NYT Critic Manohla Dargis Shares Some Four-Letter Words for the Industry
Gotta give it to her... she's right
I have mixed feelings when it comes to New York Times critic Manohla Dargis's taste in films, but I always enjoy reading her reviews and apparently it seems I should be on the look out for more of her interviews as well as Jezebel.com has a few words from Dargis ranging from women in Hollywood, thoughts on Kathryn Bigelow and The Hurt Locker and why romantic comedies suck.
Here are some of my favorite moments with pieces cut here and there so as not to steal the entire interview (which I really wanted to do because it's quite entertaining):
On director Kathryn Bigelow's success (achieved in part by getting funding outside of Hollywood): Something like a woman winning best director for directing an action movie and not a romantic comedy is symbolically important. Whether it then leads to a lot of women doing things outside of the pathetic comfort zone of romantic comedy — and I say that as someone who loves romantic comedy — we'll see.
On Bigelow's chances for Oscar or future commercial success: The only thing Hollywood is interested in money, and after that prestige. That's why they'll be interested in something like The Hurt Locker. She's done so well critically that she can't be ignored.
Let's acknowledge that the Oscars are bullshit and we hate them. But they are important commercially… I've learned to never underestimate the academy's bad taste. Crash as best picture? What the fuck.
On male and female directors being held to different standards, as Dargis suggested in comparing Bigelow and Michael Mann in her piece: Do you think that a woman would have been able to get forty million dollars to make a puppet movie the way that Wes Anderson has been able to make, bringing to bear all the publicity and advertising budget of Fox? After two movies that didn't make a lot of money? I think this is true for a lot of black filmmakers too — they're held to a higher standard. And an unfair standard. You can be a male filmmaker and if you're perceived as a genius — a boy genius or a fully-formed adult genius — that you are allowed to fail in a way that a woman is not allowed to fail.
On Nancy Meyers and Nora Ephron: I personally don't think either of them is a good filmmaker — they make movies for me that are more emotionally satisfying but with barely any aesthetic value at all. I really like Something's Gotta Give, but I don't think it's a good movie… I'm of two minds. Sometimes I think what women should do what various black and gay audiences have done, which is support women making movies for women. So does that mean I have to go support Nora Ephron? Fuck no. That's just like, blech.
On why so many romantic comedies are so terrible: One, the people making them have no fucking taste, two, they're morons, three they're insulting panderers who think they're making movies for the great unwashed and that's what they want. I love romantic movies. I absolutely do. But I literally don't know what's happening. I think it's depressing that Judd Apatow makes the best romantic comedies and they're about men.
Finally, Jezebel asks Dargis about a quote from Hollywood.com's box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian when he said, "Women like going out in groups to watch women interacting in groups, and they are very loyal… There's no Bourne Identity with a woman starring in it right now. It's almost as if in real life, women want to be empowered and in control, but on-screen they seem to like the old-fashioned damsel-in-distress, love-struck female."
Dargis's answer to this?
Fuck him. What an asshole. Yes, that's what I want! That's exactly what I want. If Angelina Jolie had been cast in a movie as a good as The Bourne Identity with a filmmaker like Paul Greengrass, I would have gone out to see it, and I'm sure I wouldn't be alone. That is absurd. That's blaming female audiences — you get what you deserve? Is that what he's saying?
Perhaps this is why we are getting Salt in theaters next year? I can't wait to read Manohla's review.
For now, read the rest of her interview right here, trust me I didn't steal all the great parts.
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"Crash as best picture? What the fuck."
QFT.
@Garrett: Yeah, it's the best line of the whole interview. Perhaps they'll put it on the box art for the next special edition of Brokeback Mountain.
I never really went to see a movie thinking "this is about women so I need to support it". If the movie seems good than I'll go see it, in particular if the actors are good. About the movie SALT, I saw the trailer and it looks good so I will go see it, plus Jolie is a very good actress in my opinion.
I think it was kind it was kind of uncalled for to say "fuck him" to Dergarabedian. He is clearly talking about general audiences, not hardcore movie types like herself or some of us here. Women in general aren't into action movies, even with female leads; like did anyone go on a date with a girl to see Aeon Flux? No, you probably saw a chick flick or a horror film. I think she got defensive for no reason what so ever. I also think his point is proven by the Twilight films.
I don't know who this woman is, but I can already tell that I don't like her. I love Fantastic Mr. Fox
@Garrett: Am I the only one who prefers Crash to Brokeback Mountain by a factor of like 3? *sad*
As far as The Bourne Identity is concerned, it was directed by Doug Liman Manohla, not Paul Greengrass. Greengrass directed the other two. Besides that, it's unlikely that Jolie will ever play in an action movie as good as the Bourne films because she never was credible doing action movies with the kind of hyperrealism that marks those films. Who's going to believe a woman with arms as skinny as hers can give anybody a serious beat down? It's pure fantasy, just like those horrible Lara Croft films she did years ago.
@Tedums the Precious: Certainly not. But years of following the Oscar seasons tells me that you're probably in the minority.
@Tedums the Precious: Personally I'm with you to the point that Crash certainly is not a terrible movie (I actually like it quite a bit), I think the problem is that it beat Brokeback because of politics not actual quality.
When you have members of the academy refusing to see it because of homophobia and so many passionate fans rooting for it (Myself included.) It becomes better not to win because then your put into the category of "non-deserving" winners (How Green Was My Valley vs. Citizen Kane, Ordinary People vs. Raging Bull are other examples.) That ruins the film long-term reputation.
Personally I think the backlash should go toward the academy over the film itself but sadly it does not seem to work out like that.
@John Debono: It seems that both Crash and Brokeback Mountain were highly incendiary topics, if I remember correctly. Maybe after I had been active against both racism and homophobia, it just seemed that Crash touched its respective issue much more effectively, in my opinion.
She is so, so right.
@Ben: Women in general aren't into action movies, even with female leads
It depends on the type of woman. If this guy takes his girlfriend out to see a movie, and she is the movie goer woman who's into action (like many of my girlfriends and like this woman) then if the guy asks her if she wants to go see Aeon Flux or SALT or Wanted, more than likely she WILL say yes. The problem is, guys have it embedded in their brain that every girl they date wants to cuddle during a cute movie, or be protected during a horror movie, but really all they need to do is ask.
If the girl goes "Ew, no, I don't like those types of movies" then oh well, but it's worth a shot to ask. Most men would be surprised
@Tedums the Precious, Crash is not a highly incendiary topic, if it was released in the 60s, maybe…so that's your own opinion. BBM shows how being in the closet can potentially ruins lives.
Just because people disagree with one or two things she says, they dismiss her? How terrible.