Defend the Indefensible: films in which gorgeous, independent, "edgy" women have nothing better to do than break uptight whiny squares out of their bubbles

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ethan hawke's character also not an uptight whiney square

horseshoe, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 13:49 (thirteen years ago) link

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/problemchild.jpg

Films in which gorgeous, independent, "edgy" children have nothing better to do than break uptight whiny squares out of their bubbles.

Hongro Horace (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 13:52 (thirteen years ago) link

look who's talking obv

k¸ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 13:54 (thirteen years ago) link

has anyone mentioned BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE yet? because that one.

bonus: dude is blind

The Great Jumanji, (La Lechera), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 13:55 (thirteen years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrKwSacntb8

Oh PLEASE WE'RE JUST HAVING KICKS!

The Great Jumanji, (La Lechera), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 13:56 (thirteen years ago) link

ethan hawke's character also not an uptight whiney square

Cross out "uptight".

Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 13:57 (thirteen years ago) link

movies in which blind al pacinos break uptight whiny squares out of there bubbles

k¸ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 13:58 (thirteen years ago) link

there

k¸ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 13:58 (thirteen years ago) link

he's not really a square...i guess you could call him whiney but he doesn't seem unjustifiedly so. i dislike ethan hawke in general but he is p likable in those movies.

xxp to Alfred

horseshoe, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 13:59 (thirteen years ago) link

think soto means he is uptight but not the other two

acoleuthic, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 14:02 (thirteen years ago) link

I mean that he wasn't whiney winegarten

Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 14:08 (thirteen years ago) link

This is a great idea for a genre, and I know I've seen numerous films over the years that belong. I'd need a while to work up a list. One that jumps out is The Sterile Cuckoo, although with qualifications; Liza Minelli's edginess is (if I have this right--it's been a while) tied in with deeper emotional issues, and you wouldn't call her conventionally gorgeous.

clemenza, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 14:24 (thirteen years ago) link

Ok, but you seem a little het up about this. I mean, how long does bowling take? Surely at some point women who seek relationships do make time for some bowling, right?

― kenan, Wednesday, September 8, 2010 2:22 AM Bookmark

OK, but I'm not objecting to the idea that at some point in the relationship they go bowling - - - it's this sequence where she's like "You're cute. You wanna go bowling Tuesday?" the guy, you know, he's in his tie and is really flustered and unsure and is like "i've never, uh i've never been uh, b-b-bowling" and she finds this really attractive and charming rather than being like "Who the fuck has never been bowling?" And this is fine as one moment in the story, but it's repeated in larger scale across their entire relationship, the woman is initiating and forcing through everything.

ex Will Ferrell is an asshole tax auditor who has never had a chocolate chip cookie. Maggie Gyllenhaal, a hip bohemian baker businesswoman, finds this irresistible:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rCmX-TAl1w

Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 14:49 (thirteen years ago) link

I mean, I want Maggie Gyllenhaal to force-feed me chocolate chip cookies as much as the next guy but it just reaches a point of ridiculousness.

Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 14:50 (thirteen years ago) link

Films in which gorgeous, independent, "edgy" cats in hats have nothing better to do than break uptight whiny squares out of their bubbles.

Olde Executioner 8hundo (Eazy), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 14:54 (thirteen years ago) link

films in which gorgeous kansas barns have nothing better to do than break uptight whiny witches out of their ruby slippers

k¸ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 14:56 (thirteen years ago) link

http://www.fusedfilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/midnight_run_1988_685x385.jpg

Films in which gorgeous, independent, "podgy" accountants have nothing better to do than break uptight whiny squares out of their bubbles

Hongro Horace (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 14:59 (thirteen years ago) link

fight club

ground zero μ-Ziq (kkvgz), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 15:01 (thirteen years ago) link

Films in which gorgeous, independent, 'edgy' cops have nothing to do than to break uptight whiny squares out of their bubbles

http://www.awardsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Bad_Lieutenant_Nicolas_Cage.jpg

k¸ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 15:01 (thirteen years ago) link

1 scene i remember liking in "the last kiss" the zach braff movie that is mostly terrible is kinda the opposite of this phenomenon where the younger, "edgy" chick shows up at his office to give him a mix cd and he sees how ridiculous she is cuz of the real life shit he has goin on

dont recall at all if he was a whiny square, can only assume probably

johnny crunch, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 15:02 (thirteen years ago) link

he was a whiny square.

a cankle of rads (Gukbe), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 15:34 (thirteen years ago) link

zach braff, a whiney square? never

cozen, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 15:35 (thirteen years ago) link

dude's been typecast, it's a real shame

k¸ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 15:36 (thirteen years ago) link

yeah he could've been the next John Heard

Shit Cat and Party (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 15:37 (thirteen years ago) link

The mid 80s sub-genre that included After Hours(1984) Something Wild(1986) and the lesser known Into The Night(1985) by John Landis was known as 'Urban Nightmare'. It seems to be a forgotten sub-genre as there's very little about it on the net but all 3 of those movies feature the gorgeous independent women and whiny squares of the thread title. I think Into The Night may even have been the *best* of these. Anyone remember it?

piscesx, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 16:16 (thirteen years ago) link

ya vaguely

no way it was better than after hours tho

snrub-n-tug (s1ocki), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 16:21 (thirteen years ago) link

Hm i remember loving it as a kid. It had David Bowie in it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lVkYr6alfE

piscesx, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 16:22 (thirteen years ago) link

i had not heard of that. have added to lovefilm list. david cronenberg is in it. and jonathan demme. and david bowie. and a whole bunch of people.

'after hours' and 'something wild' are dope and way over the dreadful nathan rabin's head.

The sulky expression from the hilarious "Aubrey Plaza" persona (history mayne), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 16:22 (thirteen years ago) link

If you liked those 2 you'll like this a lot i'd imagine. Being made by Landis the comedy is broader than in the other 2 movies, in fact even the 'nightmareish' stuff is all played a lot more for laughs but i'm always surprised no-one seems to have seen it. 'Something Wild' was on tons in the 90s on the BBC.

Another meme in these movies is surprise-nudity but then that might be beacuse it was the mid 1980s. There's a thread on IMDB about this film called 'Did anyone else just watch this to see Michelle Pfeiffer Nude?' typically enough.

piscesx, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 16:34 (thirteen years ago) link

"Has this genre ever overlapped with films in which independent, "edgy" rookie cop has nothing better to do than break uptight whiny square cop near retirement of his bubble?"

I just watched Point Break, and thought Lori Petty might be the manic pixie, but it turned out to really be Patrick Swayze.

Philip Nunez, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 17:08 (thirteen years ago) link

^ good analysis

k¸ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 17:17 (thirteen years ago) link

that crappy Along Came Polly movie was this to a T.

Bo Jackson Cruise Control (San Te), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 17:18 (thirteen years ago) link

Can't remember if I've seen Into the Night right thru but was aware of its existence. It can't be as brilliant as After Hours which is so gleefully malicious to its protagonist as to not belong in this genre at all.

Shit Cat and Party (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 17:19 (thirteen years ago) link

oh man Into the Night!! such a ridiculous movie, so many pointless cameos, convoluted plot, tons of running around LA at night. It is definitely of a piece with After Hours (altho probably not as good - I haven't seen it in at least 10 years)

Dr. Lol Evans (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 17:28 (thirteen years ago) link

Y tu mamá también

Mosquepanik at Ground Zero (abanana), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 17:49 (thirteen years ago) link

Barefoot in the Park was the classic 60s take on this. I remember it being kind of annoying but with some good Neil Simon lines.From the Wikipedia plot summary:

"Stuffed-shirt Paul is a hard-working young attorney just starting his practice, while spontaneous bride Corie is determined to create a romantic environment in one room with no heat, a hole in the skylight, and oddball neighbors. The title refers to Paul's becoming drunk, throwing caution to the wind and running barefoot in Washington Square Park in response to his wife's repeated complaints about his sober and cautious demeanor."

kerrazy

Haunted Clocks For Sale (Dorianlynskey), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 17:58 (thirteen years ago) link

i wish i lived in greenwich village in the 60s

snrub-n-tug (s1ocki), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 17:59 (thirteen years ago) link

http://auteurs_production.s3.amazonaws.com/stills/47671/whats-up-doc-1972.jpg

buzza, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 18:00 (thirteen years ago) link

Does Breakfast at Tiffanys fit in here?

ailsa, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 18:01 (thirteen years ago) link

breakfast at tiffanys is sort of a subcategory, like cabaret, where the male characters were originally gay before the movie adaptation made them straight

snrub-n-tug (s1ocki), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 18:02 (thirteen years ago) link

jeez what's up doc is the obvious example, how did that take so long

k¸ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 18:06 (thirteen years ago) link

maybe barbra isn't gorgeous ; )

buzza, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 18:12 (thirteen years ago) link

true

k¸ (darraghmac), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 18:14 (thirteen years ago) link

It's been ages since I saw it, but would The Lady Eve be a definitive example?

clemenza, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 18:14 (thirteen years ago) link

isn't the main guy (michael york) in Cabaret 'not straight' in the film too?

piscesx, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 18:14 (thirteen years ago) link

I could see where The Lady Eve could be considered a mpdg movie, but I think the plot is more focused on the character development of Eve/Jean than anything else so I don't know if it would really count.

(¬_¬) (Nicole), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 18:18 (thirteen years ago) link

Not exactly the premise in the thread title, but Travels With My Aunt.

Donovan Dagnabbit (WmC), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 18:31 (thirteen years ago) link


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