Flashback Friday: Someone Like You (2001)

It is easy to assume that the person you are with will be in your life forever. What happens when they leave?

In the 2001 romantic comedy Someone Like You, Jane Goodale (Ashley Judd) is living the life. She is the producer of a popular daytime tv talk show and is happily settled with Ray Brown (Greg Kinnear). Ray is the executive producer of the program. Then he dumps her.

In order to figure out what went wrong, Jane decides to do some research. In doing so, she becomes an icon and a voice for single women across the nation. Using her roommate Eddie Alden (Hugh Jackman) as a guinea pig, the results are not what she expects.

Jackman is hot in this film. I mean, smoking, mouth drooling hot.

Now that that is over with, back to business.

Overall, the film is entertaining. The narrative hovers enough outside of the boundaries of the genre that it has a decent level of uniqueness. The problem I have is Judd’s character. She is clearly an accomplished and capable woman. But that is meaningless unless she is coupled up with someone.

Do I recommend it? Maybe.

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She Said Movie Review

There are a few events every decade that defines that time. Back in 2017, that event was the revelation of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

The new film, She Said, is based on the book of the same name by New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan play Kantor and Twohey. After investigating the sexual assault and rape allegations against a certain former President, they turn their attention to the rumors that have followed Weinstein for decades.

After being hit by brick wall after brick wall, Kantor and Twohey finally hit paydirt. Most of the women who they have reached out to are hesitant to talk. Laura Madden (Jennifer Ehle), Rowena Chiu (Angela Yeoh), Zelda Perkins (Samantha Morton), and Ashley Judd (playing herself) are just four of a long list of victims who finally come forward.

As they get closer to the truth, the danger becomes more apparent. Weinstein throws his weight around and threatens both the paper and the reporters themselves. But Kantor and Twohey have backbones made of steel and are not afraid to get their hands dirty to reveal the truth.

I’m not one to make predictions very often. But with this movie, I am going to make two bold ones. The first is that come award season, it will do very well. The second is that it will make most, if not all top ten lists at the end of next month.

Everyone should see She Said if they have not done so already. Mulligan and Kazan are fantastic in their roles. The tension is so tight that one could walk across it. As soon as I thought that the narrative was slowing down, it picked right back up again.

I feel like it is Hollywood’s way of both apologizing and redeeming itself for the mistake of looking the other way for far too long. It is both a love letter to journalism and a warning to anyone who would consider such acts in any place. If you do decide to think with your lower appendage without considering the other person, you will be caught and you will be punished.

Do I recommend it? Without a doubt.

She Said is presently in theaters.

What The F*ck Is Wrong With Harvey Weinstein?

Yesterday, it was reported that Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson was warned by Harvey Weinstein to not hire Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino for the film series because according to Jackson, “I recall Miramax telling us they were a nightmare to work with and we should avoid them at all costs,”.

The truth is that Jackson was eager to hire both women, but due to the fact that both Ms. Sorvino and Ms. Judd rejected Weinstein’s sexual advances, they were blackballed and Jackson was forced to cast other performers for the roles.

Pardon my french, but what the f*ck is wrong with Harvey Weinstein? It makes we wonder how breakable his ego is that he would prevent two talented female performers from working because they wouldn’t sleep with him? Weinstein is a bully; the truth about any bully is that they have deep emotional issues. They cover up those issues by being an a**hole to other people.

I am not a performer, nor do I have a desire to become a performer. But I have a sense of how difficult it is not only to start a career in Hollywood, but also how to sustain that career. I could apologize to both Ms. Sorvino and Ms. Judd, who are clearly gifted performers. But the word sorry can never do justice to the irreparable harm to their careers.

I can only hope that the culture of not just Hollywood, but America and the world will change. A woman will be seen for her abilities, in whatever career path she chooses and not for her body. She will be seen as a fully fledged human being who has the right to go to work without being sexually harassed and if she is harassed, it is her harasser who will take the blame and not the woman.

Hope is the key word here.