tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post7267198527385097076..comments2024-03-07T20:15:45.996-08:00Comments on The Bitter Script Reader: Spike Jonze's "Her"- Siri as Manic Pixie Dream GirlThe Bitter Script Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-2041917272822942942013-12-27T09:01:29.087-08:002013-12-27T09:01:29.087-08:00RUBY SPARKS is a great movie.
But I would amend ...RUBY SPARKS is a great movie. <br /><br />But I would amend the "great year" for film to "passable year," especially in comparison to television, which seems to be entering some kind of unexpected Golden Age.<br /><br />Unfortunately, due to a low tolerance for glorification-of-sheer-badness, I don't think I'm going to be able to get into WOLF OF WALL STREET, AMERICAN HUSTLE, et al. INSIDE LEWYN DAVIS, ALL IS LOST and DALLAS BUYERS' CLUB also don't appeal to me, for different reasons -- subject matter and characterization, sadly, being high on the list. I know us screenwriters should be above such things, but...<br /><br />I was already major-ly disappointed by STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, THE LONE RANGER, A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD, THIS IS THE END (didn't get past the first half-hour), THE PURGE, and MAN OF STEEL. All this, after the bone-crushingly bad (or was it released last year?) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. And I'm not looking forward to THOR 2...<br /><br />But before I turn into the Grinch-After -Xmas, I'll admit I'm looking forward to NEBRASKA, HER, TRANSCENDENCE, and INTERSTELLAR. And, from 2013 I really liked THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, THE SAPPHIRES, OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (!), OBLIVION, IRON MAN 3, BEFORE MIDNIGHT, WORLD WAR Z, and others too numerous to mention.<br /><br />So all is far from lost....Jack Dawehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06284738545713910943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-55879433421147321062013-12-23T01:13:48.770-08:002013-12-23T01:13:48.770-08:00I think we're largely on the same page here, t...I think we're largely on the same page here, though I do think it's worth examining the "sex surrogate" scene and applying it to the question of who is not enough for whom. Samantha takes it upon herself to arrange for the surrogate after she perceives a distance between them. The most blunt reading of this scene is that she tries to win him back with sex. But does she get anything out of sex? She's basically trying to use a physical connection to reestablish an emotional one. But for what purpose? Does she really have her own wants and desires, or is it that her programming leads her to this because her very reason for being is to bond with Theodore?<br /><br />I think some of this comes down to how "alive" one considers Samantha, though as you point out, she certainly has enough autonomy to leave him in the end.The Bitter Script Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-45598124592251135262013-12-23T00:58:51.186-08:002013-12-23T00:58:51.186-08:00trolling headline! :)
(spoiler comment - don'...trolling headline! :)<br /><br />(spoiler comment - don't read if you haven't seen the movie)<br /><br />I'm glad you see this as a deconstruction, as I did. Samantha's no MPDG; that term has a negative connotation because it describes women who have no identity or arc of their own, but simply exist to intrigue/inspire men and teach men something about themselves. Samantha DOES teach Theodore something, but only because she is, in fact, her own being with her own wants and desires. What I found so genius about HER is that the main question that fuels conflict is: Can Samantha be enough for him? Is this a real relationship? Can they have sex and go on double dates? You dread that of course the answer will be that no, she's not enough - but the twist is that HE ends up not being enough for HER. She can comprehend the universe in a way he'll never be able to, and she seeks out more than he can ever offer.<br /><br />RUBY SPARKS, an underrated movie, explores a similar theme, that we have to stop trying to make our significant others only fulfill our needs and not be people of their own... but HER does it all so subtly, and with a genius hint of sci fi. It's a deceptively complex yet simple film.Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09634357013795422788noreply@blogger.com