So, movie night with the buds has led us on a trek through the American Pie saga, which for now, has come to an end. I can't say any of them are necessarily good, but there's been a couple standouts. However, the last three spinoffs are some of the worst movies I've ever seen, and this one follows suit.
I don't understand how American Pie, which, let's face it, is a very dated formula for a comedy film nowadays, is still going on. They can be blatantly misogynistic at worst, mildly amusing at best. That's when we're faced with Girls' Rules, which "tries" (and I mean that in the loosest sense) to subvert the series traditions by resorting to the oft-ridiculed idea of the "all-female reboot". That's not where the problem lies. The problem is that beyond being a whole lot of nothing, unfunny garbage and not veering enough away from the series' formula, the characters actively agitated me as much as the ones found in Naked Mile and Beta House-- they're terrible people, but the movie never acknowledges this fact and they still end up getting what they want, despite being parasites. Piper Curda's plot-thread was especially... gross and manipulative-- her boyfriend breaks up with her (he's never presented as some jerk or anything, so it seems valid on his part), so she pressures him into constant casual sex to get him to...change his mind? But, it's all fine because they get back together in the end. Silly me. Then, in a rather cynical move, it "tries" to go for a Booksmart vibe, by attempting to be thoughtful and charming, but of course it doesn't work. Just watch Booksmart instead.
It was clearly written and directed by men who probably have a thing for high-school age girls, and miserably failing at making something even remotely feministic.
I've spent maybe 5 minutes writing this, and that's already too much time I've devoted to it.
I don't understand how American Pie, which, let's face it, is a very dated formula for a comedy film nowadays, is still going on. They can be blatantly misogynistic at worst, mildly amusing at best. That's when we're faced with Girls' Rules, which "tries" (and I mean that in the loosest sense) to subvert the series traditions by resorting to the oft-ridiculed idea of the "all-female reboot". That's not where the problem lies. The problem is that beyond being a whole lot of nothing, unfunny garbage and not veering enough away from the series' formula, the characters actively agitated me as much as the ones found in Naked Mile and Beta House-- they're terrible people, but the movie never acknowledges this fact and they still end up getting what they want, despite being parasites. Piper Curda's plot-thread was especially... gross and manipulative-- her boyfriend breaks up with her (he's never presented as some jerk or anything, so it seems valid on his part), so she pressures him into constant casual sex to get him to...change his mind? But, it's all fine because they get back together in the end. Silly me. Then, in a rather cynical move, it "tries" to go for a Booksmart vibe, by attempting to be thoughtful and charming, but of course it doesn't work. Just watch Booksmart instead.
It was clearly written and directed by men who probably have a thing for high-school age girls, and miserably failing at making something even remotely feministic.
I've spent maybe 5 minutes writing this, and that's already too much time I've devoted to it.
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