Sunday, February 17, 2013

The Most Bechdel-y AFI 100 Movies

1.All About Eve- Movie about women treat eachother when fame and men and power are on the line. But I mean that in a good way. This movie is the bomb, and pretty much the best for women on the whole list.
2. Bonnie and Clyde- Actual dynamic and tension-filled relationship between two flawed but well-rounded characters. Two great performances as well.
3. Philidelphia Story- Mother and two daughters talking to each other like actual family members do (though you don't want to think too hard about Katherine Hepburn's accent and the other's lackthereof).
4. The Sound of Music- How do you solve a problem like Maria? A lot of films could really sidestep their Bechdel problems with a chorus of nuns.
5. Swing Time- Ginger and her older lady friend. Both of them are sassy and genuinely unimpressed by the men dancing around them. Funny, and the best any Fred and Ginger movie did at showing off the awesomeness of Ginger.
6. Wizard of Oz- Man, I never thought about this before, but there are a ton of ladies dominating this sstory. And even though Dorothy rolls with a male entourage, she often gets to be the hero of her own story. Plus, the women aren't around only for romantical purposes.
7. Bringing up Baby- Katherine Hepburn and an old aunt. The Bechdel scale is helped by some awkward dinner conversation, but KH is the bomb in this movie, which changed my opinion on her forever.
8. Cabaret- Ahhh Liza, just amazing. This one frontloads the fellas, but it passes the test, even if only by a hair.
9.  Singin in the Rain- Ok, I can't actually say this for sure! The girls talk about how one has to sing for the other right? They are both present for that conversation? Talk about getting by by a hair, but there are some fun parts for women in that movie.
10. Some Like it Hot- A hoot and the women essentially steal the show. Only one of the 4 leads is a woman, but most of the rest of the ensemble is female, and plenty get their moment to shine. Plus, there is lots of talk about drinking, to balance out the talking about men.

Doesn't Pass the Bechdel Test, but has an Awesome Lady Character
The African Queen- Katherine again. In this movie's defense, there are really only two characters, so 50% of the screen share isn't bad at all. Great romantic movie because of the age and orneriness of its leads.
Network- Faye Dunaway is great in this (and she does talk to the Black radical Laureen HObbs briefly I think, but Beatrice Straight won an oscar for 5 minutes of screen time and she earned it.
The Graduate- Again, maybe the women do talk to each other, but its not outstanding enough in the plot for me to remember. But kudos to them for having 2 female characters.
It Happened One Night- Claudette Colbert comes off as a little cliche, but I wonder if it just that people have now been copying this movie for 60 years.
Lord of the Rings-3 ladies- never talk or see each other, but each is a bit of a badass and has some narrative sway.
Star Wars- Leia's the bomb. Again, maybe some brief lady to lady conversation, but I don't remember it.
Annie Hall- Woodt Allen is a lot of things, but he can write great parts for women. It's no Hannah and her Sisters or even Manhattan, but Dianne Keaton's Annie is still a pretty great character.

Ok, this may seem pretty promising, but I have seen 43 of these movies so far, and I think it would be tough to make a solid argument for any of the others. And you know I have been putting off the ones where there are no women given any sort of billing for the movie. I will let you know if anything surprises me.

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