Latest Apatow film not a shoe-in box office hit
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By MELISSA OLSON
Thursday, March 27, 2008 8:58 AM CDT
For the Herald
Every once in awhile, a comedian comes along who taps into something, a need or interest we didn’t even know we had. And then he becomes a superstar. In the 1990s it was actors like Jim Carrey, Mike Myers and Adam Sandler. In the early 2000s the world was introduced to the so-called “frat pack” of Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell. And three years ago, we got Judd Apatow.
If you don’t recognize that name, you should: Apatow is the mastermind behind adult-oriented comedies “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up” and “Superbad.”
A cult name for years thanks to his great-but-unwatched television programs (“The Ben Stiller Show,” “Freaks and Geeks,” “Undeclared”), Apatow isn’t just a filmmaker, or a comedy cash cow. He makes movies with a genuine heart, and an ability to hilariously examine the turning points that all boys must go through in order to grow up: losing your virginity, getting a girl pregnant, leaving behind a best friend, and so on.
Despite all the filthy humor that tends to go along with them, Apatow’s movies have almost all gotten rave reviews from critics across the country. And, most impressively, these coming-of-age stories have turned out to be box-office gold.
All of those movies have made over $100 million, and most of them much more than that. With his reach and success track, Judd Apatow has not only become something of a comedy subgenre; he’s pretty much a brand. And with at least five more Apatow-produced comedies in production, it seems like a brand that’s guaranteed to be popular for awhile.
Except… maybe not.
Apatow’s latest effort, “Drillbit Taylor,” opened on Friday to low-to-middlin’ reviews and his worst box office to date — a measly $10 million (as opposed to, say, the $33 million that Superbad raked in on its opening weekend).
“Drillbit” should have been a slam-dunk. It was Apatow-produced, followed his trademark plot device (boys have to face a bully for the first time), was written by Rogan, and starred, for heaven’s sake, comedy superstar Owen Wilson.
And yet the movie faltered, and became the first Apatow comedy to really throw a wrench in his big humor machine. So what happened? Did Judd Apatow just get lazy with the producing? Did telling a younger story mean alienating his mostly adult fans? Was the addition of Wilson just one comedy giant too many? Or, is it possible that we’re just kind of… over it?
In all honesty, I kind of hope it’s the latter. I’m ready for Judd Apatow to be over, or to at least evolve into something else. Because although his movies are funny, and they do have a heart, and yes, they all address relevant life changes, Judd Apatow has taken one step forward for comedy and about three steps back for women in comedy.
Yep, that’s right. I’m pulling the girl card.
I’m not the first to suggest that Apatow generally ignores and marginalizes his own female characters. Many editorialists — particularly Dana Stevens in Slate magazine — have pointed out that Apatow’s women are neurotic one-dimensional whiners, while the men are likable good guys who are allowed to grow and mature through the course of the film. In fact, actress Katharine Heigl, who played lead character Allison in the summer blockbuster, caused an uproar when she famously complained to Vanity Fair that the film is “a little sexist. It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys days.”
And that’s just one movie. All of Apatow’s films are about a boys club, and the women are always either dreamy, anonymous prizes to be won (“Superbad,” “40-Year-Old Virgin”) or the aforementioned shrews (“Knocked Up,” secondary characters in “Superbad” and “Virgin”).
And for awhile now, a backlash has been quietly growing. And I, for one, hope that the bad reception of “Drillbit Taylor” is the result of it.
Because you see, this new Apatow attitude hurts us. Not just because it’s a blow to feminism (which it is), or because it practically celebrates stereotypes that are unfair and one-sided (which it does).
It hurts us because, well, girls are funny. Seriously funny. Sure, they’re mostly stuck in romantic comedies, but anyone who’s ever seen Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler on “Saturday Night Live,” Ana Faris in the Scary Movie flicks or Ellen Page in “Juno” knows that girls can bust a gut with the best of ‘em.
And the more we embrace Judd Apatow’s boys’ club movies, the less the studios are going to let the girls share the good jokes.
After all, the wild success of “Juno” (which, at $141 million so far, is thoroughly trouncing most of Apatow’s films at the box office) has proved that audiences and critics and embrace a witty, complicated, hilarious female character.
So until he can change his ways, maybe it’s time for us to stop embracing Judd Apatow.
A Chippewa Falls native, Melissa Olson graduated from the University of Southern California and works in Madison for the television program Discover Wisconsin. E-mail her at mfo.usc@gmail.com.
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