In a lot of comedies, they kind of take all the problems away from the women. They give her great clothes, great hair; she almost always owns an artisanal shop, like a cheese shop in Manhattan.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I think there are opportunities for women in comedies - how zany is up to them.
There are still movies where females are just there to be cool, or they are there to lambaste their husbands and scold. But female comedy characters are changing for the better.
What they do in America in all those sitcoms is hire glamorous girls and they're never that funny... that's because they've never had to develop a personality because they're hot.
It's very hard for a woman in comedy. It's hard for women to be bold and not care what anyone, particularly men, think. Maybe that is why so many women comics are lesbians.
I grew up in a time when women didn't really do comedy. You had to be homely, overweight, an old maid, all that. You had to play a stereotype, because very attractive women were not supposed to be funny - because it's powerful; it's a threat.
You know how few movies there are in the world about women and their work? I mean, it's like 'Silkwood' and 'Erin Brokovich.' There are exceptions, but they are so exceptional.
Especially in comedies, I think a lot of time the female characters are there to provide a balance for guys.
Comedy's really about not being afraid to look terrible, look ugly, look silly, make fun of yourself. And that's something that women are just not socialized to do. But more women are doing it, and more women have examples of women doing it brilliantly.
I think Amy Poehler and Tina Fey have done so much for women in comedy in the sense that they've normalized it. You don't think, 'I'm going to watch that comedy starring a woman,' you think, 'I'm going to watch that funny show.' They refuse to play the foils for men, or be reduced to the butt of every joke, and I love that about both of them.
A woman doing comedy doesn't offend me, but sets me back a bit. I, as a viewer, have trouble with it. I think of her as a producing machine that brings babies in the world.