Uphill battle for female-driven comedies
LOS ANGELES—“Bridesmaids” was supposed to change the game for the female-driven comedy.
But, each new movie is still treated like a beta test for the genre—and the next unwitting subjects are “Ghostbusters” and “Bad Moms.”
“Let’s wait and see how ‘Ghostbusters’ does” has become a common phrase in the industry—as if the future of female-led comedic blockbusters depends on Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon.
It all sounds eerily familiar to director Paul Feig, the high priest of female ensemble comedy. He heard the same thing with “Bridesmaids.”
Litmus tests
“It’s unfair that women have to be put through litmus tests all the time. What if ‘Ghostbusters’ doesn’t work?” Feig said, “If a giant tent pole starring men doesn’t do well, people don’t go, ‘oh well, we can’t have guys in movies anymore.”’
Kay Cannon, who wrote the a cappella comedy, “Pitch Perfect,” and its sequel, which together cost $46 million to make and earned $402.9 million worldwide, has had similar experiences.
“I feel like, with every movie, we’re auditioning to be members of this business,” she said.
Former Universal Pictures chair Adam Fogelson, who greenlit “Bridesmaids” and “Pitch Perfect,” sees it differently.
“It’s true that movies are discussed that way. But, I’m not sure it’s true that each movie carries that weight. People tend to forget just how many success stories there are,” Fogelson said, rattling off titles like “9 to 5,” “The First Wives Club,” “Bring It On,” “Clueless,” “Mean Girls” and “Baby Mama.”
In his mind, if “Bridesmaids” was breaking any new ground, it was around its R-rating.
Feig disproved the old box-office myth that female-led movies “don’t travel” by creating “Spy,” a movie
with all the elements of a marketable action-comedy that just happened to have a woman, McCarthy, as the lead.
But, again, it seemed to only benefit his circle. Now, he’s dismayed that every summer, there only seems to be a few, despite continued proof that they’re just good business.
For instance, in the summer of 2015, the so-called “summer of women,” four female-led studio comedies (“Pitch Perfect 2,” “Trainwreck,” “Spy,” “Hot Pursuit”) made over $715 million at the worldwide box office. The price tag: $164 million.
Hollywood, however, is not governed solely by the bottom line, but also by “comps.” It wants proven stars and proven properties. That limits the talent pool—and leaves less room for originality.