Judd Apatow Writes Good Female Roles—For Leslie Mann
Posted by: Jessica Wakeman
Filed in:
celebs
4:40PM, Thursday July 30th 2009
We’re sick and tired of the “Is Judd Apatow A Sexist Pig Because His Main Characters Are Loser Guys Who Date Women Who Are Too Good For Them?” debate.
No, he’s not. True, Katherine Heigl said “Knocked Up” was “a little sexist.” But that woman complains about everything.
Nevertheless, whether or not Apatow’s a sexist pig has taken on a life of its own and become something he has to answer for. Earlier this week at a screening of his latest film, “Funny People,” Apatow told an audience:
“I think, really, what a lot of these issues are is that women are romanticized in movies. [My] movies go pretty hard at having women have as many problems as men. They make mistakes that are as big as men’s. So when someone says ‘Knocked Up’ seems sexist, I’m like, ‘Really?’ I mean, Seth [Rogen] has an earthquake, and he grabs his bong before his pregnant girlfriend. That’s pretty bad. But I try to weigh it evenly so it’s not really about men or women; it’s just about miscommunications and us at our worst.”
His wife, Leslie Mann, spoke up today and agreed. “I kind of don’t know what [Heigl] was talking about,” Mann said. “I’m an actress reading scripts and I’ve seen what’s out there and it’s slim pickings. Judd does write great female parts.”
Well, that’s kind of true. There are some great female roles in Apatow films. But look more closely: Who were the stars of “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”? A bunch of men, Catherine Keener, Jane Lynch, and Leslie Mann. Of “Knocked Up”? A bunch of men, Katherine Heigl, and Leslie Mann. Of “Funny People”? A bunch of men and Leslie Mann. Hm. It looks to me like Judd Apatow does write great female parts—for Leslie Mann.
It’s Apatow’s prerogative to cast whichever woman he would like in his movies, of course. But neither of them should kid themselves that Apatow’s giving work to as many women in Hollywood as he is to men.
In any case, wouldn’t it be more useful to stop putting all this focus on Apatow, who is casting a woman over 40 in his movies, and ask other writers and directors why most of their parts are for 22-year-olds?
TheFrisky.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network
lostrun
wrote on July 30 2009 @ 03:59 pm: [report]
I don’t think his movies are sexist. I think they’re real, and people don’t like that. There are a lot of men who put things (jobs, sports, friends, video games) before their wives/girlfriends. It would be nice if this wasn’t true, but it is. There are guys who prefer to play video games than have sex, and that is just wrong!
william.paul
wrote on July 30 2009 @ 04:22 pm: [report]
Is sexist the right word? I mean, some of his female characters have been more one dimensional than his male characters (and maybe I just relate to the male ones more). But I don’t think the female roles have been terribly degrading or unhinged.
I guess I agree that he writes good roles for his wife, but I don’t think hes trying to be sexist. He just isn’t the great a writer maybe.
LayD
wrote on July 30 2009 @ 04:48 pm: [report]
His movies are funny. They are creative and original. Honestly, I am watching the movies because they are funny. They are about guys and guy relationships. Yes, in “Knocked Up” it is about a couple who barely know eachother getting pregnant and dealing with it, but the best scenes are with the guys and how the guys deal with it. And the movie does show the woman not needing the man, not depedning on him, she is more successful than he is (even though they do end up together, but that was for love, not for dependence) I don’t think any of his movies degrade women. They are always strong characters, and how often do you see actresses as commidians? Catherine Kenner, Leslie Mann, and Jane Lynch are hilarious in their roles. Yes the men are getting girls that are way better looking than they are, and smarter, and cooler, but these women hold all the power in the relationships. I also think it is nice that all the guys in his movies aren’t the hottest actors, they are regular guys, just with a lot of talent!
sklut
wrote on July 30 2009 @ 07:16 pm: [report]
I think his movies are great. Why do we have to analyze everything? Can’t you just go to a movie, sit back, relax and laugh? Why does it have to be ‘real’? It’s not it’s just a movie even though his movies do touch on real life situations. I have a small Jew crush on Judd Apatow and he can spin my dradle anytime he likes.
Justine
wrote on July 30 2009 @ 09:11 pm: [report]
His movies are great but he should have more female roles beside Leslie Mann’s.
Ellis
wrote on July 30 2009 @ 10:01 pm: [report]
I recently heard an interview with him, and the way he spoke about his movies made me see them in a somewhat different light. He sees himself as making fun of sexist (immature/irresponsible/etc) men, showing what idiots they are, and telling stories about them finally growing up. I know that doesn’t quite cover all the controversial aspects of his movies, but it seemed like he was coming from a good place all the same. As far as not including many female characters, I sort of feel like the guy has a formula and knows how to work it. Let others make movies with strong female leads - if he can’t write funny movies with large female casts, he can’t. Sometimes people work like that, I’m okay with it.
At any rate, I feel like half of issues like this has to do with the mindsets of movie viewers. For example, I loved Anchorman because I thought it lampooned machismo and sexism. I knew some macho guys who loved it because it put machismo and sexism on display, and almost made it seem cool and funny instead of absurd and offensive. I’m sure people will differ in their views of Apatow movies in the same way.
titsmagee
wrote on July 31 2009 @ 05:42 am: [report]
Um…Leslie Mann is married to Judd Apatow. I think that’s a contributing factor here…
tabby
wrote on July 31 2009 @ 07:25 am: [report]
I just don’t find his type of humor to be funny. Quite frankly, I think he is a bit of a hack. But if low-brow humor is appealing to you, then you probably aren’t thinking too deeply about whether the content is sexist or not. He writes for his demographic, that of teenagers and immature 20-somethings. And he does a good job at it. He writes for guys about guy things. And he does a good job at it. His demographic doesn’t care that the women are boring one-dimensional characters and so why should he write any differently? Do we complain that Merchant Ivory films don’t have enough fart jokes or that the characters are too complex? No, because those films cater to their own demographic. Let the poor guy do what he does, just like any other filmmaker. If you don’t like his stuff, don’t watch it.
spinal11
wrote on July 31 2009 @ 10:13 am: [report]
I’m with Tabby…nobody goes to an Apatow movie for politically correct humor! Anyway the MEN in his movie are almost always portrayed as juvenile buffoons with no common sense, so I’m having a hard time seeing the sexism against women.
Heigl should be more worried about her latest movie, which (going by the previews) shows a “strong, independent” female producer reduced to wearing vibrating panties and acting like a dingbat to catch a man. Come on!