look at the crazy things she does!" I don't understand why any movie maker would want me to get annoyed just by watching the preview. Don't they WANT me to go see their movie?! Where is the movie where a strong confident woman finds love BECAUSE she is strong and confident and a catch of a man is attracted to that? I have started to look elsewhere for movies where there are strong confident women--looking for love or not. Here is my top three list of movies with awesome women and love stories that are not marketed to the traditional romantic comedy audience:
1) The Fast and the Furious series--You heard me. These movies are full of fast cars and terrible acting. But, great female characters support, and in some cases, drive the action. In the first FF, there were two examples of strong women getting the guy. Michelle Rodriguez kicks ass as Etty (literally--she can throw a punch!) who has been with Vin Disel's character since she was 16. She fixes cars, races hard, and even is part of a high-speed theft crew. Jordana Brewster's character is a bit less awesome, but she attracts Paul Walker's character by not taking any crap as the proprieter of a sandwich shop. Sequels in the FF series include Eve Mendes as an undercover cop/love interest and revamps of the original love stories. Fast Five comes to theaters this Friday, in case you are looking for the perfect ending to the Royal Wedding.
2) Red Eye (2005) -- OK, there's no love story here. But I love this movie and its energy. The thriller features Rachel McAdams as a hyper-competent hotel manager, Lisa. She is blackmailed into contributing to an assination attempt on the head of DHS and his family. Lisa goes through a series of emotions as she tries to determine her options, understand the consequences, and establish her plan. Spoiler alert: Look for the cute little girl who does not trust Lisa's apparent travel companion.
3) Jennifer's Body (2009): Jennifer's Body, written by Diablo Cody (writer of Juno), is a horror comedy--a combination that you don't often see--starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried. Some people have irrational hate for Megan Fox. I'm not one of those people. She's hilarious and terrifying as the ultimate mean girl / man-killing demon. Adam Brody is pitch perfect as a santanic-wannabe. And the puppy love story between Amanda Seyfried's character, Needy, and her boyfriend Chip is adorable and believable.
What's your favorite non-traditional romantic comedy?
The Philadelphia Story, starring Katherine Hepburn, need I saw more. The most badass actress of that era in her most badass role. I know it's an old B&W, and there are definitely still some stereotypes in there. I think it's my favorite movie even though because the dialogue is so clever. I'd definitely recommend watching it with the sub-titles on because the dialogue is so fast it's easy to miss some of the best parts.
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