Movie Reviews
In this monthly column, the passionate Lizzie Keeling will give her hot takes on recent movies she has watched and give advice on whether or not you should watch them, too.
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Movie Reviews
Movie Reviews
By Lizzie Keeling
By Lizzie Keeling
As we all know, March is women’s history month, so this time around I’m reviewing two films that have strong female leads, and have plots centering around women’s issues. Both these movies are available for free on the online streaming service Tubi, and are personal favorites of mine. Happy watching!
500 days of summer (2009)
500 days of summer (2009)
“This is not a love story. This is a story about love.” - 500 Days of Summer
500 Days of Summer is a blatant criticism of the manic pixie dream girl trope and romanticized ideas about love. For those that do not know, the stereotypical manic pixie dream girl is the “quirky” girl. She has lots of creative hobbies and interests, she is confident and friendly, and she wears her heart on her sleeve. This character is almost exclusively used as a character for the down-to-earth, misunderstood male protagonist to fall in love with. She gives the leading man a purpose and a new lot in life. She fixes him and lets him see the beauty in the world. The problem is: these “dream women” are made to be a plot device for the male character’s growth, rather than fleshed-out characters with growth and agency of their own. This is where 500 Days of Summer comes in. This movie spins the trope on its head, and lets Summer exist only for herself. She sets boundaries and does what she wants. The movie lets her be a real person. Tom sees her as his perfect woman and falls for her instantly, despite warnings from the people around him against this kind of behavior: “Just because some cute girl likes the same bizzaro crap you do, doesn’t make her your soulmate”(500 Days of Summer).
This movie seeks to analyze people’s relationship with relationships and love. Summer does not believe in true love and does not want to settle down this early in her life. Tom does. As you can imagine, some problems arise because of this. The movie compares the expectations people have with love and the reality of actual love-- specifically, the expectations of romantics like Tom, who believes in riding off into the sunset and the power of friendship above all else. Tom goes through the motions of their relationship, and turns resentful and sad when it does not work out. It takes this man 500 days to realize that he needs to start living for himself, not for his idea of love.
This movie emphasizes that relationships need more than just shared interests to keep going. Your partner could love monster trucks, but maybe you find them stupid and obnoxious. That does not mean your relationship is going crash and burn, but if your partner wants to settle down and get married, while you do not want to be tied down? It would not be surprising if there is some strain. Songs, books, and movies have pushed this romanticized version of love that is virtually impossible to obtain, and this stereotype has had its role in creating people like Tom.
The technical aspects of the film are pretty standard. It has a nice soundtrack and pretty set designs. The casting was perfect, not just because the cast members are good actors, but because they embody the essence of their characters. They fit the role perfectly and nobody else could have done it better. The story and characters are what really makes it good, though. It makes viewers take a step back and question their own ideals and expectations that they have about their own lives, and reevaluate accordingly.
A League of their own (1992)
A League of their own (1992)
A League of Their Own is a fictionalized account of the very first women’s baseball league in the United States but, while the stories and characters may be exaggerated, the league was very real and very impactful. The AAGPBL or “All American Girls Professional Baseball League” was created to keep professional baseball alive and kicking, while players from teams like the Yankees were drafted during WW2. The league was met with significant backlash: “the most disgusting example of sexual confusion….women’s baseball” (A League of Their Own) and they had a hard time getting people to show up to games. The people that did appear laughed at and heckled the players. The movie features a montage, showing the lengths these women would go to in order to garner more attention and stay in business, like doing the splits while catching a ball and giving out kisses to the men that caught a foul.
Interest in women's baseball waned after WW2, and America all but forgot about it until A League of Their Own came out in 1992. The film follows two sisters (Dottie and Kit) as they are recruited to play for the Rockford Peaches. While this is a comedy sports film, it is very tongue in cheek. Most of the humor surrounds the players rejecting and complaining about the sexist policies and rules they must adhere to, like taking beauty classes and wearing dresses instead of uniforms while they play. This film does an excellent job of showing the intricacies of women’s sports teams, and the camaraderie between them. The women laugh and cry together. They argue and fight and banter with each other. This movie shows exactly what it is like to be on a team, and it does so without sensationalizing the experience or putting anyone down. The film also touches on the issue of illiteracy at the time, which namely included women from rural communities, as they had no use for reading and were thus never given the opportunity. This is handled with care and understanding from the other women in the league and no one is ever shamed or belittled. On the contrary, they take the time to show them where to go and even and give them reading lessons on the bus ride to their next game.
A League of their Own is a female empowerment film and, of course, you can’t talk about female empowerment without talking about how and why they need to be empowered in the first place. This was the 1940's. Sexism was rampant, people were talking about “ the masculinization of women….consequences to the home, the children and our country….when our boys come back from war, what kind of woman will they be returning to?” (A League of Their Own). The men in this movie view the women as placeholders for the men’s teams and nothing more: “I haven’t got ballplayers. I’ve got girls. Girls are what you sleep with after the game.” (A League of Their Own). While a few of them learn to view these women as people rather than objects, the original founder and a lot of America still thought of them as temporary and sought to shut them down as soon as the men’s teams returned.
This movie is a feel-good watch. It has incredible acting and characters. Every time I watch it, I get filled with nostalgia and inspiration. I feel like I can do anything, and I want to believe that is what these women felt as they stepped out onto that field.
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