The Bechdel Cast - Lady Bird with Charla Lauriston

Episode Date: February 8, 2018

Jamie "Woman Hawk" Loftus and Caitlin "Girl Owl" Durante invite special guest Charla Lauriston to chat about Lady Bird!(This episode contains spoilers)For Bechdel bonuses, sign up for our Patreon at patreon.com/bechdelcast. Follow @imcharlaface on Twitter! While you're there, you should also follow @BechdelCast, @caitlindurante and @hamburgerphone  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Are all their discussions just boyfriends and husbands or do they have individualism? The patriarchy's effing vast. Start changing it with the Bechdelcast. Hi, welcome to the Bechdelcast. My name's Jamie Loftus. My name's Caitlin Durante. Oh my

God, this is our podcast. You're listening to it. Here we are. this is the Bechdelcast. Congratulations. We talk about the representation, the portrayal, the treatment of women in movies, one movie at a time. I'm drinking 7-Eleven juice. Yeah, I'm kind of disappointed. Which you think would just be sweat. I'm kind of disappointed that you're not drinking a Mark's Hard Lemonade today, but...

I'm fully compromised today. Even after they followed us on Twitter and everything. You wouldn't believe that. They still have yet to send us any of their product, but we'll get there. I don't know. I'm still... I got into an online feud with the geeks who drink,

and I'm still really battling with that, and I think that they're afraid of me, and I sort of just, you know, I can't be feuding right now. Sure, I understand. Feud a show out for Molina was nominated for a Golden Glove and snubbed.

There we go. There's the mention. There it is. Wow. Oh, so we look at movies through the lens of how they treat women. Using the Bechdel test as a yardstick, as a start for the convo, Bechdel test for a yardstick, as a start for the convo.

Bechdel test for us is there has to be a conversation between two female-identifying characters in the movie with names talking about something other than a man for more than two lines of dialogue. Yeah, doesn't seem like it would be that hard for any movie to pass. And yet, so many simply do not. Yes. Today, I mean, i feel like no one will be shocked to know i've i say we blow the reveal that that lady bird passes the bechdel test i'm so excited to talk about it yeah yeah yeah before we get into that though let us introduce our guest she's a hilarious comedian she runs a show called

velvet great show charlotte lorsten hi thank you so much for being here i'm so excited to be here thanks for having me guys of course thanks for bringing us this movie of course i love this movie so you saw it in theaters i'm i am guessing screen yeah i'm sorry i mean it only came out a couple months ago so why did you pick this movie? Well, I also, I literally, like, when I saw the previews for it, I reached out to my reps and asked for a script. So I read the script before I ever saw the movie. Oh, cool. Because I was just so excited about Greta Gerwig writing a film

and, like, it getting any kind of buzz. Like, I just get really excited when I see women doing things that are, like, close to my age. It just feels like I could do it. Yeah yeah and it just seemed like such a cool movie I hadn't seen stuff like I'm interested in writing a mother-daughter kind of movie and I just wanted to see how she wrote out that relationship and it was like really you know worthwhile to read the script and see the movie that's awesome that's amazing I want to see the script. Hey, speaking of scripts, I do have a master's degree in screenwriting from Boston University. That's such a stretch.

Congratulations! I hate to bring it up, but I've written a script before. No big deal. That's good to know. I didn't know that about you. Oh, yeah. I'm so glad I know that now. Well, congratulations on still having a master's degree. Thank you. I didn't take it away from you after all that money.

Yeah. Imagine if they did that. We'd like to rescind your master's degree. If you don't use it in four years, they're like, sorry, you gotta take it now. Unfortunately, yeah. It's got like an expiration date, dude. He still owes $200,000. Well, I feel like I'm using it every day.

Every day that we record an episode, I'm using that master's, baby. Yeah. This is a coping mechanism. This is totally screenwriter adjacent for sure. Yeah. Like some people totally never even use that major. Thank you for helping me validate my choices. We've all made choices.

You know what I mean? Like I make choices all the time. Some of them are good. Some of them are not so good. Whatever. Hey, kind of like what happens in today's movie. Wait, people making choices? People making choices. Some of them aren't so good. Some of them were not so good. Whatever. Hey, kind of like what happens in today's movie. Wait, people making choices? People making choices. Some of them aren't so good.

Some of them are okay. These segues are... Masterful. I learned about transitions in screenwriting class. Anyhow, again, I don't like to bring it up. So, I saw

Lady Bird in the theater I liked it a lot the first time I would say that I didn't like it quite as much the second time

some of it's oh I had the opposite experience yeah you know I would say because I read it first I liked the script better than I liked

the movie interesting just a little bit only because of the casting choices I was surprised by some of them oh yeah

but yeah I was surprised by the boyfriend them. Oh, yeah? But, yeah, I was surprised by the boyfriend, her first boyfriend. That's that casting choice. Especially because he just looked so much more like a baby than she does. And, like, it was glaring to me. Just get someone older. We all know they're older playing younger. So it's like... Right.

So that was weird. And I thought the brother casting was... And the girlfriend. I thought those were both kind of weird casting choices. younger so it's like right so that was weird and i thought the brother casting was and the girlfriend i thought those were both kind of weird casting choices so i've never seen either of those actors before yeah me neither okay so this is i think we are to understand autobiographical of greta gerwig's life yeah does she have like i wonder if she has like an adopted sibling or not i don't know look it up yeah me either maybe whoops well that's from our bad for not doing research from my understanding that i autobiographical portion is that she lived in a small town and wanted to go to school in new york

okay oh so everyone who's ever yeah everybody has had this experience right uh that's why it's so relatable. Every time the mother and the daughter are on screen in this movie, I'm crying. I like fully allowed myself to be manipulated. Oh my God. There are some lines in there that really get a tear out. Oh yeah. The scene where they're shopping at the Goodwill fucking destroys.

When she asked her, do you like me? Oh, that one. Yeah, because they were shopping at that time, too. Yeah, yeah. Anytime they're in a store together, I'm like, oh. Women be shopping. Women be shopping, but having them deep-ass conversations while they're shopping? Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

I'm thinking of the part where they're having a fight when they're looking at clothes on the rack and then she pulls out one dress and then immediately they're not fighting. Yeah, it's like, oh like oh that's perfect it's so good yeah i'm not gonna start i thought the movie did such a great job of showing how you can forgive your kid for who they are at that age if that makes sense you know because you could tell her mother loved her and knows that she'll grow up and knows that she'll be more responsible. She just wants more for her, but doesn't like her at this age because she's so annoying.

I guess I'm reading a little bit about Greta Gerwig, the early life section of her Wikipedia page. Oh, good. I'm a scholar. This does actually seem like a pretty close adaptation of what her life was where her mom was an OBGYN nurse. Her dad worked for a credit union she has a younger brother they don't say if he is adopted but and then she went to an all-girls catholic school in sacramento okay and she describes herself as quote an intense child which also attracts the ladybird so sure so uh speaking of that i'll kind of give a recap of the story.

Caitlin's Famous Recap. We focus on Christine McPherson, who has given herself the name Lady Bird, and she wants everyone to call her that. She is a senior in high school in Sacramento at an all-girls Catholic high school. She does not especially like Sacramento, or at least she doesn't think that she does. And she is gearing up to be applying for colleges. Because she doesn't like Sacramento and California in general, she doesn't want to go to any of the UC State schools around.

She wants to go to New York. She wants to go on the East Coast. So kind of that's on her mind. She has a difficult relationship with her mother, Marion, played by Laurie Metcalf. Her mother is a bit overbearing. She's pretty judgmental. They get in a lot of arguments.

Her dad, on the other hand, is like total beta male, like sweetest guy ever. Daddy beta, yeah. And she has a best friend named Julie who throughout the course of the story. Joe Hill's sister. I didn't know that until earlier today. No way. Yeah. I did not know that. I didn't know that until earlier today. No way. I did not know that. Now that I know that, I can totally see it.

Right. No way. I'm like, oh, you totally see the family result. She was my favorite or one of my favorite performances in the movie. I really loved her. I loved her. I can't wait to see her in more stuff. Same.

She's awesome. Yeah. So over the course of the movie, their friendship has sort of an arc where they're very close. But then Lady Bird meets this other girl in her class named Jenna, is it? She comes from a wealthier family and she's more popular. So Lady Bird's like, I want to be friends with her. She's also like hella sexual. She's such a sexpot.

It's like overwhelming. And like a sexpot in a way that is because this movie takes place in oh two right yeah it's very like an oh two sex pot kind of vibe where i like in a way i can't even describe it was just like it's almost like a britney spears yeah kind of like approachable but like like having way more sex right and you're comfortable with knowing oh there's girls in that age yeah they make it apparent as soon as you see her. Yeah. Is there a scene where she's chewing bubble gum? Yeah.

It's like on the lips. Titties are out. Like she's just, but she looks so young. Right. Yeah. Yeah. I think that she actually is,

that is like kind of a weird casting thing in this movie where it seems like the high school is mostly populated by kids that age. And then Saoirse Ronan is like 23 yeah exactly oh is she yeah yeah is that how you say her name Saoirse yeah I learned from I had to watch the Golden Globes I'd just be like how do they what are they gonna say there's so many vowels yeah I'll try to remember that Saoirse meanwhile Timothy Chardonnay is in it and

so Timothy but I'm getting ahead of myself. Timothy Charlemagne. That was another fun one. She was with our Charlemagne. Lil Howard's in. Yeah. Love it. So her friendship with Jenna sort of displaces Julie a little bit, but then they, she and

But Julie's got drama club. She's good. But she's not. So many drama club trauma flashbacks watching this god just like the sincerity of a high school drama club and like watching that you're just like oh my god yeah yeah and then and then it's so bad it's so bad it was well done how bad they made it yeah and how they can't tell how bad it is no great portrayal of drama club oh my god yeah like the when they cut to the scene and it's like they're they're like writhing around in primary colors right and they think it's the most future

like this is like 2086 shit right here like this is the best stuff we've ever done in our lives and it's awful like unwatchable there's like a shot of the parents and they're just like, oh, these are our kids. So we're like, we have to stomach this. God, I would shut.

There's gotta be like video evidence of my high school drama club somewhere, but I would, I would die. I was never in drama club. I did, um, mock trial and I was on the soccer team. Those are my extra curriculars.

I was on my trial in the tennis team. Ooh. Do you want to play tennis? I would. I would love to play. Let's do it. I will email you about it. Because I've been playing tennis. Anyway, Jamie, come play tennis with us. Aristotle, you too. I played Division III in college, so you should be

afraid. Oh, I'm terrible. Yeah, I am. Yeah, I'm not good at tennis. That's just kidding. I'm just barely able to play. That's all you have to be to do D3 in college. Oh, is D3 the division where you just show up? Yeah. I like to say it to intimidate people that don't know what I'm talking about. It's basically high school tennis.

It sounds really impressive. Yeah. It does. Great. I was blown away. Anyway, so Lady Bird. She doesn't play sports. she has these different friendships. Lady Bird gets involved with this boy named Danny who she meets through the theater production that they do.

Gay high school boyfriend flashbacks. Yeah, he turns out to be gay. But I think we're supposed to believe that she might have her first kiss with him. She does. She says it's her first kiss. Okay, got it. Then she gets involved with Timothy Charlemagne. Who really is so good in this movie where you just fucking hate him.

Great performance. Horrible character. Yeah. Hate that guy. Yeah. And then meanwhile, she's having conflicts with her mother. She's applied to New York schools behind her mother's back. All these things kind of come to a head around graduation when she gets waitlisted at, I think, NYU. And her mother finds out about it. And she's all upset because the family is also

lower middle class. Their father was laid off, so they're having financial troubles. God, what a heart-wrenching sentence. Her mom, I think, is a nurse in a psychiatric hospital. Yes. And she's working double shifts to pay for basically the whole family. And then Lady Bird also has a brother, Miguel, and his girlfriend, Shelly, who also lives with the family. I wish we saw those characters more. Shelly especially seems like she has like one moment,

but it's only sort of to be like, Lady Bird, be nice to your mom. Yeah. And that's sort of all you get, which is weird because it sounds like there was like a lot there where it sounded like she was kicked out of her house for having premarital sex. She was, yeah.

But they give her kind of a decent storyline later, you know, because Shelly tells Lady Bird how cool her mom was because, you know, when her actual mom kicked her how cool her mom was because, you know, when her actual mom kicked her out, her mom took her in very easily. And also, Shelly's other storyline is wanting Lady Bird to like her. Oh, yes, that is true. Because there's that scene over, they're eating eggs

and then Shelly's like, your sister doesn't like me. And Miguel's like, yeah, she does. And everyone's like fighting and yelling. It's cute. So, yeah, and then the story ends with her getting into the school in New York, moving there. Drops Lady Bird. Oh, yeah. She starts wrong by Christine.

Her mother and she have not really reconciled by the time she leaves. But her mom has written her all these notes. And basically she like calls and leaves a phone message being like, mom, I love you. And then that's kind of the end of the movie. And she goes to church. Yeah. Which will stop very quickly after going to college. Right.

It's just a matter of time. like that the movie has so many great scenes and so many great moments and so many great lines like that you totally relate to from going to high school and starting to experience all these things and like i'm from taunton massachusetts i'm from brockton no way yeah yeah that's fucking crazy that's crazy but you totally want to get out of there yeah yeah yeah like you love and respect the town and the people that are there, and you know everyone, and it's, like, it's very much familiar. But, you know, I related to the movie so much in that sense that I was like, oh, my God, I got to get out of here.

Yeah, right. Same experience for me. I grew up in a small town in rural Pennsylvania, graduated only a year after Lady Bird's character did. So I was in high school right at the same time. You know, Justin Timberlake's Cry Me a River was all the rage for me too. Great, great use

of Cry Me a River. Totally. So good. Also had a bit of a tumultuous relationship with my mother at the time. My mom. Same, same, same. Lori. Shout out to Lori. She's chilled out considerably since then. I'm sure you were perfect, Tia. I'm sure you were perfect, teenage girl.

She wanted to hang out with you. Well, that's what she did because she never let me leave the house. She didn't let me do anything. We were fighting about that all the time. We just argued a lot when I was a teen. I dealt with my mom's overprotectiveness in a different way. Like my parents didn't let me go to prom. Like my mom was super like, my mom is super religious and overprotective. Yeah. Which I totally get. You know what I mean? But I was like so super calm

about it. I was, I was just like, all right, well, I'll just live at college and then I'll move away. I was too impatient. I'm very patient. I was That's a very reasonable thing. I was very reasonable because it's like there's no point. I'm not rebellious towards my parents. I don't see any use in that. I think the world is already so hard. Why would I give my parents even more problems? And also, there's logic to her being overprotective. It just, of course, is oppressive to be so locked down all the time.

Did you go to Taunton High? I did go to taunton high yeah this is so crazy i don't know taunton and brockton are literally the towns they're right next to each other they're neighbors love your mall what great mall i don't love the taunton mall really that was always my fave you'd rather there? My mom would bring me to Taunton Mall as like a special treat. And she's like, you have a $10 go to Claire's. I'd go to Claire's, have at with like the red tag items at Claire's. Oh my God. Guys, check it out. There's nothing worse.

There's nothing else to do. And there's no mall worse than the Brockton Mall, as I'm sure you know. I don't 100% agree, only because I'd go get all of my weave there. Oh, okay. There was no weave in Taunton. There is in Taunton Mall, that makes sense. Yeah, but in Brockton, there's like lots of weave. It's great.

It's where all the black people live. It's great. I love Brockton so much. It's great. Well, I didn't even have a mall in my hometown, so. Well, you were like in the woods, basically. Yeah, for sure. So, this movie, I i think has a great depiction of a relationship between a high school young woman and her mother

um we've talked before on the podcast about movies set in high school often don't feel like any they don't look like any high school you've ever seen they don't feel like any high school you went to like they just feel like a hollywood version of what high school is and they don't ever totally feel real but to me seeing this young woman just like that felt real her high school experience her relationship with her mother is such a more in-depth relationship than we often see explored in a movie, like a mainstream Hollywood movie like this. That alone made me, especially the first time I really enjoyed this movie, I was like, wow, this feels so honest.

Seeing it the second time, I was like, hmm, I don't think I like Lady Bird as a character very much. That was what I struggled with the first time. But then the second time when I saw it, I was like, oh, but I think that that means that the movie is doing a good job. Yes, that's the thing, because the characterization is so well done, and I think

we're supposed to come, at least for me, coming away from this, I was like, oh, you know, I don't really like this character, but I think she has... She's frustrating. She's frustrating, she's immature, but she's 17, she's 18, like that's, we're all terrible at that age, and I think we're supposed. She's frustrating. She's immature. But she's 17. She's 18. Like, we're all terrible at that age. We are.

And I think we're supposed to come away from this, like, thinking, yes, she has potential to learn and grow. And that's what her mom wanted for her, to be the best version of herself. Yeah, just to kind of come into her own, you know, this is a coming-of-age story, if you will. Yeah, I think we're supposed to just take away, wow, look how honest they portray this relationship and these relationships were in this movie. So that was my main takeaway from it. I loved it. My main takeaway from it was the mom,

Laurie Metcalf's character. Because I just feel like moms are so underappreciated in culture and society. And when I turned 30, something happened in my brain when two things became very important to me, my skin and my mom. I don't know what happened, but like I immediately like I don't know what it is about like growing older. And I don't have kids, but it just made me understand my mom in ways that I've just never understood her before. And I loved watching Lady Bird come to understand her mom towards the end of the movie. That's what was so great about that.

That's what I think was the redeeming quality of her character. Because you don't like her and you're not supposed to like her. But at least by the end, she becomes this very apologetic, very grateful kid who finally realizes the emotional labor of her, of being her mom.

That's what it was. It's like this heavy lifting to love you. Yeah. Towards the end, it is like, I had times like that with i mean like we all see us in our moms in this movie but like the scene at the sink where laurie mccath's washing dishes and it's being very you know i'm not talking to you and ladybird's flipping the fuck out like i had so many moments of that with my mom where i would say something stupid or

like lash out in some weird hormonal way at her and then she would just shut down and then i would be like i don't i don't remember the exact line of dialogue but it really like hit me the second time especially when she was like you don't have to you know like just talk to me just talk to me just talk i was like yeah fuck i did that with my mom like every other day uh gretta gerwig did such an amazing job of like finding these so specific moments that somehow like resonate on this huge level like anytime they're at a store and then oh there's one of the things that i loved both viewings is when they go to look at the nice houses right after she yeah i'm like joking yeah yeah and then my thing with the with the movie the first time i remember i saw it in theaters with my friend who grew up in sacramento at that exact time and so her gripes were all like sacramental related and i didn't know what they were oh sure but the things that I was like bummed out about

the first time was I genuinely was mad at Lady Bird for bailing on Julie yeah but that means that it's just like you know the movie got a serious reaction out of me because I was like what like Julie didn't get like a good apology that sucked yeah but again that's just like a thought I had about the and then and then i did wish that that the relationship between lady bird and then danny danny right when he comes out i wish that that like you get a great moment and we and we see that they're friends down the line but i just i wish that that was like explored a little bit same i agree with that yeah and also it's like again it's so you can't watch this movie and not make it personal but like i i had i had a gay high school boyfriend that you know there i was like there's there's so many like weird

cool moments you could go back to but movies i would have taken a little bit less timothy chalamet uh and swapped out chardonnay yeah he's i mean and that character is great i'd like it was so well written in terms of just like what a fuck oh he's got he's got howard's in like that's you know exactly who he is right and and you even find out he's like oh my dad has cancer and he's still the worst yeah uh which really speaks to how annoying he is but like yeah my main gripe with the movie the first time was like i wish we got more danny i thought that that was like a cool relationship we didn't see yeah ladybird does kind of redeem herself with her mom at the end like you were saying charlotte but i feel like i wanted more of a redemption with both danny and her best friend julie because she does go back at

the end like right before prom and we don't see her actually apologize verbally. Maybe she doesn't need to. Maybe their friendship is on such a level where she doesn't. Just her showing up and hanging out with her is enough. I don't know. Maybe I'm like kind of working through this in real time. I do like that they reconciled. I don't know.

I just wish that. Because the first time I saw the movie, I was like, she's funny. She's spunky. She's bold. She's like really outspoken and i liked that about her and then the second time around when i was like paying more close attention i was like oh she's kind of mean to her friend and she's she dumps her at one point i know it is but and it made me i know i don't know it just made me annoyed with. And then she like makes that racist comment to her brother where she's basically implying that

he only got into UC Berkeley because of like affirmative action and he's just like you're the worst and I was just like oh she's a little

piece of shit but again we all are at that time so. Yeah. And that's I don't know. I mean

I thought it was accurate. Yeah. It is. It is. And I think that's partially why she's so frustrating. Because she is a teenage girl. You know what I love the most is at the end of the movie when she's at that party.

And the guy asks her where she's from. And she says Sacramento. And he doesn't really hear her. And she changes her answer to San Francisco. Yeah. And I love that, that she's still lying. Because that's a theme throughout the movie that she lies. She lies, she cheats. Because she lies about the house that she lives in. Yeah. And I love that, that she's still lying. Like even, because that's a theme throughout the movie

that she lies because she lies about the house that she lives in and like, yeah, she cheats. She steals the grade book.

She throws it away. She lies about her grade. Yeah, she's a terrible person. She ditches her friend Julie and only goes to Julie after she learns her lesson. Justice for Julie.

Yeah, justice for Julie. But like, I love that at the end she's still lying because it's this great reminder that change is slow. And that, you know, maybe at the end of the four years, she'll be a different person. But her first party at college, she's still that.

She's still Lady Bird. She's still Christine. She's still not comfortable in this new role. She's not older. She's just in a different place, which was really cool. And it's cool to see her kind of figure that out in real time because she i mean and that is part of what i found frustrating about the character and again it's like the more we talk about it it's like it's not that doesn't mean that it's not i mean that means it's really good because

and and i recognize this like behavior in you know like girls i knew in high school of like they'll try out a club and then if they're not immediately the center like that was like ladybird wanted attention and when she didn't get like a role she thought was sufficient for her she was like oh fuck off bye yeah and then like moved on to the next thing which is jenna and then moved on to the next like she's just all you know just like a very teenage selfishness. And it's weird. I mean, because she also she is insecure in some way. Like she is a very confident character. But there are some ways that, yeah, like this was something I remember feeling myself, too.

Like she was so confident, but also very adamant about her own like mediocrity and was not really delusional in any way about like she's like yeah my grades aren't good enough but i'm gonna figure it out right yeah like that we know of yet yeah that's such a great line and and you know like when her mom was like oh do you still like drama she's like no i don't think i'm good at it like ladybird wants to find the easiest way to do yeah everything yeah yes which you know which is again a lot of us it's understandable yeah But Lady Bird wants to find the easiest way to do everything. Yeah. Yes. Which, you know. Which is, again. A lot of us at that age. It's understandable.

Stuff's hard. Yeah. So these are just very well-written characters that we usually don't see on screen because especially female characters are such one-dimensional, underdeveloped people who don't feel like real people that it is refreshing to see such dynamic characters in this movie yes i agree i love it i want to talk about julie i think she's my favorite character we need to talk about julie we need to talk about julie new movie starring tilda swinton so one of the things i want to say about her is that I really like that we get representation on screen of a young woman who is fat.

Yeah. We almost never see fat women in movies. Even though the female characters that we've talked about on this podcast who we love and we think are such like badass female characters, they're almost always like these unrealistically thin women hollywood is very guilty of portraying this like unrealistic standard of beauty that like no one can achieve and having their like badass strong female protagonists and female characters still be very by western standards very beautiful and very thin so i just really liked that we see a very lovable, good character. Smart, awesome, yeah. Smart, like she gets cast in the lead of the play,

even though she does not have that standout of an audition. Like her audition. That was where I was like, she had a weird, yeah. And Lady Bird, I thought had a pretty good audition. Me too. It was extra as hell. But just the fact that we see that representation, I think, is really great. Because we haven't talked that much about the body positivity movement on this podcast.

Yeah, and I feel like we don't talk about it a lot because we so rarely see other body types in any movie we come from. Yeah, which is also worth mentioning that we hardly ever see that yeah and kind of speaking to that point i thought that the way that that was i mean that was in no way a focal point even of julie's character really no no but the few times that like julie like she says a few times like oh i feel so fat or like there's like little comments and ladybird never quite knows how to deal with it and respond yeah and she'll be like me too or like something like yeah we're connected with with those moments too of like when your friend expresses an insecurity and then you're like oh i don't know what to do with this i'm just gonna say i feel the same way even though like yeah like because i've seen very early on

uh they're looking through a magazine at the store where miguel at and they see like an ad of this like probably photoshopped model. Oh 100% I mean 2002. Yeah even today all that shit's being photoshopped. Julie says you know why can't I look like that? I think Lady Bird doesn't really respond or like doesn't say anything that important but then Lady Bird reflects that same sentiment much later on in the movie when she's shopping for her prom dress and she comes out and there's a dress that's a little too tight. And, you know, she's saying like, why don't I look like the women in the magazines, which is a bit on the nose, but, you know, but yeah, I do like those little moments where, you know,

Julie, like you said, expresses an insecurity, which, you know, again, just a totally realistic thing for women of all ages to be insecure about so i just yeah i just really liked that representation and that that was addressed in the movie i would like to see more movies feature just a strong female lead that doesn't have that quote-unquote ideal body shape i'd like to see for sure representation across the board of just you know other shapes and sizes it doesn't seem like we're quite there yet in hollywood i don't think so but i it's on the horizon i can already i can feel it in my bones it's coming you know when you see i really do like when you see more women directors you see more women screenwriters you see women

really getting the means of production like you know like you have a Shonda Rhimes that exists you have an Oprah that exists Oprah has a network like I don't see how in the next 10 to 20 years based on the way those women look you know right and what they've already done like that that work isn't pushed more and like women like us who want to see ourselves represented on screen even anisa ray with her natural hair like that's mind-boggling to me like you don't see a lead with natural hair like 10 years ago ever you know like now it's everywhere now it's like i don't even know how to take care of my natural hair now i'm like oh my god now it's a trend i gotta figure it

out but it's like serious like i really i think it's i think it's a trend. I've got to figure it out. But it's like, I really, I think it's only going to get better, really. Yeah, I hope so. I think you're right. It makes me happy. I feel uplifted. Oh, good, I'm so glad. You guys don't agree?

You don't think it's going to get better? I think so often we get caught in the mire of like, we're usually covering movies that are a little bit older and it's so easy

to just get bogged down with like, oof, Jesus Christ, we're giving James Franco Golden Globes? Okay. But it does with like, oof, Jesus Christ, we're giving James Franco golden gloves. Okay. You know, like,

but it does seem like there is a system that is, if not being pushed all the way out is at least being pushed to the side, which is, yeah. I think the most promising thing is that system is seeing how financially, like it's, it can't last long. Like that,

that system, like, like people aren't supporting movies that only have this or that. Like I think a movie like Black Panther, which I personally have been excited to see. I'm so excited to see it. I got my tickets, I'm so ready. But the fact that that, or even like Lady Bird,

let's just use the movie we're talking about, a movie like Lady Bird that is financially successful, you know, like from the time when Bridesmaids was financially successful. Everything's about money in this industry. Totally. Once they see

that this structure that's built on these oppressive kind of ideas because only a handful of people or only so many people get to make these decisions, when their bottom line isn't being met

because they can't finance. Because people aren't putting up with it anymore. People aren't putting up with it anymore. People aren't putting up with money anymore because they know they don't have to see something like that. They have to change or they die, which is fine. Some of them will go away and some of them will wise up and, like, make movies with women and people of color and, like, put people or, like, even better. I hate having to, like, shove my way into, like, the the person of powers, you know, position.

I'd rather just create my own thing. And then you die naturally. Competition is great in that way. You know, like when you're making something people want to see, like I don't have to push my way to the table. I can make my own table and make my own film and make my own, you know. Yeah, totally. And I think it's amazing. I think it's going to be dope.

And with like all these different platforms, things are so much more accessible than they used to be. you know yeah totally and i think it's i think it's amazing i think it's gonna be dope and it was like all these different platforms things are so much more accessible than they used to be with like the studio system and all that yeah it sucks that for like the hollywood studio system the motivator for them is money and not showcasing marginalized voices like well it's good that that's the result but yeah this is america capitalist i know socialist caitlin over here caitlin go get your plow we're gonna get out of here libertarian libertarians own plows that's just like a fun thing i enjoy pushing in the world um yeah and when movies like lady bird i want to see how beyond its budget it it made but like this movie did so well and i

was i was surprised that and i think there was just like a cultural shift of a couple years ago do i think my brother my little brother would go out of his way to see ladybird no like but he did and he's seen it twice i mean that has to do with movie pass too but but but like it it is cool that there is like a culture shift happening where you don't necessarily see ladybird and you're like oh it's the girl movie we're not gonna go but like yeah where it's like my yeah my dad and my brother saw ladybird and they just and i think unless they were like placating me i think they just thought they saw a movie which is which they did but i think 10 years ago

they would have been like oh yeah we saw i can't believe i had to go see the girl movie you know do you know what that makes me think of when you say they saw a quote-unquote girl movie and they are just talking about it like a normal movie it makes me think of the me too movement or just the sexual harassment culture in hollywood that everyone's been talking about about how like dudes are just like well how are we supposed to talk to women? It's just like, they're a person. Imagine talking to another guy, but that you might, you know, and like, ask it like, would you touch another guy if you didn't ask that person or didn't know if it was okay?

You know? Right. Like the sexual attraction part is, you know, one piece, but then also they're also a person. That's what I would like to say to people that are confused. Yeah, it's, well, it's been shoved down everybody's throat in media and just culture in general that actually women aren't really people. They're objects. Yeah. So all these men who like don't know how to talk to women or like don't know how to

treat them it's because they've been spoon-fed these ideas that like women are objects and that they're not real people and they don't have autonomy so yeah they're just like jiggling boobs sometimes they have a name sometimes they don't even like you guys were talking about when you go back and watch old movies it's true when i go back and watch old movies. It's true. When I go back and watch old movies, I'm like, holy shit. And even recent past. Something that this movie didn't really address. I mean, I just think that there wasn't time. But I would be so interested in what were the movies Lady Bird and Julie were seeing in 2002.

Because it had to have been a fucking nightmare. Because that's kind of i feel like the early 2000s was weirdly especially bad uh in the ways that women are projected i i'm kind of i think plugging in my time at working in the playboy archives as a litmus test for that but like the early 2000s was especially pushing like an insane body type on the world. That's less realistic than almost any other era I can think of. So I kind of wish I knew like, I'm like, oh, because they don't talk about movies. Music is discussed a lot.

And the soundtrack is like awesome. Also, to date, Lady Bird has practically quadrupled its budget. Awesome. That's amazing. 10 million budget. It's made 39.1 million at the box office. That's amazing. Cool.

Yeah. I mean, that's nowhere near what a blockbuster gets, which is upsetting. But people are buying tickets to go see it. People are seeing it. That's good. It's exciting. Yay. Another thing I wanted to talk about is

I love how, like, sex positive that household is. Yes. Oh, my God, yeah. It's, like, really cool to see. We almost never see that in movies. We don't get it. I loved how when she asked her mom when's a good time to have sex.

Yeah. And her mom goes, what did her mom say? She says, she has a little, she's like, are you having sex yeah yeah and she says truthfully no yeah because she hadn't had sex yet at that point and then uh her mom says i'd say college and then she's like and make sure you use protection like we talked about which is implying that they've already had the sex talk like if you're gonna do it just like you know use protection make sure you're ready all that stuff there's that conversation which i really loved i really liked i think it's earlier on in the movie but um lady

bird's mom and dad are like in the bathroom and oh my mom says like do you think miguel and shelly have sex on the pullout cat and he's like oh yeah and then they laugh about it like i loved it so funny like because i don't know how religious the family is. I think that because Lady Bird goes to an all-Catholic high school, maybe I'm assuming. No, because they addressed that, too. They said that Miguel saw someone stabbed in public school. Yeah, right. It's the best school in the area.

And so, God, I remember that argument against, like, public school of just, like, someone got stabbed once. And it's like. Yeah. of just like someone got stabbed once and it's like yeah so i guess my point was i assume that the family was at least religious enough to send their kid to a religious school but maybe not either way the fact that they that it was like a pretty sex positive household um did either of you grow up in like households like that very religious households uh, like sex positive. Not at all. Sex negative. My mom was actually for as liberal as she is, my mom is

or at least was at the time not so progressive about sex. Shout out Lori. Now I talk to her all the time about raw dog and dudes. No, not really. I hope not. That's vulgar. That's your mother speaking. I call my mom.

You know what? Maybe I'm going to regret this sentence a bit. I call my mom, like, basically any time I have a new sex partner, I'm like, Mom, can I send you pics? Dude, this is like a dream world. I could never. I'm married, and I can't really. My mom is so If you go back home with your husband

Does she make you sleep in separate bedrooms? No, we sleep in the same bedroom But it's like I don't even She doesn't believe in birth control For married couples She thinks we should be having kids already Which I'm just like, oh my god

My mom was so Sex positive to the point where I, like, I think she kind of, like, fucked me up in the reverse way. Where there were multiple times in high school. I lost my virginity. I mean, I talk about it all the fucking time. August 10th, 2010. August 15th, 2010. Sorry. August 15th, 2010.

I do a whole fucking show. But all I have to say, my mom approached me several times before I lost my virginity, and she was like, oh, you haven't lost your virginity? Are you sick? Are you gross? Did she ask you that? Yeah, she was like, are you not doing it right?

Why? Because she loved, my mom loved all of my high school boyfriends to the point of like, are you hitting on them? And she was like, you should, yeah, go for it. But she was also great with like, she brought me to the doctor. Anytime I would start dating someone, why aren't you like a wild little slut? I was like, I actually like reading and watching television. Sluts like to read. Yeah. Okay. I think so.

At the time, I wasn't a reading slut. Right. I was a reading prude, but now I'm a reading slut. Congrats. And that's great. Yeah. Yeah. So I feel lucky to have grown up in a household like that and then my dad I think sort of like Lady Bird's dad

was not I mean it would have been weird if he was just like you having sex what's going on but he was like tolerant and cool and nice about it and as was her mom which I think is really what Lady Bird and her mom do fight about and then what they don't fight about I think is really telling of both of their characters as well because you've seen a million times in movies and then also our real lives of being really scared to approach your mom about sex stuff and you know and fear of her judging you and being called a slut and things like that but the fact that no judgment is passed in their conversation about sex and the fact that they don't fight about it whereas they fight about all kinds of other stuff but the fact

that no shame is attached to ladybird potentially having sex i thought was like really awesome to see i wonder if that's california yeah because you know like you being from rural pennsylvania like there's no way your parents would be sex negative yeah like I'm from a I'm Haitian I was born in Haiti like I'm from a very immigrant background like that's very common for you know parents and those kinds of backgrounds to not be sex positive so but the people that I meet from California particularly San Francisco of course but like I'm imagining even places like Sacramento I'm wondering if it is a little bit more open and a little bit more. There's more education and people are more laid back about young people having sex.

Not even like laid back because there's no reason to be bananas about it. Just more understanding. I guess. Accepting of young people. Because I thought that same California thing when we see how chill the nuns are. I was like, oh, these are some California nuns. Exactly. California nuns.

They're unforgettable. You did not do this to me. Oh, my God. Oh, man. Shout out to the nuns having fun calendar. Shout out to the nuns. You ever have a nuns having fun calendar? No.

I think everyone is. Oh, dude. Yeah. My aunt is like really into the nuns having fun calendar no everyone is saying oh dude i yeah for my aunt is like really into the nuns having fun calendar i thought that was you making a joke no check no check it out like if you it's one of the better google image searches oh great nuns having fun they're doing all sorts of stuff awesome they're they're at the beach they're they're they're climbing i have a very specific image of a bunch of nuns in a tree just smile you're like great this is they're having fun anyways yeah the nuns are very chill in this movie yes which i thought was a fun choice of the things that you would assume in like a coming of age movie would provide the most resistance kind of don't in this movie where I, you know, when it opened at a religious school,

I'm like, Oh, there's going to be some religion struggle in this, but that's not really where the movie chooses to go. Right. Um, which I thought was like cool and smart. Yeah.

California nuns, baby. Were you, the non-representation in cinema is like, you know, these like, these hard, hard doubts.

Actually, no. Well, my nun representation is sister. Sister. That's all I've ever seen. And I'm just like, nuns are always portrayed awesome. And like, their lives are awesome. And I almost wonder if it's because they don't have to, men don't have to be attracted to them.

So they don't have to be represented as anything but fun and cool and carefree. Because they love one man. Jesus. Doubt. My favorite movie of all time. Are you serious? Are you serious?

It's one of my favorites. I've seen Doubt so many times. Are you serious? It's so dark. It's very dark. I watch it a couple times a year. What is going on in your head? I don't know.

It's an actor's film. I love it. Everyone across a year. What is going on in your head? I don't know. It's an actor's film. I love it. It's all five, everyone across the board, beautiful work. It is beautiful acting in that film. Doubt passes the Bechdel test. Easy. Yeah. Easy, because it's like Amy Adams and Meryl Streep just saying the word doubt back and forth.

Doubt, doubt. I got doubt. Me too. But don't they have doubt? Me too. They have doubt in men. They have doubt. Well, yeah. Is that. But don't they have doubt? Me too. They have doubt in men. They have doubt. Well, yeah.

I mean, the... So, is that passing the Bechdel test? It does. We're going to talk about doubt at some point. Okay, we will. Yeah, we'll do the episode. That's going to be a five-hour barn burner of a Bechdel cast episode, because I feel like I talk about doubt in every episode.

Yeah, that's true. Doubt has become our new Titanic almost. Although, shout out to Titanic. Is that the other film that you guys think is the best film? we really talk about Titanic a lot we have good taste

as you can tell does that one pass the Bechdel test? it does it does right because she talks to her mom

Titanic fare is way better than you would think on almost every really? I'm trying to think of what conversations has she had that weren't about

her husband well and then also at the beginning it's like the old lady and her granddaughter talk. Kathy Bates talks to other women. So, I mean, it's not the best, but it does way better than you think. Okay. Back to Lady Bird, though. Sorry. I couldn't help but notice how many people you see crying in this movie and how several of them are men.

Because you see Danny crying. You see that priest crying who's like directing the school musical. God, what a beautiful, tragic character. Yeah. I wish you maybe found out a little. So you see a scene where he's speaking to Ladybird's mom in the psychiatric hospital and you don't know exactly what's going on except you can kind of assume that he is probably still grieving from the death of his son and depressed and oh i felt so like whenever she's like do you have a support

system he's like what do you mean like do you have anyone you can talk to when you feel this way he said no not really i was like oh my heart is breaking for this man yeah and again it's just like the writing of this movie is so good as we barely see that character and yeah and we still have such a strong emotional response to it and he has like really funny line too after after the drama show and then he's like they didn't understand it so that reminded me of my high school theater director too mental health is addressed again whenever Lady Bird goes into Julie's house before they go to prom. And Julie is just crying. And she's like, what's happening?

Why are you crying? And she's like, I'm just crying. And she's like, what? And she's like, some people just aren't built happy. And I was like, ugh. And I think that they address it with the father character, too. Oh, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

He's on antidepressants, I think. He's on antidepressants. And then Lady Bird's mom is sensitive to it until sometimes she'll just use it as sort of like an argument chip of like, your father's depressed. And stop. So stop being such a fucking bummer. Yeah. But I thought that that was interesting, too. Like, yeah, I guess we do see like men dealing with i actually missed the julie being depressed part because she wasn't gonna go to prom so i thought

she was crying about that and just didn't want to admit that i wasn't sure what that moment was that's what i thought that moment was interesting i interpreted it because of her i think that it that's easy to assume but then when she says you know some people just aren't built happy i just i thought she was maybe just having sort of a depressive episode and, but I don't know. Yeah, maybe you're right. Yeah. And then when they go to prom together, it's cute. Yeah, and they do have a really nice time and

if she had been depressed, I hope Lady Bird helped kind of alleviate that for at least a little while. Did you see the picture that was sort of like circulated around of Greta Gerwig directing that scene? I think so, yeah. She wore a prom dress to direct that scene. Oh, I did.

I heard about that. That was sweet. I didn't see that one. I was like, that's so nice. I wonder if she's like super like weird. Well, Greta Gerwig is interesting because I personally, I mean, her most, I would say Frances Ha was her big thing. Yeah.

And I cannot stand Frances Ha. I didn't get it at all. Yeah, I'm like, who is this for? I don't know what's going on. Who is that movie for? And I couldn't stand her character in it. I was like, what is she doing? She's, the whole dancing in the street vibe to Frances Ha.

Oh, I didn't. I think I only watched the first maybe 20 25 minutes of it and then never went back to it yeah and that that was really my only experience of greta gerwig prior to knowing that she had made this movie like i knew who she was like she's randomly in the jackie o biopic for some reason like so like i knew she was but i was like oh the Frances Holly I don't want to see this but it turns out that she is better than Frances like it was just it was exciting and now I'm fully team Greta Kroenig

I think she's brilliant I would love to meet her one day I hope she is weird she's got to be Greta if you want to come on the podcast open invitation come to Velvet sorry about the things I said about Frances Ha when you put out your art that's what happens yeah I'm sure Come to Velvet. Sorry about the things I said about Frances Ha. No, we're all entitled to our opinions.

When you put out your art, that's what happens. Yeah. I'm sure there's people, I mean, I can't imagine there's many, but I'm sure there's people out there who don't even like the Bechdel cast. I can't imagine why, but sure. I've never heard of them. They talk about doubt too much. Main criticism. And also, it's very impressive, given the sheer number of characters we see in this movie,

of how every character has their moment, pretty much. There wasn't the symptom of too many characters, and then we just lose some. Although I do wish we'd seen more Danny. You guys love this character. I love Danny. I'm ambivalent. I do definitely hate'd seen more Danny you guys love this character I'm ambivalent I do definitely hate

Timothy Chardonnay I like him as an actor I hate his character but even he gets a moment too of like he has a little bit of depth and you know he's like he's a piece of shit and is shitty to Lady Bird but Lady Bird's kind of shitty

and he has a sick dad and it's like you you know i don't know the scene where she loses her virginity to him and then she thinks that he has also lost his virginity to her and she's like wow we took each other's flowers and he's like i've had sex with maybe six other people i don't know it's like shut up quit being so cool and then that line she's like how could you not even know if it's six people? I've definitely like said that when I was like younger to be like, how do you not my perception of this is completely wrong and then the scene right after that her mom picks her up and she on the verge of tears and her mom's like what's wrong and then she just kind of like sinks into her mom's embrace and it's you see this really tender moment between these two characters who you're usually seeing fighting but i like the balance of them fighting but then also having like warm tender moments like that is just like really i don't know just it my robot heart that usually doesn't

respond emotionally to things unless it's paddington or paddington 2 i really felt something there and i don't think it has a perfect score on rotten tomatoes right now is the best movie you're talking about know what you guys are talking about. I haven't seen Paddington 2. Paddington? For everyone who can't see it, Kaylin just gave me a look. I've never known you to have such a strong reaction. And you have strong opinions on a lot of

things, but nothing stronger than Paddington 2. What is Paddington 2? It's a live action except the bear, Paddington. Paddingtonton is 2. It's a live action except the bear, Paddington. Paddington Bear is CGI. Yeah. The first movie is terrific. The second movie is even better.

It's genuinely a good movie. It's so good. Okay. Can't wait to see that 400 times. It's hard to believe, but I'm going to. It is hard to believe, especially because the movies are not marketed well. Okay. Because they're children and family movies, so i won't get into it just know

that paddington 2 is the best movie of this century so that's wow yeah what's the story like quick quick like what is it about paddington is a bear who lives in peru oh my god he gets displaced by an earthquake he has to move to london this is paddington one he's looking for a family to take him in and then this family family finds him. The father is like, ooh, a bear. No. And the mom is like, no, we have to help this bear. It's an allegory for immigration and racism. And it's so good.

And then they take him in and they try to help him find this explorer. And I won't spoil it. And then Paddington, too, he's in the family now. He gets wrongfully accused of a crime. Hugh Grant gives a performance of a lifetime. Wow, this is an epic movie. Yes, it's great. So check out Paddington and Paddington 2.

And Lady Bird. And Lady Bird. And The Shape of Water with my new boyfriend The Fish's Butt. The movie is pretty good. It's a good love story but you go for the hot fish. The fish is pretty good. It's a good love story, but you go for the hot fish. Okay. The fish is hot.

So, yeah, I mean, there's truly no shortage of good movies out right now. Don't see The Post. That's true. Don't see The Post. Really? Skip The Post. Oh, no, but that screenwriter is like a first-time writer, and she's like so cool. I know.

I think that Steven Spielberg kind of biffs it up by uh yeah just by with a bunch of just like the the story is not the problem it's just like the way it's shot it's so oscar baity and the way it like looks and you know i haven't heard it's just you know one of the reasons why i haven't gone to see it is because no one is talking about it like i haven't heard anyone be like you gotta go go see the post. Because you don't. I, Tanya, amazing. No way. I, Tanya, so good.

Yeah. Check out our I, Tanya Patreon episode coming out. One last thing I wanted to say about Lady Bird is that it's a very white movie. You do see two

people of color characters in Miguel and Shelley. The fact that those characters are sort of, to me, they felt sidelined. It was kind of crazy that, you know, this is a movie about Lady Bird and her home life and her like year leading up to leaving her family. The fact that those are the two characters that we see the like least of screen time wise, and they feel the least developed. Like, I don't know. I just feel like,

I mentioned this before, I just wish we had seen more of those characters. I mean, I do think they were sidelined and I don't think they were cast really great. They didn't have

really great, even when they were on camera, they didn't really shine to me. So I thought, I imagine that maybe that was part of the problem. You don't really want to put them in more because they're not really owning the scenes that they're in.

So, I mean, I thought for such a white movie to, like, I didn't feel like it was that bad. Like, I really felt like because it is, it's a movie about a white girl and her mother and their relationship. I don't think it was about these characters and i think the way that they handled the race the different races is great because they didn't put them in scenes and then make jokes about their race or you know or like the punchline isn't their race you know or like and then the one time it does come up ladybird's immediately told to fuck right yeah exactly yeah and they don't ignore it either they totally call out that they're different races but it's not like they don't make fun of it they don't it's like it's it's well handled for this film you know i don't know what the demographics of sacramento uh that that was part of it was like

oh this is a very white movie but it's a period piece in a very specific place and maybe that's what it would have looked like i'm not totally totally sure, though. Yeah. I don't know. Sacramento was looking like an O2. I was at Westgate Mall. Does anyone have anything else they want to say about Lady Bird? I think you should see Lady Bird. I think it's a great movie. If you haven't seen it, it's like if you want good storytelling, great acting by Laurie Metcalf and Sorcerona.

And Beanie. It's like sweet and fun and easy to watch. And like you might cry at the end, maybe. Yeah, I had like five different moments of, you know, like a two second cry where you're like, ugh. Yeah. And then it's over. I had a bunch of those. My cry was when they're dropping Lady Bird off at the airport.

And her mother refuses to go out and say goodbye to her or even look at her. And then she drives around the block and, you know, runs into the dad's arms crying. I thought that was beautiful. Yeah, it really was. So as we alluded to earlier, this movie for sure passes the Bechdel test. Lady Bird's talking to her mom.

She's talking to Julie. She's talking to Jenna. She talks to Shelly. She talks to the cool nuns. The cool nuns. All kinds of characters. She talks to her guidance counselor. Wasn't her guidance counselor a black woman?

Yes. I don't know if we ever... It's a very quick scene. Yeah. I don't know if we ever learn her name. So I don't know if that scene technically passes. Got it. But that was a fun scene of like Lady Bear's like, I'm not sure if I have the grades to get into a good school.

And she like laughs at her face. It's like, you definitely don't. For sure don't. You do not. So, you know. Yeah, so they're often talking about school or Sacramento or applying to colleges and all kinds of stuff that are not about boys.

Amazing. But they also do talk about boys, which is high school. Yeah. There's also a sweet moment in the pool with Jenna when Lady Bird asked her what she wants to do and jenna says she wants to be a mom and i was like wow i didn't see that coming yeah that was sweet there's oh i guess we didn't really have time to talk about the jenna character but i thought that she was another small character who is serviced pretty well by this movie i agree where when we first see her it's like you almost draw the conclusion of how the character will be treated which is like

oh she's going to be you know villainized or whatever and she is a little bit and you know and you see in the way high school girls sometimes are like you see what jen is going for but then you do see those like human moments and i agree and she's actually the one who's hurt at the end of the movie because ladybird lies to her about where she lives and she says something like i don't even i can't even begin to understand why someone would lie about that so you could see that jenna was genuinely in it for the friendship and they weren't friends anymore because of ladybirds being a stupid liar so i do i i heard it's such a liar she is but greta does does an excellent job at like putting layers into these characters for sure. I also liked that scene between Lady Bird and Julie where Julie's like, Jenna's a moron.

She's like, no, she's in AP calculus. She's like, she's a moron in a deeper sense. Oh, nice. Really great. I also loved the portrayal of a happy marriage that was financially unstable. You know, I was like the stressors of life. And yet they managed to keep their marriage happy, which I like. And speaking to like the beta, we've called him beta daddy at this point but but seeing a man in a marriage and is in the beta role and is you know

quote-unquote emasculated in a sense when he can't find a job and he is depressed but i think when we see characters like that especially male characters a lot um it's like we're supposed to believe like and it's killing him he wants to be the alpha so bad yeah but this character doesn't and it's totally fine where he is. He seems very much like Laurie's, I mean, I don't remember the name of her character. Me either. Marion. Marion.

He's very much Marion's emotional support. And you can tell that she respects him very much for that, which I loved to see. A lot of tropes that you see over and over again in mainstream Hollywood movies are totally subverted in this movie and it's just really awesome to see. With that, let us rate the movie on our nipple scale. Zero to five nipples. We rate based on its portrayal of women.

I'm going to give it five nipples. I agree. I give it five nipples. Five nipples across the board. That never happens. the characterization is really great and yeah i love a flawed female protagonist we don't get to see flawed female protagonists enough and there are a number of movies out right now with very flawed female protagonists that even though they're lying and doing you know stuff that's fucked up. The writing is there and you can see yourself in it.

Watching this movie is a personal experience. And I look at it. Yay! Well, Sharla, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having me, guys. I had so much fun talking about this movie. This was a blast. Where can people find you online?

Do you have anything you'd like to plug? Yes, you can find me on Twitter at I'mSharlaFace and then also on Instagram at I'm Sharla Face. And I run a show called Velvet. We're first Friday of every month at Copper Steel in Koreatown at 8.30. It's a free show. It's always great lineups and it's always a fun time. And I host special.

It's going to be Thursday, February 15th at 8 p.m. at Lyric Hyperion. Kate Berlant is on the show. Ooh, love her. Yeah, and it's called special because we're doing long sets. You're like seeing material that they would do if they had a special. Awesome. If you love long sets of stand-up comedy, check that out. Awesome.

You can follow the Bechtelcast on all the social media. You can go to, oh, you should rate and review us on iTunes. Yeah. And you should subscribe to our Patreon.

It's only $5 a month and you get two bonus episodes every month of the Bechtelcast. This month you get I, Tanya, and the Disaster Artist. Ooh. Wow.

Biopic February. Yeah. Also, you should come to our live show. Oh what's up los angeles california ever heard of it yeah if you live there or near there we have a live show on february 12th at 8 30 at the nerdist showroom at meltdown comics i'm so excited we're doing the notebook baby with past guests from our butch castingidy and the Sundance Kid episode. I'm like dizzy.

Caitlin Gill will be there. Caitlin Gill will be there. She's awesome. She's so funny. She's amazing. It's going to be a great live show. Come on down. Tickets are $10.

And we're going to have our brand new merch for sale there. Hot merch alert. Wow. Want to save on shipping? Yeah. Get those stickers. Get some buttons. Aristotle will be there. Everyone to save on shipping? Yeah. Get those stickers. Get some buttons. Aristotle will be there.

Everyone want to meet Aristotle? Yeah. And you can meet us too. No worries. They'll meet us. Your favorite celebrities, Caitlin and Jamie, will be there for you to meet and talk to in person. Our backup dancers will be there? Mm-hmm.

You've never heard our backup dancers before, but they're always here. They're always dancing quietly. Yeah. So come on down to that. Tickets are on sale. You can go to Bechtelcast.com slash live and get your tickets and we'll see you there. See you there. Thanks for listening. Thanks for being here, Charlotte. Have a great time, everyone. And goodbye. Bye. Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese investigative journalist who on October 16th, 2017, was assassinated. Crooks Everywhere unnerves the plot to murder a one-woman WikiLeaks.

She exposed the culture of crime and corruption that were turning her beloved country into a mafia state. Listen to Crooks Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In California during the summer of 1975, within the span of 17 days and less than 90 miles, two women did something no other woman had done before, tried to assassinate the president of the United States. One was the protege of Charles Manson. 26-year-old Lynette Fromm, nicknamed Squeaky.

The other, a middle-aged housewife working undercover for the FBI. Identified by police as Sarah Jean Moore. The story of one strange and violent summer, this season on the new podcast, Rip Current. Hear episodes of Rip Current early and completely ad-free and receive exclusive bonus content by subscribing to iHeart True Crime Plus only on Apple Podcasts. I'm NK, and this is Basket Case. What is wrong with me? A show about the ways that mental illness is shaped by not just biology.

Swaps of different meds, but by culture and society. By looking closely at the conditions that cause mental distress, I find out why so many of us are struggling to feel sane, what we can do about it, and why we should care. Oh, look at you giving me therapy, girl. Listen to Basket Case every Tuesday on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.