Julia Disputes 'Chick Flick' Label
Rick in Oz
Julia Roberts Disputes 'Chick Flick' Label
By Sue Zeidler
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Mention the phrase "chick flick" to Julia Roberts or
any member of the largely female cast of her newest film, "Mona Lisa Smile,"
which is set in a girl's school and you are more likely to get a frozen
frown rather than an enigmatic smile.
"I don't think we made a chick flick. We just made a movie," quipped
Roberts, 36, during a recent news conference to promote the film about an
independent-minded art history teacher who joins the faculty of elite
Wellesley College, steeped in the conformity in the 1950s.
Roberts, who co-produced the drama that opens nationally on Friday, said she
was fascinated by the period because it "was right on the cusp of the
revolution of the woman's voice in society."
But even without seeing the movie, some people have already poked fun at it,
dubbing it the "Dead Housewives' Society," likening it unflatteringly to the
1989 Oscar-nominated "Dead Poets Society," starring Robin Williams as a
professor who also encourages his male students to go against the status
quo.
In a year when more women than ever are running Hollywood studios and there
has been a plethora of well-received movies directed by females about
females, like "Thirteen," "Lost in Translation," "Sylvia," and "Under the
Tuscan Sun," the label "chick flick" still haunts films about women,
provoking shudders among serious-minded actresses.
"What is a chick flick?" asked Julia Stiles, another star of "Mona Lisa
Smile." "It's weird, because 'Master and Commander' is not 'a guy flick,' is
it?," she said, referring to Russell Crowe's latest film about bravery on
the high seas.
Stiles is one of four up-and-coming actresses in the film who play students
struggling to define themselves at a time when an engagement ring is
considered a bigger accomplishment than a bachelor's degree. The other
students are played by Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Ginnifer
Goodwin.
GUY DIRECTOR
"Mona Lisa Smile," was actually directed by a male. London-born Mike Newell,
whose credits include "Four Weddings and a Funeral," and is on board to film
the next "Harry Potter" film, said he was intrigued by the film's
exploration of a time when individuality was frowned upon.
"There was a great deal of debate in the story about what women should and
shouldn't do with their lives, most of which had never been publicly
discussed before," said Newell, who made the cast attend a "charm school"
for the film.
While the "chick flick" label clearly offended many of the film's stars,
some like Oscar-winner Marcia Gay Harden, who plays an elocution teacher
embodying the staid conservatism of the time, approached it more
philosophically.
When people say 'chick flick' it seems like people are talking about movies
about slumber parties and girls in cute little negligees," Harden said.
"This is not that. It's just a movie that may appeal and hopefully will
appeal to women, but that does not mean it won't appeal to men. No audience
should be eliminated," she said.
Indeed, Roberts, said the film's validation of women is applicable to both
sexes. "This movie is about the struggle of the individual, male or female.
Everyone is looking to find their proper place in life, where they can serve
the most and be at their best," she said.
Indeed, Roberts, whose million-dollar smile has helped her earn north of $20
million per film, seemed to be content with her place in Hollywood and at
home, which she shares with her husband Danny Moder.
AFTER "PRETTY WOMAN"
The Georgia-born actress said she made a stand after taking the world by
storm with her breakout success in the 1990 film "Pretty Woman," and decided
to choose her roles carefully.
"After "Pretty Woman' and the success of that movie, just a lot of scripts
that I read, I felt were really uninteresting and sort of tedious and not
well-written, fully-realized parts," Roberts said.
"I started just passing on everything, and what started off as just me
thinking, well, I'll just wait for something good, turned into an
over-two-year wait," she says.
The next film turned out to be Alan Pakula's "The Pelican Brief" in 1993.
"It was a great reintroduction into movies," said the actress, who has
starred in many films since then, a few of them clinkers, but went on to
earn an Oscar for her performance as a crusading paralegal in the 2000 film,
"Erin Brockovich."
Roberts, who has said she would like to soon have a child, said she finds
juggling career and marriage to be relatively easy.
"In my experience, there's a real ease to it. But I think that's in part
because I've been able to have a lot of great career opportunities and have
been able to build on them over a long period of time. So the kind of
attention, maintenance and focus that I give to my career as it were can be
sporadic and of my choosing," she said.
"I'm very fortunate and I can really devote myself to my family," she said
From Sunny Oz, Rick :)
Proud Keeper of the talented & beautiful Halle Berry.
Mametsuki
Smile" next to it.
Mrs Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian
> Look up "Chick Flick" in any dictionary and there you will see "Mona Lisa
> Smile" next to it.
Look up "worn out, tiresome cliché" in the Encyclopedia Britannica and
you will find: "Any statement that directs the listener/reader to the
refer to a dictionary to find the subject of a discussion as the
definitive example of the type of thing being disparaged."
So close to Jesus, we're talking about taking separate vacations in
2004,
Mrs. Betty Bowers
America's Best Christian
Diandra256
Lisa Smile" next to it."
The movie was terrible IMHO. On a different front, I saw a screening of "Cold
Mountain" tonight and THAT was excellent (although Kidman's accent didn't
sound consistently southern to me and Renee --whom I thought was good--
sometimes came off as a white Mamie/Butterfly McQueen)
Mametsuki
>America's Best Christian
>
and least talent wit.
Ambrose
"Diandra256" <diand...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20031217221641...@mb-m22.aol.com...
> I'd say: "Look up "Shit Flick" in any dictionary and there you'll see
"Mona
> Lisa Smile" next to it."
>
> The movie was terrible IMHO. On a different front, I saw a screening of
"Cold
> Mountain" tonight and THAT was excellent (although Kidman's accent didn't
> sound consistently southern to me and Renee --whom I thought was good--
> sometimes came off as a white Mamie/Butterfly McQueen)
I was afraid of that. I actually have relatives from that part of NC who are
still living there, and the voices I've been hearing on the trailers weren't
encouraging. But hey, Vivian Leigh was the perfect Scarlet O'Hara and at
least they didn't cast Julia Roberts who is from the south in Cold Mountain.
(shudder) Too bad Sissy Spacek is a couple decades too old. Great book by
the way.
Ambrose