Written by Duana
A couple of weeks ago it was my sisters’ wedding. The photographer had all the women walk in lockstep, saying it would be a cool shot. In reality, the tall types out-strided the shorties, who wound up in the back behind the group.
This is what I thought of when the Charlie’s Angels came out last night.
Needless to say, I don’t mean girlfriends in the romantic sense. Minka Kelly and Drew Barrymore were in the business of pretending they were all friends forever lovey-lovey. Now, where Drew is sort of perennially the same girl she ever was, happy to be around vaginas in general and wearing whatever kooky-lala thing someone told her was “so you”, and wonders if anyone’s going to check her birth certificate and know that she’s well past ‘girlish’, Minka in general guards her image more carefully.
Yes, she’s one of the new angels – the ‘main’ one in the sense that she was the one brought in to give the show facial recognition – but there were little bits of ‘I’m still me’.
One of my favourites is in this clip, at :22, when under the guise of a loving squeeze, she pushes one of her costars over so she can get closer to the mic. AMAZING.
Then in the same clip, seconds later, she has to be the one to present Chandler with the award. Which – as it should be. I don’t remember a lot of scenes with Coach and Lyla, but they were in the trenches of Austin together, and a lot of late football shoots, and they’re family. Which is wonderful, that that was able to happen.
But then – O, then! One of her costars – the same one who got shunted out of the way – needs to make it about herself by hugging Chandler too, even though everyone else onstage realizes that the courtesy kiss only applies if there’s one person up there, or if you’re Melissa McCarthy, or if someone in your presenter group wasn’t ON HIS SHOW.
It all feels very Regina George to me. Kelly isn’t actually forcing people to behave a certain way, but they’re …molding around her and I bet they’d blame her.
Now, it’s not Drew’s way – it’s not seethrough-mini pony-turtleneck Drew’s way of loving all girls forever and ever, boys on the side – but as Drew herself pointed out, it’s a new generation now. It is, for as long as the show goes (and I really don’t know how long that will be) Kelly’s way or the highway.
And I kind of love it.
Photos from Wenn.com and Kevin Winter/Gettyimages.com
