I chose to score the movie Just Go With It. The movie is about a man trying to find love after recently experiencing a break up. It is a very heartwarming and funny movie. I figured this would be an appropriate movie to review because the two of the three lead roles were played by women. Jennifer Anniston and Brooklyn Decker are key to the plot along with Adam Sandler. However, it only ended up scoring a 4 on the rep test. A big part of this is because there are almost no minorities in this film. When I picked this movie, I assumed it would score well because of Anniston and Decker's roles. But I didn't realize that race was also a big factor in the rep test. So basically, any criteria of the rep test involving race, the movie did not meet.
One of the questions that I found interesting was, "Does the film represent women as more than 'objects for the male gaze'?" Without even seeing the movie, one can safely assume that Brooklyn Decker was put in this movie for this reason because she is a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. And this assumption is confirmed with the introduction of Decker in the movie when she is shown in a bikini walking on the beach in slow motion. In addition to that, the entire movie takes place on an island resort with beaches and pools everywhere. As a result of that, most of the women seen are quite attractive with the same model-like body type, so the movie fails on that question as well
One of the questions that I felt was a little unfair was whether or not the film past the Bechdel Test. I say it's unfair because the plot of the movie revolves around Jennifer Anniston trying to convince Brooklyn Decker that she is Adam Sandler's ex wife and indirectly make her fall in love with him. So in every scene with them together, of course they are talking about a man because it's important to move the plot forward.
In terms of the "Men" category, the movie scored pretty well. First, it's a comedy so it clearly avoided glorifying violence. The main male characters are Adam Sandler and Nick Swardson who are by no means what the media would call "hot," So the film does not perpetrate an unhealthy lifestyle for men. Also, the movie portrays Nick Swardson as a man who tries to impress girls rather than it be the other way around so there are men in non stereotypical roles. The only criteria the movie does not meet is that there are no major men of color in the movie, which again, points to the race portion of the rep test. The film in no way stereotypes people of color, it just simply does not have roles for them.
The movie fails the rest of the rep test with the LGBT category and the Disabilities category. I feel like most movies would fail these criteria because honestly I've never seen a movie that revolves around LGBT people or a movie that has a person with a disability where the storyline is not hindered by it.
I honestly don't think this test is fair. I feel like if there was a movie that met all of the criteria then it wouldn't be that good because there would have to be such a wide variety of actors that it would be difficult to create a plot that makes sense. I also don't believe a movie that fails the rep test reveals anything about the cast, director, or production company. All they were trying to do was make a movie that makes people laugh. So yes, the movie only received a C but I think there are way more positives than negatives that can be said about Just Go With It.
Having seen this movie a couple times, I agree with your comments on the scoring. Clearly seen from the movie poster, anyone can tell that this movie is going to portray women as an "object for the male gaze." Similar to the movie I scored, "Just Go With It" failed to score in the LGBT and Disabilities categories simply because neither of the movies address these characteristics, but, in contrast, "Zero Dark Thirty" revolved around racial, ethnic, and cultural stereotypes, which come off in an offensive manner to some. Finally, I find your thoughts about the test not being fair very interesting. In my blog, I argued the opposite: I believe that the test addresses key viewpoints that movies may be looked at, but I had not thought about it in the way that you explained. After reading your conclusion, I am reconsidering my pervious argument, especially due to your point about how failing the test does not say anything about the cast, director, or production company. Good work overall, very insightful.
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