Superhero and antihero movies are usually Sarah’s beat. But I’ve been trying to leave her alone because it’s American Thanksgiving which is why you’re getting me for this story, a comic book story. Should be fun and enraging. Fun for me, probably enraging for Sarah when she gets back.
There’s a standalone Harley Quinn movie happening that’s been referred to as Birds of Prey. Margot Robbie returns as Harley Quinn and she’s joined by a group of female badasses that includes Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress to fight Ewan McGregor. That’s convenient for Ewan and Mary Elizabeth. Anyway, I’m into this movie – written by a woman, starring women, directed by a woman. I am, however, not into the title. Yesterday Margot Robbie posted the official title on Instagram:
Sixty seconds of googling tells me that this long ass, really bad title has something to do with the comic books and a storyline in the books about how Harley Quinn got away from the Joker, whatever, it doesn’t matter. It’s a MOVIE. We can make different titles for movies. We do not have to keep the awkward wording in a comic and take it over to the movie. Nobody would be mad.
You know who might be mad now though? Mimi. “The Emancipation of” is what we associate with Mimi. Mimi is about to “I don’t know” Harley Quinn.
But that’s not even my biggest problem. My biggest problem is the word “fantabulous”. It’s a stupid f-cking portmanteau. As Helen Zaltzman, The Allusionist, would say, it’s a pormantNO. “Fabulous” is bad enough. Combining “fabulous” with “fantastic” is the worst. It’s what you’d hear at a gender reveal party.
Is that what Harley Quinn is all about? Is Harley “fantabulous”? Well, of course not. So is this subversive? Subversive is definitely a Harley Quinn attribute. I just don’t know that it’s reading quite that way here. The way I’m reading it is a turn off. How many f-cking times are we going to have to hear the word “fantabulous” when the movie comes out?
