Nerds 2 Men Movies? "Waking Worthy" vs "Sleeping Beauty"
Garrett of BOINKOLOGY says
Sex Drive is another in a long, long, long line of raunchy sex comedy movies in which teenage boys, usually ‘nerdy’ ones struggle to get laid. These comedies are often litanies of humiliation (which is not to say they don’t have a certain charm) in which funny young men show us just how much you can wring from a fart gag.
But what about the girls?
Traditionally, the women in these films are either virginal paragons, a dream girl who is often revealed to be unworthy of our geeky protagonists love, or a best friend, often nursing a secret crush for one or more of our heroes. Then there are all the beautiful girls who pose conflicts, serve as cruel gags (the ‘gross’ fat girl being a perennial favorite) and punchlines. Women in these films aren’t driving the humor, they’re ignored at best and targets at worst.
I say "[cough][cough]worthiness trap[cough]"
Of *course* they're nerdy and struggle to get laid... until they finally "get it" about this or that, whereupon the virginal paragon or secret crush or closet tramp green lights them. It's the flip side of the desperate Ariel, confident and capable until she loses her flippers *and* her voice and then struggles plaintively to be picked. (See also the much more in-depth takedown of Little Mermaid from Hortense at Jezebel.)
People can talk about "post-feminism" all they like but it's not going to be over till the "romance" in movies like Mermaid *and* Sex Drive just make kids go "huh?"
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And movies like "Sex Drive" don't just have to go down because they idealize women as (or reduce them to yardsticks) of achievement -- a less-addressed but maybe even deeper form of objectification that manifests not least in false divisions between "virginal paragons," "secret crushes," "fatty' punchlines," "'easy' women" and so on. They have to go down because they teach men to strive for the *wrong stuff.* For the *wrong reasons.*
One of the most hypocritical parts of those movies is the tendency to subvert their own attempt at a moral in this way:
"Oh! It turns out love is more important than sex! I've been a fool to only care about getting laid this whole time!"
"Well, now that you've learned that lesson, you're gonna get laid!"
Also, there's a massive appearance dichotomy. I remember watching Superbad and thinking that they sure don't make movies about the female equivalent of Seth Rogen striving to get laid. (Movies that involve a "makeover," taking off glasses and revealing she was pretty all along don't count. I mean movies where homely but charming women get laid purely for their charm.)
[Very succinct summary of the contradiction in the standard storyline, Holly. Also, yeah, being all about the equivalent beauty trap all the comparable girl movies really do seem to be of the "lose the glasses, cut her hair and *amazingly* the princess played by *Audry Hepburn* is suddenly attractive to men." That's probably got to go too. Thanks, Holly. --fl]