Swiss Army Man: A Giant Middle Finger to the Indie Movie Industry

 Last week, I saw the buzzed about and completely unprecedented Swiss Army Man, a film starring Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe, by the directing duo known as The Daniels. (Which consists of Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.) If you haven't heard about this movie already, it caused quite a stir at its Sundance premier this winter, when a few critics actually walked out of the theater. To understand why, I guess I should tell you the premise. Swiss Army Man is about a young man (Paul Dano) who is trapped on a deserted island and is quite literally at the end of his rope (he is about to commit suicide) when a waterlogged corpse named Manny (Daniel Radcliffe) washes up on shore, and begins farting. If you can believe it, the film only gets weirder, cruder, and crazier from there. 

 The whole time, you’re just kind of sitting there thinking: what the hell does this mean? But by the end, almost reluctantly, you realize: It means nothing. And that’s the point. In my opinion, this film is a giant (admittedly playful) “F*** YOU” to the indie movie genre as a whole. In fact, if you compare it to the other hit indie movies of late, (for instance, Colin Farrel's The Lobster), it is absolutely a satire of it. This genre is known for doing weird things but making it mean something. I’m talking about Her, The Lobster, etc. Weird premises are the norm in this realm, but this one takes the cake. This movie does a lot of weird things, but in the end all of that means nothing. And by meaning nothing, it means something. The meaninglessness of this film, and audience's collective outrage in reaction to it, speaks to our need for every film to have greater meaning, rather than just being an enjoyable ride. 

 Everything has to be cultural commentary nowadays, and even though I personally find that great, it was definitely refreshing to watch a film that was strange and traumatic and crude, and just know that that’s all it was. It was like the 21 Jump Street of indie movies. Weird, hilarious, refreshing, entertaining, and you didn’t have to think too hard about it. Usually at the end of indie movies you’re sitting there with your hypercritical hipster glasses on, drinking your specialty coffee and talking about how ironically great it was. But at the end of this movie, a guy in our theater (which was nearly empty…I counted 7 people, including myself and my boyfriend), burst out laughing and said, “HOLY SH*T.” And that’s it. Swiss Army Man is a "holy sh*t" kind of movie. It makes absolutely no sense, it’s disgusting, it’s hilarious, it’s a little bit weirdly heartfelt, and more than a little bit creepy. And that’s really all you can possibly hope for from Daniel Radcliffe’s most recent foray into this cinematic genre.

All in all, if you're looking for a darkly funny movie that is beautifully shot and features more fart jokes than your uncle at a family gathering, go see Swiss Army Man.

 -Fran

Civil War

 Moviegoing has made me kind of anxious lately. I don't know why, because the movie theater has always been one place where I never got anxious, but lately it's been almost crippling. I was randomly paranoid/anxious during Deadpool in February, and had to leave the theater before the end of The Jungle Book just a few weeks ago. And I've been feeling really down about it, because I've started to think that maybe I can't do this thing that I love anymore. Maybe I'm too broken, too fearful, too paranoid to go to the movies anymore.

 Truth be told, I guess I've always had a little bit of anxiety related to going to the movies, but it's really just small stuff like needing to be there 20 minutes early so I can pee and get a good seat. Never before have I felt so anxious and unsafe that I needed to leave. 

 All that considered, though, I'm never going to be the kind of girl who doesn't see a brand new Marvel movie opening weekend. So Thursday night, I found myself at an early showing of Captain America: Civil War, and I was more than a little anxious, for a few reasons. #1: My car had been hit while parked in my library parking lot just a few hours before; #2: I was in a tiny theater full of strangers; and #3: I was about to see the film adaptation of the first comic I'd ever read. You could say there were a few jitters. 

 But even though I looked over my shoulder more than a few times, and gripped my agate crystal rock the entire time, in the end, I made it through. And I was happy. The movie was everything I had hoped for, and was nothing close to the colossal letdown Age of Ultron had been last year. I got the Iron Man/ Captain America battle I'd been dreaming of, as well as validation for loving Captain America as much as I do. 

 I got a movie that was worth the anxiety, and I proved to myself that this isn't a battle I have to give up on. Anxiety is just that. A battle. Just when you think you have a handle on it, it changes its tactics, changes its mind, and you lose your grip on control of it once more. But much like Captain America, it's not gonna finish me off. And it's not gonna hold me back. 

 -Fran

The Intern: The Anne Hathaway / Robert DeNiro Movie I Didn't Know I Wanted

 This has been a pretty great year for feminism in film. In May we had Mad Max: Fury Road, which featured a diverse cast of women with more prominent speaking roles than the men. In July we had Trainwreck, Amy Schumer's hilarious but poignant feminist romantic comedy. 

 And in September we had...The Intern? If you had asked me two months ago if I thought The Intern would be a movie I would be legitimately excited over, I would have told you to leave me alone, because two months ago I was probably knee deep in a 72 hour X-Files binge. But last night I saw The Intern, at the urging of some friends whose opinions on movies (and life) I trust inherently. 

 I don't want to spoil anything: but this was a near perfect film. Taking a different tone of voice and spotlighting other aspects of inequality than Schumer's Trainwreck, The Intern highlights the struggle of the working woman in today's society. But before I get into the reasons why this movie was so wonderfully feminist, I have to remark on Anne Hathaway and Robert DeNiro's dynamic. To put it simply, they were pure magic together. Their relationship was based on mutual respect, and their interactions both within and without the workplace emphasized that with a little patience and a lot of respect, it is possible for older and younger generations to work together to make the world a better place.

 There were moments when I found myself trying not to sob, and then found myself thinking, "What the HELL? In a romantic comedy?! With ROBERT DENIRO?!" Hathaway's Jules Ostin is a complex, imperfect, and wonderful feminist role model. She has a tortured relationship with her mother, a passionate relationship with her work, and a good but not always easy relationship with her family-- her daughter and her husband. She's not always confident, she makes mistakes, but (and this is the "but" that had tears rolling down my face) she knows her worth. I really do not want to spoil anything, because this movie was so full of delicious and unexpected surprises, but there was a moment when I was unsure if I liked where the rhetoric of this film was headed. And then, with a single line, Nancy Meyers completely turned it around. This movie was complex, funny, sad, and real. It dealt with meaty topics in a careful but thorough way, while also being extraordinarily entertaining. I don't want to overhype this or anything, but I think this film is proof that a movie can be a fun, girly "date movie" while also having substance and making you feel like the film industry isn't doomed after all. 

Basically, go see The Intern. 

 -Fran

What I've Been Watching #4

  So my recently watched movies have all had one thing in common. They’re all (in some way or other) about women on journeys. 

  The first is Wild. I kind of got this movie on a whim, and I didn’t really plan on loving it. But, boy did I. It made me want to hike across the desert and find myself. It also made me cry my eyes out. The use of music and other textural cinematography as a way of triggering memories was beautifully done. Reese Witherspoon’s performance was amazing, and definitely deserving of the Oscar nomination.

  Next up is Cake. Again with a stellar performance by a female actress. Jennifer Anniston absolutely crushed it in this movie. Her portrayal of chronic illness was real, raw, and absolutely believable. Her performance was likable even though her character really wasn’t. This movie was actually surprisingly funny, given the dark and stigmatized subject matter. It also portrayed an accurate and acute depiction of PTSD and trauma, which I really appreciated.

  And last but certainly not least, Ex Machina.  Okay so...this movie is about artificial intelligence. That's how they marketed it anyway, to get the predominantly male audience in the seats. But that's not what it's really about. I hesitate to even tell you what it was truly about, because it was such a lovely surprise. If you're like me, and need someone to tell you how to feel about the end of this movie, I'd highly recommend this article, which I stumbled upon after finishing the film. It's brilliantly written, and answered every one of my burning "But what? How? Why?" questions. 

  But if you have seen the movie, and for my own peace of mind, here's what I thought- it was about women. And how we as a culture put women in boxes, put women behind glass, make them prove themselves a thousand times over a thousand different ways, make them answer a million invasive questions, and force them to use whatever means necessary to escape. I found myself crying a lot at this film, and I consequently found myself wondering why I was crying over a robot. But then I realized...in the end the message was really about womanhood and femininity and this culture that traps us behind glass and wants us to thank them for it. It was just surprising to feel "YAS GIRL YAS" at the end of a movie about artificial intelligence. 

  And that’s all for this blog post! I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

-Fran

Trainwreck: A Review

  So Tuesday night I took a much needed filming break to see a movie with one of my best friends. My friend Krista and I had been eager to see Trainwreck since we saw the first trailer, and it didn't disappoint. Not only was it the perfect Girl's Night Out movie, but it was perfectly applicable to our lives, and how we feel about relationships at the moment. I flip back and forth between thinking I want a relationship and thinking there's nothing I want LESS. But I don't think that makes me a "Trainwreck." 

  One (admittedly nitpicky) thing I didn't like was that Amy Schumer's character has to be considered a "Trainwreck." I know throughout the course of the movie you discover that she's actually not, she's pretty normal...or what is considered the norm for men, anyway. But I am a firm believer that the language we use to identify and classify is extremely important. So by calling her a "Trainwreck," we imply that women who act like men are unnatural, and akin to a transportation disaster. That kind of thinking is hypocritical, sexist, and there's something extremely wrong with it. Although I do understand that there are only so many title options. Judd Apatow couldn't very well call this film, "A woman who acts like a man..." but I think there could've been a better option than likening her to a literal disaster.

  Anyway, let's get into all the reasons why I loved this movie, without giving away any spoilers. 

  1) There was no girl on girl hate. 

  2) It was the most body-positive romantic comedy I've ever seen. No comments were made about Amy Schumer's body size. There was never a fat joke, and she never needed to be told that she was beautiful. She was confident and comfortable in her own skin, and that was something really refreshing and honestly inspiring to see in a movie whose target audience is (young) women. 

  3) It was sex-positive. I'm so sick of this (genderized) hypocrisy when it comes to sex. In our culture it seems that women aren't permitted to deny sex, but if they dare to enjoy it they're considered sluts. As Allison so astutely put it in John Hughes' The Breakfast Club, "It's a trap." Amy Schumer's character is therefore so refreshing. She's a leading lady who likes sex and isn't afraid to say so, and at no point in the movie does anyone other than herself accuse her of being a slut for it. That is to say, there was no slut-shaming of any kind. 

  4) The overall message of the movie was the kind of feminism I want to see. Basically it was this: "If you wanna date, get it girl. If you wanna have casual sex, get it girl. If you wanna get married and have babies, get it girl." That's what I walked away thinking, and I feel like that's really cool. No one should be shamed for what they want. Whether we're talking about slut shaming or marriage and baby shaming, it all has to go. 

  Essentially, this film was a commentary on the consumerist romance culture we have in our society today, and the negative effects it can have on us. I think most women (and probably men, but I can only speak for women) feel this immense pressure to live up to movies and tv shows when it comes to romance and relationships. And that's such a tall order, we don't even know where to begin. So we don't. So we're often left sad and terrified about feeling unable to participate in love. But really it's society that has the problem, not us. That's why so many of the moments in this film were so poignant. Amy Schumer is funny while also being intensely down to earth, relatable, and real. I'd definitely want to get waffles with her. 

 -Fran