That's What She Said

Dali Parton

This movie is about women, but as a guy I am going to write about it from from my perspective. If any men had spoken lines, I can't remember them. Men still had a role, but mostly as off-screen foils for the women. Despite all that, this is a movie with a lot more to offer viewers of both sexes than stereotypical chick-flicks like The Notebook or the majority of rom-coms. It is a story about three women in NYC coping with their own personal sets of dysfunction in a variety of tragicomic ways, with emphasis on the comic. The humor is not so over-the-top like Bridesmaids or Bachelorette, but there is plenty of raunch starting off with the opening scene in which one of the women cancels her appointment for a Brazilian wax and makes do with about 5 disposable razors instead. The three main characters have their backstories revealed in a series of quirky events that include jail, subway masturbation, really bad haircuts, plenty of drugs and alcohol, coffee house lesbians, a vibrator used as a lethal weapon and an entire showgirl kick-line falling off the stage because of one act of revenge. It culminates in an estrogen-soaked version of the brawl between buddies trope after which they all raise a glass to various universal ideals with a feminine slant. The movie is much more low budget, low-key, talky and character driven than the blockbuster comedies we've all seen or at least seen marketed. That isn't a bad thing at all, it's got a lot more verite than those and is still a fun little film. Best one-liner in the movie: "Stop fighting, I'm getting carpal tunnel."