Love and political awareness meet cute
A subtle, almost subversive streak of political awareness has been showing up lately in the unlikeliest of places: the hit romantic comedy. In movies such as “Maid in Manhattan,” “Two Weeks Notice” and the latest entry, “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” the heroine is not only smart, sexy and spunky, but she’s got all the right left-leaning beliefs in place as well. Those leading ladies sure look cute when they’re fired up.
Though “Maid in Manhattan’s” Marisa Ventura (Jennifer Lopez) is politically naive -- she’s learning about the Nixon era from her 10-year-old son -- she manages to teach senatorial candidate Chris Marshall (Ralph Fiennes) a thing or two about social issues. Going to a $2,500-a-plate ball to benefit a children’s literacy program? Why not skip the dinner and give all the money to the kids? she asks him. Giving a speech about housing projects in the Bronx? Why not spend some time in the projects so he’ll know whereof he speaks? Her upstanding approach to politics makes Mr. Smith look like a callous sophisticate, but it charms the pants off Chris.
In “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” journalist Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) yearns to make a difference in the world; the first article we see her working on is about how to bring peace to Tajikistan. But she is instead forced to churn out Cosmo-like puff pieces.
Hoping someday to realize her dream as a Serious Journalist, she agrees to take on the film’s title premise, writing and living the story of how to lose a guy in 10 days. But as she tells the guy in question, Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey), she really wants to write about things like the environment, politics, poverty, foreign affairs, and economics. No, really.
In “Two Weeks Notice,” Sandra Bullock’s Lucy is the most radical of the bunch. She even knocks both George Bushes, in a line of dialogue that must have launched a thousand focus groups. George Wade (Hugh Grant) is a filthy rich developer (think: Donald Trump, except when Donald Trump shows up in the film, then think: yikes) who promises to save Bullock’s beloved community center from the wrecking ball if she’ll work for him. The lifelong leftist reluctantly agrees, trades in her peasant skirts for business suits, and the loving glances ensue.
All of which leads to the question: When did a social conscience become the latest accessory, like a gay best friend or a Fendi bag? It wasn’t always thus. The stories of real activists have long made for gripping filmmaking, but those women had it rough. And while Karen Silkwood, Norma Rae and their sisters were certainly attractive in that natural-look way, they were a bit earnest for the new century.
Our updated version is Erin Brockovich, the kind of hottie on a mission that Americans today can root for. How many people would have been as interested in the case for which Julia Roberts’ character so valiantly fought if she hadn’t been so valiantly decked out in a miniskirt and push-up bra? This time around the character gets to win her case, plus a big fat bonus and a sexy boyfriend who baby-sits. Sure beats radiation poisoning.
For more fictional and more romantic forebears, one can hark back to “The Way We Were,” which centered on the causes fought by Barbra Streisand to the chagrin of her easygoing husband Robert Redford. In typical ‘70s film fashion, the causes were controversial, and her devotion to them contributed to the relationship’s ultimate demise. Man, that McCarthy-era blacklist was such a downer. Plus Barbra’s character wasn’t even considered cute. (That’s not an opinion; it’s in the script. On the silver lining side, her baby looked like Robert Redford.)
These days when social conscience moves into romantic comedy territory, controversy moves out. The women of today can be deep, but it’s more of a “We all know she’s on the right side” kind of deep. A happy deep. And it can’t get in the way of getting her man.
The ur-text is perhaps “You’ve Got Mail,” where Spunkinator Meg Ryan and her idyllic independent bookstore square off against big bad corporate Goliath Tom Hanks and his superstore across the street. By the end credits, not only has a key member of Meg’s staff been co-opted by the chain store, but Meg herself has been co-opted by Tom. Her fervent stand is abandoned quicker than you can say, “plot twist,” but that’s OK, because she found love. Besides, how bad can a corporation be when it’s run by that nice Tom Hanks?
Things turn out even better for our romantic leads today. Andie wins the guy (oops, did I ruin the end for anybody?) and quits her job to move on to Serious Journalism. Marisa wins the candidate and strikes a blow for the working class. Lucy’s developer proves himself worthy by saving the community center. I don’t want to put down this filmic trend toward political awareness, no matter how pasted on or easily shed it may be. Any attempt at complexity or conscience in the latest crop of romantic comedies is welcome.
And in their own tiny, adorable way, these ingenues may even be reflecting a more global shift. As the latest crop of protests all over the world can attest, social activism has become very hot. Pretty spunky, too.