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osprey_archerI wanted something relaxing to watch after an evening of hard-core cooking, so I started watching the Netflix original movie Dude. The preview pictures led me to believe it would be a fairly light-hearted look at four girls’ friendship during the last weeks of high school. HA. In the first, Lily's boyfriend Thomas (who is the brother of Lily's best friend, Chloe) dies in a car crash.
Fast forward a year. Lily is now in charge of senior prom. Multiple characters tell her that she needs to let go of her need for control, delegate, loosen up, etc. There’s an execrable sequence where one of her fellow student council members asks her to prom by singing her a song, accompanied by ukulele, during a student council meeting, with the connivance of the teacher. Lily, horrified, ends the meeting and flees.
But then! But then! Later on, Lily apologizes to him: “I was such a bitch,” she says. HOW DARE SHE HAVE NOT INSTANTLY SAY YES WHEN A GUY SHE DOESN’T WANT TO DATE SINGS TO HER ON A UKULELE IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE STUDENT COUNCIL. HOW VERY DARE. What a manipulative bullshit move on his part. He’s arranged it so she HAS to say yes or she’ll look mean.
Just to drive this point home, when Lily tells her best friend Chloe about it, Chloe is all, “That’s so sweet!” Thanks for nothing, Chloe. (Chloe secretly wants to go to prom with a guy rather than together with Lily as friends, not that she’s told Lily this. Chloe’s main character note seems to be “vaguely resenting Lily for not knowing things that Chloe hasn’t told her.” I loathe Chloe.)
At this point I decided to look up reviews online to see if this story was going the way that I thought it was going, viz, Lily is going to learn some Very Important Lessons about not beingbossy a control freak, probably by having the prom she has labored so hard for go terribly wrong, and also by having her best friend Chloe sneakily back out on their plans to go to college close to each other.
I did not learn if either of those two things happen. My money’s on yes, but I’m not watching the rest to find out, because in the course of checking out reviews I discovered Lily gets raped. This strikes me so hard as “this narrative is punishing a female character for wanting too much control of her life by taking all control away from her.” UGH.
Someday I want to read a book or watch a movie or just in general experience a piece of media about a woman who is a complete control freak and the narrative never tries to teach her a lesson about it at all even slightly.
So I stopped half an hour into the movie. Did not enjoy, do not recommend.
Fast forward a year. Lily is now in charge of senior prom. Multiple characters tell her that she needs to let go of her need for control, delegate, loosen up, etc. There’s an execrable sequence where one of her fellow student council members asks her to prom by singing her a song, accompanied by ukulele, during a student council meeting, with the connivance of the teacher. Lily, horrified, ends the meeting and flees.
But then! But then! Later on, Lily apologizes to him: “I was such a bitch,” she says. HOW DARE SHE HAVE NOT INSTANTLY SAY YES WHEN A GUY SHE DOESN’T WANT TO DATE SINGS TO HER ON A UKULELE IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE STUDENT COUNCIL. HOW VERY DARE. What a manipulative bullshit move on his part. He’s arranged it so she HAS to say yes or she’ll look mean.
Just to drive this point home, when Lily tells her best friend Chloe about it, Chloe is all, “That’s so sweet!” Thanks for nothing, Chloe. (Chloe secretly wants to go to prom with a guy rather than together with Lily as friends, not that she’s told Lily this. Chloe’s main character note seems to be “vaguely resenting Lily for not knowing things that Chloe hasn’t told her.” I loathe Chloe.)
At this point I decided to look up reviews online to see if this story was going the way that I thought it was going, viz, Lily is going to learn some Very Important Lessons about not being
I did not learn if either of those two things happen. My money’s on yes, but I’m not watching the rest to find out, because in the course of checking out reviews I discovered Lily gets raped. This strikes me so hard as “this narrative is punishing a female character for wanting too much control of her life by taking all control away from her.” UGH.
Someday I want to read a book or watch a movie or just in general experience a piece of media about a woman who is a complete control freak and the narrative never tries to teach her a lesson about it at all even slightly.
So I stopped half an hour into the movie. Did not enjoy, do not recommend.
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Date: 2018-06-30 03:02 am (UTC)And yes. I want a movie where a woman is the secret mastermind who engineers an important plot, and there's a part with cool music where all her plans come to fruition interspersed with footage of a Rube Goldberg machine slowly working its way to a satisfying close. And the character who got told a million times NOT to move the thing on her desk moved the thing on her desk and gets totally squashed as a consequence. The thing was keeping them safe.
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Date: 2018-06-30 03:38 am (UTC)Debbie is the secret mastermind who occasionally drives people (read: Lou) crazy with her intricate plots, but nonetheless they totally work and everyone walks out with like a billion dollars and the narrative never punishes her for it or goes all YOU NEED TO OPEN YOURSELF UP TO LOOOOOOVE, DEBBIE OCEAN. She opened herself to looooooove (or, you know, lust or something) once and how did that end up? PRISON.
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Date: 2018-06-30 03:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-06-30 03:49 am (UTC)Have you seen Bound (1996)? Excellent heist plotting by two women and no narrative punishment.
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Date: 2018-06-30 03:51 am (UTC)HOLY SHIT
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Date: 2018-06-30 03:54 am (UTC)IT IS INCREDIBLY GOOD.
I have not yet managed to write about it despite seeing it for Pride last year because every time I try, I just get sort of all-caps incoherently enthusiastic, but it is INCREDIBLY GOOD and I highly recommend it. It is not necessary to have any familiarity with the tropes of film noir in order to enjoy the movie, but if you do, it is especially delightful.
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Date: 2018-06-30 03:51 am (UTC)I also would have liked to know about the second part of the jewelry heist before it showed up as a surprise at the end. Show us the wheels within wheels, powers that be!
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Date: 2018-06-30 03:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-06-30 10:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-06-30 03:10 am (UTC)Manipulative arm-twisting public declarations or proposals are AWFUL and all ought to be turned down just on principle.
That sounds like a terrible movie.
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Date: 2018-06-30 03:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-06-30 07:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-06-30 04:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-06-30 09:53 am (UTC)Someday I want to read a book or watch a movie or just in general experience a piece of media about a woman who is a complete control freak and the narrative never tries to teach her a lesson about it at all even slightly.
Also, I don't know how closely it fits (it has issues, Lynda has issues), and it's a UK teen drama from the 1990s, and it may depend on if you're a Moffat hater, but... can I introduce you to Lynda Day and Press Gang here?
Sarah: "Can you explain to me how I have just argued myself into doing exactly what you wanted me to do in the first place? You are a devious, unfeeling, calculating, manipulative bitch."
Lynda: "Well, you were asking what made me a better choice for editor."
There's not all that much of it, but for five years growing up, it was the most fabulous thing to have on TV and I wanted to be her. I'm not, and it really is just as well, but it was great, and so was/is Julia Sawalha.
(I mean, it was made over 20 years ago, and knew better than anything else I've ever come across how to take a running joke and stab you through the heart with it, so it's not precisely lesson-free and it can be surprisingly dark - warnings may be needed, but Lynda is everything you've asked for. There are some eps up on YT, although not the greatest quality. This is a bit of a random clip, but the best non-spoilery Lynda I can find on a brief search: https://youtu.be/2Z-a11MjdDY)
There probably have been others since, but Lynda was the first, so I forget the rest.
ETA: I'm now trying to imagine what Lynda would do in response to the ukelele thing and I may not stop laughing for some hours yet.
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Date: 2018-06-30 04:09 pm (UTC)But I have faith. SOME DAY I will get the chance to see it! They'll release it on DVD in the US, or they'll start streaming it on Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime, or I'll make a friend who did buy a region-free DVD player + Press Gang DVDs just to see it, or... something will happen. Someday!
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Date: 2018-06-30 08:21 pm (UTC)For a few years the whole thing was up on YT & easily available, though, but before we friended each other, tragically. (It sort of is in bits still, but not exactly ideal unless you like watching things postage stamp sized). HOWEVER, I just checked Dailymotion now and it looks as though this user has a lot, and all of S1 at least, with a decent sized picture, if that might work, at least for a taster.
Here's episode 1: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6mw50x
(I have no faith that anything will happen when it comes to releasing obscure DVDs in R1. Almost everything I watch these days is 100% unobtainable in the US.)
Of course, if you watch it, you're almost bound to want your own copies anyway, so you should def. still get that mythical friend with the multi-region DVD player. I bet they could come in handy for all sorts of things.
(Also if you are feeling unsure or impatient, episode 5 "A Night In" is the first one that really hits all the classic PG beats if you want a quick taster. Plus, pink rabbits and eating dinner to win. <3)
The only other thing to note is that it does sometimes get quite dark, and "Monday-Tuesday" is a bit of a shock change in tone on the first watch. (I can give more specific warnings happily if wanted but otherwise will shut up, because ancient spoilers.)
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Date: 2018-06-30 06:49 pm (UTC)Somebody who really likes ukeleles, I guess?
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Date: 2018-07-01 08:06 am (UTC)"I was thinking of trying a serenade. Outside her window, maybe about midnight. That should get her attention, right?"
Kenny drew in his breath.
"I heard," said Sam in passing, "that someone else tried that kind of thing once. They've never been heard of again."
"Don't exaggerate," said Kenny. "Look, it was just after we did our GCSEs, and Jake Hooper thought it'd be a good idea to ask Lynda out to the end of year disco via a ukelele performance in English lit."
"Wow," said Spike. "Guy liked to live dangerously."
"I hear they're still finding bits of the ukelele even now. They tell me you can still see the marks on the walls."
"And," continued Kenny sternly, "he has been heard of since. He just had to change schools, that's all."
"Twice." Sam waggled her eyebrows and moved on.
"Right," said Spike. "Cut that plan. It was always asking for a bucket of water, or worse."
"You might as well paint a target on your back," said Kenny. "Sorry."
"Hey, now, there's a thought... It'd be a talking point. She could throw things at me. It'd be a significant step forward in our relationship."
Kenny shook his head in bemusement. He preferred a quiet life, but he had to admit he didn't mind watching Spike and Lynda having an interesting one, as long as it mostly happened at least a metre away from his desk.
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Date: 2018-07-01 01:49 pm (UTC)Also the fact that it managed to lead to this ficlet makes me feel that the twenty-eight minutes of my life I spent watching Dude were not wasted after all.
You should post this where Press Gang fans can see it! I feel that the image of an enraged Lynda going after Spike with his ukulele might amuse them.
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Date: 2018-07-02 07:28 am (UTC)I'm not sure this one makes proper sense out of context of your terrible 28 minutes, but I have at least posted plenty of PG fic where the fans can see it. They don't necessarily appreciate it, but sometimes they do!
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Date: 2018-07-02 01:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-07-02 08:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-07-02 11:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-07-03 02:03 am (UTC)