Moments of Permanence - Quick note: Hair and Surprisingly Good Movies

From: sami Date: June 1st, 2009 01:54 pm (UTC) (Link)

It's true.

It works better yet if you consider it in tandem with the sequel. Where the outcome of her getting together with a guy she knew was incredibly shallow and kind of a jerk at the end of the first film is that three weeks later he dumps her in a dickish fashion, which messes her up badly - and she only comes to terms with that, and with herself, when she comes to terms with who she is, and realises the importance of resisting the pressure to conform to an unrealistic barbie-doll image.

Together, the two movies chart a full arc of personal growth until she's back to being comfortable in her skin and happy with who she is. It's brilliant.

The thing is?

Movies about personal growth, about identity and self-image and all that stuff - they don't have to be Serious and difficult. I think in a lot of ways the reason I think the Miss Congeniality movies are so brilliant is that they carry this stuff off, talking about issues that really are important things for women, in a way that's seemlessly integrated into a film that's light-hearted and fun and enjoyable to watch, with characters who are three-dimensional and dodge stereotypes everywhere.

Like, I love that Sam Fuller, in the second movie, is a black woman with "anger management issues" and a generalised intolerance for bullshit - but when she and Gracie have a heart-to-heart and talk about the things that made them who they are, Sam's story of her childhood is... "It wasn't bad." She got to spend time with her father, who she loved, and her memories are happy. Fuller is angry because the world is full of stupid people and she has no patience for fools, not because of some kind of Giant Childhood Trauma or because she's black - she had a content childhood with a loving dad. When people aren't being stupid at her, she's not irrationally hostile, she just does not suffer fools.

You can have a minority, who's angry, and still dodge the Angry Black Person stereotype - imo, Miss Congeniality 2 is a brilliant example of that. Because we have reason to see that her character can be more than just angry. She's not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd still call her a great example of a positive black character in a film, because she's flawed, but she's awesome.

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From: mmoa_writes Date: June 1st, 2009 01:58 pm (UTC) (Link)

OK, you've sold me. I now not only have to buy Miss Congeniality on DVD, but also the sequel. I avoided it mostly because a)sequals tend to be bad and b)sequels with sassy black 'side-kicks' are always bad. This has completely ruined my hypothesis and for once, I am glad!

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From: sami Date: June 1st, 2009 02:04 pm (UTC) (Link)

*grins*

I really wouldn't describe Sam Fuller as "sassy". I'm pretty sure she would punch me in the face if I tried, despite being fictional.

MC2 is different. No pageant, for a start. But I think it's really, really good, and I honestly don't think she's even exactly a sidekick. She's a partner. She has more screen time, and a more important role in the development of the plot, than Benjamin Bratt or Michael Caine did in the first film - and she's *not* just a prop for Gracie's personal development, because even though she *does* help Gracie to grow as a person, she has her own moments of growth too, and she has that effect *because* they're partners.

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From: willow Date: June 1st, 2009 07:36 pm (UTC) (Link)

I liked the first movie, but avoided the second because 1)sequel and 2) loud mouthed black woman sidekick? Oh no.

It's interesting to hear that's not the case.

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From: sami Date: June 2nd, 2009 03:09 am (UTC) (Link)

I can't guarantee it would come off as awesomely to you as it did to me. I'm not really sensitised to those tropes, because I watch so few movies and the ones I do watch aren't that kind - I can't, offhand, think of a movie I have seen which included a character I could call a loud mouthed black woman sidekick at all. I think the only mouthy black sidekick movie I *can* think of is Rush Hour, and I'm not sure how well that label applies to a movie starring Jackie Chan and Chris Rock. (Not to mention that whole thing where I'm white, and it's easier for that stuff to go right past me if I'm not paying attention.)

However, as mentioned, I really do think Sam Fuller is an important character in her own right in the movie. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that the film does in fact have a happy ending, but it wouldn't have without Fuller being brilliant in her own right, and showing that no, really, she's in the FBI because she's *good*.

She's a partner, not a sidekick, and I just love that more than words can say. It's a cop buddy movie starring women. Real, non-barbie-doll women. One of whom is black, and that's both an important part of who she is, but not the sole thing that defines her. If you had to describe her as a person, black is part of it, but there are other adjectives too.

Also, Regina King is awesome, and one scene in particular makes me fall in love with her utterly every time.

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