The 'Rich White People and their Problems' movie for this year
Amirite?
shareWell Nancy Meyers can't make a film every year.
shareTraditionally, in times of severe economic strife people for some reason are drawn to comedies about the flaws of the rich, especially the super rich. During the Great Depression these films pretty much ruled the box office and created a whole new genre called "Screwball Comedies."
Seeing as though things are about as bad as they have been since the Great Depression, it seems like a perfect time for a renaissance of such films. As far as the characters being white well, I think that's more your personal hang up.
This is a film written by (IMHO) a comedy writing genius, James L. Brooks. His films tend to be a bit more subtle in their comedy and dramatic content than studios think "urban audiences" will respond to. That's the execs' hang up.
OP,
Who is super rich or even rich? Paul Rudd and Reese are playing almost broke people (I'm not saying they are living on food vouchers though!). Owen is a rich baseball player but he plays a rich d0uche. Jack has a company; alright; but super rich, like himself in real life? No.
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I could'a been a contender
You've been trolled, dude, no point in asking for clarification.
shareI assume it does because if you really meant geography and not ethnicity then you wouldn't be using quotation marks.
For example, nobody would ever write: Action movies make most of their money "overseas."
They would write: Action movies make most of their money overseas.
Quotation marks are only used when you mean something else. Therefore, if you really meant Blacks or Blacks and Latinos then why not just say Blacks and Latinos?
After all, you aren't disparaging an ethnic group by saying that, just stating an empirical FACT. And who would that be offending -- and why?
It would be like me saying, "98 percent of American Jews are white" or "Most NBA players are black." Both remarks happen to be true, statistically, and therefore no euphemisms are required.
I used the quotation marks because the term "urban audiences" is a specific phrase used in business when discussing a specific target market. It is often used as code or a euphemism for people of color. This is often so white people can feel free to make generalizations without actually saying "blacks and latinos." It's cowardly and often under-the-table racist terminology when used that way.
shareI agree that it comes off as cowardly when used that way. PC terminology is having a terrible effect on human discourse.
shareThe movie is trying to capitalize on people's misery these days during the hard economic times.
That is why the protagonists namely: George is unemployed,broke and facing legal investigation; and Lisa has just been cut from the team and having a bad relationship with a narcissist ladies' man.
James L. Brooks wanted the viewers to feel for the characters.
The studios are right about the "urban" audiences. Look at all the reviews here and the bad box office. I very much enjoyed it however. And your description of Brooks subtlety is right on.
shareYes, during the Great Depression audiences flocked to screwball comedies about wealthy people, the difference is those films were and still are funny.
This one wasn't.
Well Nancy Meyers can't make a film every year.
...wins for funniest reply to this thread.
And as for the original post, do you really expect them to make a movie about rich people having problems where the characters are anything other than white?
But I think there's a good parody here. Funny or Die should film a "Rich White People and Their Problems" movie skit. It'd probably make more money than How Do You Know.
"Who cares? He's a cheeseburger." -- Stewie Griffinshare
are we talking about the same nancy meyers who penned Jumpin' Jack Flash?-- i'm not the biggest fan of her work overall, in fact i don't think i've seen well over half of what she's done, but based on that as a random sample, the fact that i have seen JJF and that it is obviously not a whitpeoplesproblems movie makes me wonder why this is a conversation that ever takes place.
OP: amirite?
me: yes, Sinbad; in other news: wimmen be shoppin'.
stupid critiques of reasonably better-than-average movies just don't hold up to scrutiny, logic, or the presence of facts.
you can do better, internet. make it happen.
"Ugh! I don't like this." --Ambrose Bierce
are we talking about the same nancy meyers who penned Jumpin' Jack Flash?
Did you just reach back to a film that's 26 years old? That she co-wrote? And is credited along with 3 other writers? Versus the last 3 films she wrote and directed all by herself?
Don't try to cash in love, that check will always bounce.share
1. yes. i used this handy database for movies i found on the internet.
2. no idea. sounds like you might have used the same database, though.
3. wow. you really have taken a keen interest in nancy meyers.
4. i wouldn't know; i just went down the list and found a movie of hers i had actually watched, you know, as noted in my post, and mentioned it as evidence of a random, albeit small, sample.
i'll give you props for hyperfocus on the thing that was not my point, but the general assumption made by the OP was obviously what i wrote about. the fact that whoopi goldberg is a black woman who did not play a rich person is mainly there for poetic irony to underscore the ridiculousness of the topic.
you can go back and work on your reading comprehension NOW.
"Ugh! I don't like this." --Ambrose Bierce
Ugh. Dude. Seriously. Do some research and use some forethought.
Nancy Myers directed her first movie in 1998. That was 13 years after JJF came out, in which she was not only 1 of 4 writers but she also didn't use her real name (she's credited as "Patricia Irving" and her writing partner Charles Shyer didn't use his real name either).
When writers or directors use a different name on a project it usually means they are trying to distance themselves from said project. Writers actually get more money when their real names appear in the credits so that means Nancy Myers was willing to take LESS MONEY for having her name on JJF instead of using her real name. Plus, writers have NO SAY WHATSOVER on who is cast.
Take a look at Nancy's filmography. JJF is the only movie in which she used an alias on. Clearly she hit it big with What Women Want and was probably given more freedom to do what she wanted on her next projects, which brings us to the topic of this thread.
You bringing up JJF in relation to Nancy Myers would be like me bringing up Piranha 2: The Spawning in relation to James Cameron. When JC got into a position where he could make any movie he wanted he didn't make more movies like Piranha 2 is what I'm saying.
Don't try to cash in love, that check will always bounce.share
i'll say it one last time: "irony, " and "reading comprehension."
i am done with the matter.
"Ugh! I don't like this." --Ambrose Bierce