credit: Ocean’s 8
Whenever the idea of female ensemble movies is brought up, there are a lot of people that experience various reactions depending on how they feel about such movies and depending on how the movies are put together. There are female ensemble movies that are put together in a manner that feels balanced and bound to be enjoyed by everyone since they manage to create a balance that audience members enjoy. Unfortunately, some female ensemble movies tend to go so overboard with the idea of ‘girl power‘ that they end up harming the plot rather than advancing it in a way that people want to see. The fact about ensemble movies is that one can have a great cast and still make a truly horrible movie, or one can put together a great movie with a less-than-stellar cast. Like it or not, the overall story does make a difference when it comes to how the movie is received, and ensemble movies can be fun, or they can be a two-hour-long drag.
Here are five reasons why female-led ensemble movies don’t always work.
5. They still rely on men to work at times.
Whether people want to own up to this or not, the fact is that men and women in an average movie are needed in equal measures to make something work in a way that will appease the fans, who are paying for the movie and are needed to make sure that cinema can still exist. Seriously, if there’s no one willing to watch a movie, then there’s no point in making it. But trying to make a movie with only one gender present is kind of a risk, no matter if it’s men or women that are leading the story. Male-centric movies often appear to do better since they’ve often shown a great deal of action and have developed a formula that works for a lot of people. But while female-centric movies can be entertaining, they tend to suffer from a number of drawbacks that the audience affects in a big way.
4. They’re not always original.
If one takes a look at a lot of female ensemble movies, one can’t help but see that the stories that are told are often mirror images of older ideas. That’s not such a big deal, but the idea that they can do just as well, or better, than the original movies is kind of hopeful, but those hopes are often dashed to the ground since the movies don’t follow conventional rules that might make them more appealing. It’s true that following conventional rules isn’t always a necessary thing, and it’s possible that by not following the rules, a story could be better off, but usually, when that happens, and no rules at all are followed, these movies tend to flop. Those ensemble movies that do get remembered fondly are those that show what so many like to harp about, equality.
credit: Ghostbusters
3. A lot of female ensemble movies show men in a negative light.
Equality is a funny thing since a lot of ensemble movies that feature mostly men have, in the past, shown women in a few different lights. But when such movies started showing men as little more than devious, foolish, and inept at just about everything, it painted a rather negative picture that audiences didn’t want to see. The whole idea of women being powerful, intelligent, and far more skilled than men isn’t such a bad idea until one sees that there’s no such thing as equality but a desperate need for superiority that paints a picture that a lot of people don’t want to see. There’s no need to bash men or women in an ensemble movie, especially given past examples that have worked.
2. The comedic movies end up sounding dry and artificial.
Not all of them sound this way since some ensemble movies are a riot. But there are those that come off as rather dry in their humor and barely funny, despite the fact that they might feature some of the funniest women in show business. Some folks might not want to believe it, but if one has seen enough movies, it’s easy to tell when the comedy in a feature is less than realistic and way too forced. Old jokes that don’t land, obscure moments that don’t resonate with the audience, and instances when the energy appears to get sucked out of the moment are a little too common in ensemble movies at times. It’s not that women aren’t funny, but it does happen that some female-led comedies just aren’t well thought out.
credit: The 355
1. They end up looking like copycats, and some are.
No one wants to admit this since copying another movie without paying homage to the original feels like a kind of betrayal that a lot of fans are more than willing to talk about in negative terms. But the fact is that some female ensemble movies are, well, they’re cheap copies that don’t live up to the hype.