No joking matter

WHeN Paul Brownfield opens “The Gal Pal Gamble” [April 20] with “ . . . Women weaken legs . . . which is why it seems unusual -- if not illegal -- for two females, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, to have the leads in a buddy comedy . . . ,” he has opened with a left hook and I felt the punch.

I have enjoyed Brownfield’s insights, but I am sad his writing took a low road on what is traditionally not an easy path for women working in comedy.

Making a feature-length movie seems like a natural progression for a successful comedy career; it is a shame more women and minority comedians don’t get the chance to try, and that their attempts are seen as anomalies rather than moves to advance a career.

Lori Morse

Los Angeles

THANK you for the informative article on the new comedy “Baby Mama.”

When I got to the interview portion, I could barely get through it. These women, who choose and use words for a living, could not avoid using the extraneous and juvenile “like” and stopped short of expressing themselves effectively, opting to call situations, feelings or I-don’t-know-what “stuff.” I couldn’t tell what they were talking about.

Fey and Poehler are hardly a bad influence on young women, but their encouragement to speak like teens and dumb-down their language is irresponsible for women of their stature and age.

Stefanie Davis

Santa Barbara