Friday, February 20, 2009

A Feminine War

Why, oh why, do guys go to see obvious chick movies? I read a review of Bride Wars written by a man, and he got it sooo wrong. Bride Wars is the story of two best friends played by Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson. Friends since childhood, they have both long dreamed of the same version of a perfect wedding: at New York's Plaza in June. But this movie isn't really about the weddings these two girls plan. All the wedding details, just like the clothes and shoes in Sex & the City, are just set dressing for a movie about women.

The male reviewer griped and groaned about how this movie makes women look bad by stereotyping them. But the funny thing is, girls do act this way. They freak out when old resentments bubble up and they can't contain them anymore. They know each other's sore spots and try to hit them. They people-please and have a hard time saying no to requests, even if they don't like the person making the request. Look, I'm not saying girls have only bad qualities. I'm a girl, too. But girls act more like girls because they're girls.

This film is really about the way women relate to each other. The contrast between the girls' fiances is telling: neither guy can figure out what the problem is. But one guy is exasperated by it, and the other guy just lets it go. So the second guy is the smart one. I only wish the reviewer I read had been so smart.

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