There are so many good girl films coming out it's not even funny

We really have to thank Bridesmaids for the slew of non-traditional girl-power films we have coming our way. The movie, which made $25 million on its opening weekend, was a game changer for how the film industry views women. As HuffPo pointed out, Bridesmaids scored critical raves, took in $288 million worldwide and earned two Oscar nods. “Though it seems silly to think that there were skeptics, its success proved to many in Hollywood that women can anchor successful broad comedies, not just the romantic comedies and Sex and the City films.”

According to Hollywood Reporter writer David Friendly the Bridesmaids effect has resulted in all the major film studios asking “Where’s our Bridesmaids?!” Just to remind you the film opened with a record $26.2 million with an audience that was 67% female. And most importantly, the film helped get a lot of other female-centric projects that may not put women in the most beautiful light and be all about getting the guy. From the Carrie Preston-directed That’s What She Said to the phone-sex comedy For a Good Time, Call…, Leslye Headland’s (much hyped about) Bachelorette and the comedy Celeste and Jesse Forever (co-written by and starring Rashida Jones), all will push the comedic envelope in 2012. 

Girls cast

2 Broke Girls

 

The Bridesmaids effect has also come to television as you can clearly see in the success of Girls, 2 Broke Girls and New Girl. Wow. We really don't try very hard with titles do we? Of course, it's not much better on the men's side. I just saw a commercial for a show called Guys with Kids. 

The movie I am looking most forward to is Bachelorette which despite its wedding-centric plot is very different than Bridesmaids. These girls make those ladies look like 13-year-old girls. They are party animal coke-heads that don't even need a gratuitous bathroom scene to get crazy. The awesome Lizzy Caplan literally delivers a monologue about blow jobs. The film is about a group of grown-up mean girls (Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher and Caplan) who get together for their friend's (the amazing Rebel Wilson) wedding. Except she is one of those friends they treat like shit (they call her pig face.) In an interview Kirsten Dunst says on the Bridesmaids comparisons, "I think Bachelorette takes it to a much darker, more independent place. Dark in a fun way though." Hopefully it's less dark than the miserableness that was Meloncholia. Plus James Marsden and Adam Scott!! Yes!

Rebel Wilson

“For 10 years, people were really afraid that there wasn’t an audience for an R-rated female-centric comedy,” says Bachelorette writer/director Leslye Headland. “(Bridesmaids) proved that there was. I think it will get hundreds of movies made.” And it has. This fall we can also look forward to For A Good Time Call written, produced by and starring Lauren Miller and Ari Graynor. 

Right now you can see Celeste and Jesse Forever written and starring Rashida Jones about a long term couple and their unconventional breakup. Rashida said she was definitely inspired by When Harry Met Sally when she wrote the film:

"I would be lying if I said we didn't set out to borrow and steal from the best parts of that movie because [co-writer] Will [McCormack] and I absolutely love that movie. We humbly set out to do what When Harry Met Sally did so well. They asked this question: Can women and men be friends? I guess the answer is they can't, because they end up together. But we were hoping to ask a similar cultural question right now, which is: Can you be friends with your ex? Can you just go into being friends with you ex?"

The important thing is these movies are getting made and they are also highlighting actresses who used to only be able to play the sidekick friend, like Lizzy Caplan.She has been in everything for years (hello Janice in Mean Girls!) and I think this may finally be the year she breaks through. Lizzy Caplan said, “When you’re a girl in a movie, you mostly get to say, ‘Now behave, boys.’ In Bachelorette we got to act as bad as the guys do.” She said this whole cinematic movement means better roles for actresses in general. When talking with her actress collegues she says, “The dinner parties are far more enjoyable since no one is saying, ‘Why do we have to watch boys do everything fun?’ It’s just not like that anymore.” And now you don't Lizzy. 

Lizzy Caplan

How do we feel about this tie dye trend?

I enjoy a good tie dye shirt but can any of us really pull off a tie dye dress or pants? And by any of us,  I mean those that do not look like Brooklyn Decker or sell necklaces on Venice Beach. The tie dye look is sort of part of this whole patterned pants trend happening which I was originally against but am now very into thanks to these Ann Taylor Loft patterned pants that I have that make me feel like I am in 1987 when I wear them and it is awesome. And this pair I intend to get.

But back to tie dye? Is this something I am supposed to consider. Yes Fergie can do it but she is a rock star and Lauren Conrad has that great long blond hair and just looks like she was born to rock the dye.

But somehow Olivia Palermo managed to make tie dye look polished and prim. It's a talent she has.

Here are some other tie dye looks

Kate Bosworth

Jessica Alba

Minka Kelly

Eva Longoria

Leighton Meester

Ashley Tisdale

This Katie Holmes/Rosemary's Baby Scientology Saga Is Absolutely Fantastic

On June 25 my world changed. Katie Holmes, our beloved Joey Potter turned sophisticated leading lady turned Stepford scientology wife to mother of the most fashionable child in the world, divorced her husband of five years, Tom Cruise. And it has been a wild ride of feminism, going to Whole Foods wearing awesome outfits, museum trips and the most brilliant PR strategy ever since.

What I really can't stop reading about is all the scientology stuff. The reports truly make it sound like Katie found herself starring in a updated version of Rosemary's Baby. In case you don't (which you really should because it is an awesome movie), Rosemary's Baby was a movie that came out in the late 1960s starring Mia Farrow. She plays a newlywed whose actor husband decides to sell his wife womb to a bunch of devil worshipers in exchange for a better career. Basically she ends up being impregnated with the devil's child. But the actual scary part is that her husband abused and lied to her in this way and made her be a part of the deal with the devil.

Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby

Scientology does not involve devil worship, that we know of, but there is something scary about the fact that when Katie Holmes married Tom Cruise her entire life changed and she did seem like the innocent wife who got taken over by this powerful man. She went from being an actress to being the celebrity wife of the most famous man on earth. She went from being an independent New York single girl to having to take black sedans everywhere and giant bodyguards. He also got her pregnant quite fast which tied her down.

Katie on The Creek

Katie BT (Before Tom)

Though honestly, Katie Holmes was a smart woman and I don't think she did this strictly for her career (which it didn't really help.) She did obviously fall in love with this man at some point and who can blame her? Katie was fully a part of the TomKat media campaign back in the summer of 2005. She was doing the interviews too sounding like a complete zombie. Read this W Magazine article. It is seriously terrifying. She was a walking robot.

The beginning of TomKat

Who can forget this cover?

And yes Tom is far from the hot guy dancing in his underwear but if he came on to you can you seriously say you would turn him down?   But obviously shit got weird and even though it looked like Katie was fully in support of only feeding her daughter cupcakes and candy and letting her wear dresses in 10 degree weather she actually did have some qualms. Especially when it came to Suri's religion. Even though Katie started out embracing Scientology, the Catholic-raised girl obviously didn't want to send her kid off to something called Sea Org where there is something called 'The Hole.' We cannot have our little Suri putting up with that. That child drinks more Starbucks than an Olsen twin.

So Katie decided to get out and became the ninja of divorces. The woman managed to secretly move out, hire three lawyers and take Suri to the museum (thanks in part to Papa Holmes.) But the real showmanship came after Katie filed as she managed to become the victim turned escape artist turned feminist. That's right Katie Holmes is being called a feminist. Her PR campaign has been amazing. God damn't, those bangs on the cover of Elle Magazine this month just scream liberation! Most celebrities would lay low after a bomb like this. Even the media whore that is Kim Kardashian took a few days off. But not Katie.

The evolution of her fashion is contributing to that feminist reputation as well. According to the press Katie stopped caring how she looked when she married Tom which I absolutely disagree with. She is somebody who often goes sans makeup and with wet hair (okay the boyfriend jeans weren't the best but she inspired a trend) but she certainly had her glamorous moments as well. Since announcing the divorce though she has been wearing leather leggings and orange dresses, the uniform of a young divorcee.

But anyway this is a Hollywood romance gone wrong that is truly one for the ages and we are obviously going to continue to find out more creepy stuff and I can't wait. 

"The Hills" Is Like The Original "Girls" But Without Any of the Cultural Relevancy

Happy Independence Day everyone! I have one of those awkward summer colds that I'm pretty sure I gave myself just from sleeping in freezing AC and then going into disgusting 100 degree heat. Ahh, the joys of living in New York City.  Plus who decided to put July 4th on a Wednesday? It just made everything ridiculous and pointless. So I decided to just write it off as a sick day since I felt pretty icky anyway.

One thing that made me feel pretty good though was when I woke up (my puppy even let me sleep until 9am. He only likes to get up early on Saturday and Sundays because my life is just awesome like that) I discovered that there was a Hills marathon on!  It was like Uncle Sam decided to reach out and give me a little pat on my shoulder. Yes, I may actually own Season 1 and Season 2 of The Hills on DVD and I believe the entire series is available on Netflix (which I may or may not have watched recently while hungover.) But there is something special when a marathon just appears on television.

And yes, it is sad when they call a show like The Hills "retro MTV." It makes me feel like I am 50. Same as when I watch Friends on Nick at Nite. But it really is retro television because this was a reality show on MTV where no one was pregnant and everyone was over 21. No one lived in a trailer.

But does anyone else remember how big The Hills got? Like President Obama spoke about the fight between LC and Heidi. This was a fixture of pop culture. Remember that club scene when Lauren confronts Heidi? "You know what you did!" It was like straight out of a Scorcese scene except with way less blood and more pretty dresses. And after all, this was the show that introduced the world to the enigma that is Justin Bobby. Enough said.

And now the big question. Why do I love The Hills so much? Well The Hills was on right around the time that I started my grownup life and on some level we were going through the same things except that instead of having an awesome pad in LA, working at a fashion magazine, having a ridiculous wardrobe and being followed by cameras constantly I lived with four boys, made no money, worked at Fox News and may have worn fake Uggs at that point still. So just a few differences. But there was something appealing about Lauren Conrad and her idiot friends. Even though there was a ton of drama it just was so relaxing to watch them deal with their non-problems. It was kinda like the predecessor to Girls except everyone was attractive and Lena Dunham's Hannah would in no way be friends with Lauren though I think it would have been hilarious if she just showed up in an episode wearing a flannel and tights.

I had also liked Laguna Beach for the same exact reasons though I do blame that show for every picture of me in college in capri jeans, a bright top and fake Chanel sunglasses. It was fun to watch Lauren and her adventures with her other cute blond friend named Lauren and then all those less-interesting brunettes they hung out with.

I mean you have to love Lauren Conrad. She is like a modern-day Gidget and she pretty much brought back headbands before Blair Waldorf and never gets the credit. I also like that she left the series when it started to get ridiculous and has legitimately made a career for herself.

 Her style tips are good and she has a good head on her shoulders. I may or may not own her book of style tips and one of her novels. We watched Lauren grow up. We were there for all the tears, all the laughs (that she chose to share on camera during the 6 months of filming per year) and all those stares that looked like they meant something because of editing. When she rolled her eyes, we did too. We did too LC.

As for the others I won't even go into Heidi and Spencer because they are gross. Except it is so sad to watch the early seasons when Heidi was normal. Audrina was so blah and Whitney seemed smart but was clearly not captivating enough to pull of her own series. Kristin Cavallari is an idiot but has great style.

My favorite episode may have been the one where everyone screwed over Lauren and then there was almost a fashion crisis at Teen Vogue but then there wasn't and everyone stared. This amazing MAD TV parody pretty much captures the essence of the show. Except it's not letting me embed that video so this one is good too but definitely watch the first one:

Here are some of my favorite Lauren Conrad looks.

She even looks cute when she works out. 

Lauren is all about the scarves. 

She was a big skinny jeans pioneer. 

Always great accessories. 

Shorts

She loved the liquid leggings.