20160129 (chick-flicks)

Amy Adams--and she sings, too

I became enamored of Amy Adams

From American Hustle in which she

Played a softer version of the smart,

Tough as nails, con artist Annette 

Bening portrayed in The Grifters.

Then when I saw her again as 

An idealistic young nun in Doubt 

Opposite Meryl Streep, I became

Something of a fan, convinced of

Her acting versatility. I remained

By every measure the same dirty 

Old man who cannot turn

Away from a beautiful face—

Euphemism for her entrancing

Beauty—euphemism for, well,

You know what. Which is how

I came to see her again in Julie

& Julia, the first film from my

List of holds at the local library.

Had I realized it was a product of

Nora Ephron, Queen of Chick-

Flickerdom, I would have been

Forewarned. Ms. Ephron is 

Famous for When Harry met

Sally, Sleepless in Seattle,

You’ve Got Mail, and many

Other romantic comedies.

In J&J, unlike Doubt, Adams

And Streep are never on the

Screen together because the

Stories occur fifty years apart.

Only days earlier I had learned

Of the Bechdel-Wallace Test for

Feminist portrayal of women in

Art—movies, novels, stories.

First, there must be two women

Characters sufficiently integral

To the story as to be “named”

In the cast. Second, they must

Have a significant conversation

Vital to the storyline which—third,

Is NOT about men. B-WT is not a

Reliable indicator. In Doubt

Streep and Adams have a lot of

Dialog but little of it is apart from

The guilt or innocence of the priest.

In J&J Streep and Adams never

Meet although each has separately

Significant dialog with other 

Women characters. Thankfully

Neither film has the reliable

Tear-jerking grief of other

Famed fem-flicks as Terms of

Endearment, or Beaches. Just

As thankfully the women are

Independent, gifted, intelligent,

Admirable characters on their 

Own who grow and develop. 

That their men are distinctly 

In the back seat in J&J is 

Mitigated by their strong support

Of their respective beloveds. 

Included in the film list, however,

Was 1999’s Drop Dead Gorgeous,

In which Adams peripherally 

Played a brainless bimbo par

Excellence. She did her job

In this hopefully forgettable

Black comedy by woman

Writer-director Lona Williams.

Roger Ebert said of it at the time

“It sounds much better on paper

Than it looks on film.” Adams,

Only 25 at the time, was still

Building her portfolio and

Appeared with other names—

Barkin, Janney, Dunst. It can be 

Excused if not forgiven.

Everybody needs the money. If

Chick-flicks occlude the male

Intellect DDG obliterates it. 

Tim Burton’s Big Eyes with

Adams as Margaret Keane

Saved the day.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016