The ‘Light’ Side of Feminine Evil: Film Comedies
Betty (Despoina) Kaklamanidou
Abstract:
Feminine evil has long been associated with certain film images: the vamp of
the 1910s, the flapper of the 1920s, and the femme fatale of the 1940s are the
main stereotypical evil women the dominant patriarchal hegemony created in
order to suppress any form of feminist demand. Much has been written about
the monstrous-feminine in drama, crime, action and horror films; yet much of
the discussion does not take into consideration the genre of comedy.
My paper explores the aspects of feminine evil in contemporary romantic
comedies. I aim to prove that these deliciously evil representations are also
used to perpetuate the stereotypes that have existed since the birth of the
cinema, in a genre whose socio-cultural role is significant, focusing on three
paradigms: women and power, women who betray or try to avenge men as
well as their own gender, and evil mothers.
Key=Words: mother, evil, romantic comedy, stereotype, patriarchy.
1.
Introduction
My paper focuses on the aspects of subtle, humorous, and witty
feminine evil in romantic comedies of the last decade. I aim to prove that
these deliciously wicked representations are used to perpetuate the
stereotypes that have existed since the birth of cinema, and retain the
patriarchal norms in a genre that promotes feminist issues. The films
discussed were chosen because firstly, they include ‘dark’ female characters
that are narratively integral to the main plot, and respond to the three main
domains where feminine evil traditionally prospers: the workplace, romantic
relationships, and motherhood. Finally, all the films are commercially
successful1, securing that the female evil stereotypes they include will serve
the purposes of the dominant patriarchy.
1.1. The Bad Mother
With the exception of the melodrama, very few Hollywood films “make
the Mother central, relegating her, rather, to the periphery of a narrative
focused on a husband, son, or daughter.”2 Mothers play minor parts in
contemporary romantic comedies and are mainly used as narrative catalysts.
They are also often represented as silly, or vain “ridiculed by husband and
children alike…”3. The grammar of the genre dictates that until the couple
finally unites happily at the end, an obstacle has to be overcome; this is
usually a third party, an initial dislike, a case of mistaken identity or a
friendship that turns into a romance. However, the romantic comedies
Monster-in-Law and Prime (both 2005) opt for a different obstacle and place
the mother between the man and the woman. The mother as villain has to be
destroyed or neutralized for order - that is the final union of the couple to be
established. In the cleverly entitled Monster-in-Law, the association between
mother and monster is already evident in the title. The opening credits firstly
write ‘mother-in-law’ until the word ‘monster’, in red capital letters, falls
from above and violently replaces the small, white letters of the word mother.
Viola Fields (Jane Fonda), a distinguished television journalist, is laid off at
the beginning of the narrative only to be replaced by a much younger woman.
She suffers a nervous breakdown and just as she is about to start a new life,
she is confronted with the woman her beloved son Kevin (Michael Vartan)
chose to marry. Viola cannot accept the good-hearted Charlie (Jennifer
Lopez) and decides to drive her crazy. In Prime, Lisa (Meryl Streep) is a
therapist who encourages her thirty-seven year-old patient, Rafi (Uma
Thurman), to pursue a relationship with a much younger man, not knowing
that the man is her twenty-three year old son, David (Bryan Greenberg). Torn
between the ethics of her profession and the future she has always envisioned
for her son - the continuation of her family’s Jewish heritage - Lisa struggles
to overcome her beliefs and let her son lead the life he desires.
It is interesting to note that these two mothers are mothers of sons and
not daughters. It is a well established cultural belief in the western world that
mothers tend to develop a kind of fixation on their sons and that as a result,
they are much harder to be conquered by their brides. The two films
reproduce this stereotype using varying degrees of hostility. Viola in Monster
is much more aggressive than Lisa in Prime. She immediately concocts an
elaborate plan to destroy Kevin’s engagement and goes so far as to cause
Charlie an allergic shock a day before the wedding. The story makes use of a
number of clichés (the abandoned mother, the sick mother, the hysteric
mother) to represent Viola as a monstrous figure who is out to get the pure
yet decisive Charlie. On the other hand, Lisa seems much more in control.
Her efforts to put her son back on the right track involve serious talks with
David, while her own, real feelings are externalized through stereotypical
reactions such as crying, heavy sighing and panic attacks.
Viola and Lisa perpetuate the myth of the bad mother who thinks she is
protecting her off springs, when in fact she is smothering them. Their
successful careers, the fact they are the main breadwinners of their families is
overlooked in favor of the narrative’s insistence on their pathological need to
control their sons’ lives. The narrative implies that despite the professional
success older women may have attained, motherhood continues to constitute
an arena of control exertion and absolute manipulation. In a way, Viola and
Lisa are softer representations of the ultimate, freaky mother in Throw
Momma From The Train (1987). In Danny de Vito’s story of an aspiring
writer who lives with his abusive mother, Anne Ramsey plays Momma as a
true monster. With her greasy hair, overweight and awkwardly-shaped body,
she is an ungainly image of a woman who belittles her son every chance she
gets. The ancient Greek dramatist Menander believed that the three sources
of evil in the world were fire, woman and the sea; Momma’s grotesque figure
is the perfect proof of this claim which unfortunately still echoes in
contemporary cinema.
1.2. The Evils of Female Power and Seduction
Romantic comedies have always regarded the main heroine as an
intelligent and dynamic creature who should get what she deserves. In the
majority of the cases, the main heroine is endowed with mostly positive
qualities, while the evil female usually provides the necessary narrative
support. An exception to this norm is My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006), a film
which places a neurotic, comic-like stereotype of a woman at its center. GGirl (Uma Thurman) is a sexy super heroine who catches thieves, prevents
missile crisis and is adored by the city’s population while causing sexual
fantasies with her inappropriate for the job mini skirts and sexy outfits. GGirl’s Clark Kent is Jenny Johnson, an awkward assistant curator at an art
gallery. Matt (Luke Wilson) meets her in the subway and asks her out.
Despite her obvious lack of people’s skills, Matt and Jenny become a couple.
In their first sexual encounter, Jenny enjoys herself so much that she breaks
the bed. “I’ll get you a new one”, says Jenny to her overwhelmed partner who
retorts: “A bed or a penis?” Her obvious satisfaction and uninhibited sexual
behaviour as well as Matt’s frightened reaction confirm that “even after four
decades of feminism that have deeply transformed US culture, woman’s
sexuality is still perceived as a threat”4 which has to be eliminated for the
male to regain his superior position. That is why, just after a few dates and
Jenny’s revelation of her true identity, Matt’s initial excitement wears off, as
she shows signs of irrational jealousy. Their breakup is followed by Jenny’s
wrath and her attempts to destroy Matt’s life which include even her
throwing a shark into his apartment. Jenny is clearly not your average super
hero, as she combines the power of Wonder Woman with Alex Forrest’s
(Glenn Close) psychopathology in Fatal Attraction (1987). It is true that the
alter egos of the traditional male super heroes also have flaws - Peter Parker
(Spiderman) is shy and introverted, Tony Stark (Ironman) and Bruce Wayne
(Batman) are notorious womanisers, Bruce Banner (Hulk) has psychological
issues - but Jenny’s (G-Girl) downside is pushed to extremes: she is
portrayed as a hysteric, she-devil who uses her super powers for purely
selfish reasons and more importantly she wants to hurt another human being.
Her evil nature and the sexist approach the narrative pursues immediately
cancel all the good she has offered the city and reduce her to the cliché of a
hysteric woman who cannot accept she was dumped by a man. Power,
whether supernatural or professional is still considered a male privilege and
G-Girl’s villainous character is the proof.
Jenny may not be the average bright and positive heroine of romantic
comedies, since the villainous, female characters associated with the genre,
are reserved for supporting roles and serve two purposes: they make the main
heroine shine even more and they maintain the norms of patriarchy by being
punished for their success and/or masculine traits. I could not, of course,
disregard the significant progress that has taken place as far as positive
portrayals of independent, and strong women are concerned in the
contemporary romantic comedy; yet textual analysis repeatedly reveals a well
known double standard: Women are still considered evil just because they
carry traits people deem constructive in men, especially in the business
world. When Andy (Anne Hathaway) tries to defend her monstrous boss,
Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), in The Devil Wears Prada (2006), she says:
“If she were a man, the only thing people would talk about is how good she is
at her job.” Miranda is indeed a menacing individual. As portrayed by Meryl
Streep, she is a deliciously cruel yet elegant woman who always speaks softly
yet manages to insult and humiliate her subordinates with the greatest of
ease. Her dictatorial ways and her unrealistic demands such as getting back
from Miami during a thunderstorm or getting the next Harry Potter
unpublished manuscript for her twin daughters have earned her the title of
dragon lady and monster, often heard in the dialogues. Yet, no one seems to
talk about her hard work, her well-deserved influence or her obvious
intelligence, and strength. In other words, her masculine side that positions
her in the public sphere and withdraws her from the traditional feminine
domestic sphere is also responsible for her consideration as a vicious monster
and not a prominent professional. Even though Miranda’s devilish qualities
do sometimes appear tempting, the narrative does not allow Andy, the real
heroine, to be trapped into becoming her new version.
Professional female power may turn women into monsters but business
clout is less frequently reserved for them. What has by definition underlined
cinematic feminine evil is the art of seduction and sexuality. These evil
women lure males in order to extract money or power and they are not absent
from the romantic comedies of the new millennium. Catherine Zeta-Jones
gave us two different versions of the evil seductress in America’s
Sweethearts (2001) and Intolerable Cruelty (2003). In the latter film, ZetaJones plays Marilyn. Just like the real Marilyn Monroe, Zeta-Jones’ Marilyn
is a strikingly beautiful and sexual woman, who enchants men with incredible
effortlessness. Her main occupation is marrying rich husbands with the sole
purpose of divorcing them to get half of their assets, her “passport to wealth,
independence and freedom.” Her man-eating habits are immediately spotted
by Miles Massey (George Clooney), her first husband’s notorious divorce
lawyer. Marilyn unwillingly stumbles upon a worthy adversary, and the rest
of the narrative follows her trials to finally get her passport while avenging
Miles who left her penniless after her first marriage. Although Marilyn is
clearly a very bright woman, the narrative dictates she use all her mental
capabilities for intrigue, deception and hypocrisy. Conveying the old message
that a beautiful woman is conniving and manipulative, the film perpetuates
the myth of the inherent evils female sexuality carry. Similarly, in America’s
Sweethearts Zeta-Jones plays Gwen Harrison, an American film star who has
broken up with her equally famous husband, only to discover that her
popularity has shrunk because the audience was mainly enthralled by their
on-screen chemistry. She is persuaded by her sister and personal assistant
Kiki (Julia Roberts) to attend a press junket with Eddie to promote their last
film. Apart from the satire targeted at the excessively pampered Hollywood
superstars, the narrative portrays Gwen as a spoilt and sly woman who uses
her feminine sexuality as a weapon to hold her egotistical interests intact. She
is so narcissistic that she even uses her sister as just one of her servants on the
payroll to satisfy her every whim, hurting her at the same time. This conduct
helps to reinforce her monstrous side all the more. More importantly, Gwen
is not only behaving abominably towards men but she even turns against her
own sex and her own flesh and blood. Thus, she is guilty of betrayal of
sisterhood in her effort to maintain her star status.
This kind of female hostility and duplicity is even more evident in the
teen romantic comedy Mean Girls (2004). The film follows Cady’s (Lindsay
Lohan) integration into the American high school system after many years of
home-schooling in Africa. The new girl is immediately rejected by the
majority of the cliques until she is discovered by the Plastics, the “teen
royalty” of the school. “Evil takes a human form in Regina”, says one of her
only two friends. Indeed, Regina (Rachel McAdams) is the quintessential
queen bee, the undisputed puppeteer of the high school universe. A girl from
a wealthy family, Regina destroys the lives of those who bother her and she
talks behind everyone’s back. Cady enters this unknown girl world with a
plan; assisted by Janis (Lizzy Caplan) she is determined to overthrow this
teen “dictator” by “cutting off her resources”. Mean Girls is not just a
superficial film text about girls against girls in an endless popularity contest.
The film serves as yet another proof of how patriarchal hegemony and
capitalism have come to use teenage girls in their insatiable appetite for
social order maintenance and profit respectively. By creating antagonism
among teenage girls, patriarchy wishes to ensure that the friction and
animosity will follow women in their adult lives, dividing them and
preventing them from achieving unity. Despite the fact that the end of Mean
Girls seems to restore the initial female antagonism and appeases the evil
protagonists, it also leaves a window open for the continuation of the same
animosity since a new group of Plastics has already formed in the junior
class.
2.
Conclusion
These briefly discussed romantic comedies include evil female
characters which perpetuate myths patriarchy desperately needs to cling to in
order to survive. The obsessive mother, the manic workaholic, the conniving
seductress and the manipulative teenager are stereotypes which are used to
attach negative characteristics to women and turn them into paradigms to
avoid. In the context of the 21st century romantic comedy, where strong,
independent women traditionally thrive, the insertion of wicked female
representations does more than simply spice up the narrative. If we accept the
statement that “each film is only as good as its villain”5, then it could be
argued that these wonderfully sinister women negate the positive aspects of
the virtuous heroines and serve as cautionary tales for the male and female
audience alike. In addition, in the films where the evil female is the main
protagonist – as is the case in My Super Ex-Girlfriend and Intolerable Cruelty
- Jenny and Marilyn are transformed into good-natured companions through
the love of the male. No emphasis is given on the fact that both these men are
also shrewd and self-serving as the accent is placed upon the only way a
female monster can turn into the ultimate wife, friend, and lover: the male
prince charming. Patriarchy still needs women to be kept at home, despite its
efforts to prove otherwise. In a neo-conservative era, film often serves as a
reflector of societal circumstances and less often as an oracle of the future
status. Kaplan has already stressed that along with the social and political
institutions, “the Hollywood cinema is as responsible as anything for
perpetuating the useless patriarchal myths.”6 Representations of evil
femininity in such a popular genre as that of the romantic comedy prove that
many more steps are to be taken for women to stand unashamed and proud of
their professional and sexual choices whatever those may be.
FILMOGRAPHY
Coen, Joel. Director.
Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
Production Companies: Universal, Imagine Entertainment, Alphaville Films,
Mike Zoss Productions.
Script: Robert Ramsey, Matthew Stone, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen.
Cast: George Clooney (Miles), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Marylin), Geoffrey
Rush (Donovan Donaly), Cedric the Entertainer (Gus Petch), Edward
Herrmann (Rex Rexroth), Paul Adelstein (Wrigley), Richard Jenkins (Freddy
Bender) and Billy Bob Thornton (Howard D. Doyle).
Duration: 100 min.
DeVito, Danny. Director.
Throw Momma from the Train ,1987.
Production Company: Orion.
Script: Stu Silver.
Cast: Danny DeVito (Owen), Billy Crystal (Larry), Kim Greist (Beth), Anne
Ramsey (Momma), Kate Mulgrew (Margaret), Branford Marsalis (Lester),
Rob Reiner (Joel), Bruce Kirby (Detective DeBenedetto), Joey DePinto
(Sargeant), Annie Ross (Mrs. Hazeltine), Raye Birk (Pinsky)
Duration: 88 min.
Frankel, David. Director.
The Devil Wears Prada (2006).
Production Companies: Fox 2000 Pictures, 20th Century Fox Film
Corporation.
Script: Aline Brosh McKenna based on the novel by Lauren Weisberger
Cast: Meryl Streep (Miranda Priestly), Anne Hathaway (Andy Sachs),
Stanley Tucci (Nigel), Emily Blunt (Emily), Simon Baker (Christian
Thompson) and Adrian Grenier (Nate).
Duration: 109 min.
Luketic, Robert. Director.
Monster-in-Law (2005).
Production Companies: BenderSpink, Kumar Mobiliengesellschaft mbH &
Co., Projekt Nr. 1 KG, New Line Cinema, Spring Creek Productions
Script: Anya Kochoff
Cast: Jennifer Lopez (Charlie), Jane Fonda (Viola), Michael Vartan (Kevin),
Wanda Sykes (Ruby), Elaine Stritch (Gertrude), Adam Scott (Remy), Monet
Mazur (Fiona), Annie Parisse (Morgan) and Will Arnett (Kitt).
Duration: 101 min.
Reitman, Ivan. Director.
My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006)
Production Companies: S E Productions Inc., New Regency Pictures, Pariah,
Regency Enterprises
Script: Don Payne.
Cast: Uma Thurman (Jenny Johnson / G-Girl), Luke Wilson (Matt Saunders),
Anna Faris (Hannah Lewis), Rainn Wilson (Vaughn Haige), Eddie Izzard
(Professor Bedlam / Barry), Mark Consuelos (Steve), Wanda Sykes (Carla
Dunkirk)
Duration: 97 min.
Roth, Joe. Director.
America Sweethearts, 2001.
Production Companies: Revolution Studios, Face Productions, Roth-Arnold
Productions.
Script: Billy Crystal and Peter Tolan
Cast: Julia Roberts (Kiki Harrison), Billy Crystal (Lee Phillips), Catherine
Zeta-Jones (Gwen Harrison), John Cusack (Eddie Thomas), Hank Azaria
(Hector), Christopher Walken (Hal Weidmann), Alan Arkin (Wellness
Guide), Seth Green (Danny Wax) and Stanley Tucci (Dave Kingman).
Duration: 102 min.
Waters, Mark. Director.
Mean Girls, 2004.
Production Companies: Paramount Pictures, M.G. Films, Broadway Video.
Script: Tina Fey based on the book Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your
Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of
Adolescence by Rosalind Wiseman.
Cast: Lindsay Lohan (Cady Heron), Rachel McAdams (Regina George), Tina
Fey (Ms. Norbury), Tim Meadows (Mr. Duvall), Amy Poehler (Mrs.
George), Ana Gasteyer (Cady's Mom), Lacey Chabert (Gretchen Wieners),
Lizzy Caplan (Janis Ian), Daniel Franzese (Damian), Neil Flynn (Cady's
Dad), Jonathan Bennett (Aaron Samuels) and Amanda Seyfried (Karen
Smith).
Duration: 97 min.
Younger, Ben. Director.
Prime (2005).
Production companies: Prime Film Productions LLC, Stratus Film Co., Team
Todd, Focus Features, Younger Than You.
Script: Ben Younger.
Cast: Uma Thurman (Rafi Gardet), Meryl Streep (Lisa Metzger), Bryan
Greenberg (David Bloomberg), Jon Abrahams (Morris), Zak Orth (Randall),
Annie Parisse (Katherine), Aubrey Dollar (Michelle), Jerry Adler (Sam),
Doris Belack (Blanche), Ato Essandoh (Damien), Naomi Aborn (Dinah
Bloomberg).
Duration: 105 min.
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Author identification
Dr. Betty Kaklamanidou teaches film history and theory at the Film Studies
Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. She is the
author of When Film Met Literature and Introduction to the Hollywood
Romantic Comedy.
NOTES
1
The financial data for the films were drawn from the Box Office Mojo
database (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/). It should be noted that the
majority of the films discussed in the paper surpassed the 100 million dollar
barrier in admissions worldwide and can be considered box office hits
considering their much lower budget.
2
A Kaplan, ‘The Case of the Missing Mother: Maternal Issues in Vidor’s
Stella Dallas’, in Feminism & Film, E. Ann Kaplan (ed.), Oxford University
Press, Oxford, 2000, p. 468.
3
A Kaplan, ‘The Case of the Missing Mother: Maternal Issues in Vidor’s
Stella Dallas’, in Feminism & Film, E. Ann Kaplan (ed.), Oxford University
Press, Oxford, 2000, p. 468.
4
A Henry, ‘Orgasms and Empowerment: Sex and the City and the third wave
feminism’, in Reading Sex and the City, Kim Akass and Janet McCabe (eds.),
I. B. Tauris, London, 2004, pp. 82.
5
R Ebert, Review of Star Trek II, January 1, 1982. March 23 2009.
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19820101/REVIE
WS/201010345/1023
6
Kaplan, Ann E., 2000. “The Case of the Missing Mother: Maternal Issues in
Vidor’s Stella Dallas”, in Feminism & Film (E. Ann Kaplan ed.), Oxford:
Oxford University Press. 466-478. 467-8.