Well, I guess I’m kind of breaking form this week and
talking about someone I really wouldn’t consider an excellent actor, but a
pretty inspiring person in entertainment. Tina Fey.
I’m currently reading her auto-biography, and the more I
read the more fascinated I am by her writing. If any of you don’t know, Tina
Fey really ‘made it’ by writing for Saturday Night Live, and only started
becoming one of the regular cast members after years of writing. After years of
writing and performing on SNL, Tina went on to write the movies “Mean Girls”
and “Baby Mama” and produce the show “30 Rock” on NBC, which I’m obsessed with.
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I can totally understand how someone may not like Tina or 30
Rock, because it’s certain brand of comedy, but I think it’s all pretty reflective
of Fey’s life and work. Regardless if
the shows, movies, or writings she’s done, I personally believe Fey has done a
lot of work to pave the way for other female driven comedy.
For instance, Amy Poehler, one of Fey’s cast member on SNL
has gone on to star in, and I believe produce the show “Parks and Recreation”
(also excellent.. ridiculously excellent). In many episodes Poehler has either
written or directed the entire episode. Maya Rudolph, another SNL alum also
stars in TV series.
I don’t think anyone in this day and age would argue that
women don’t have a place in comedy, but I think Fey’s success, and widespread
success has made major network producers more open to centering sit-coms around
female characters. It actually kind of seems to be a trend as of late. I mean,
it seems like “ Whitney” was a flop, but there’s also the “The New Girl” to
consider. The past few seasons seem to center around leading-lady comedies.
I mean, you can hardly talk to anyone that hasn’t seen
“Bridesmaids” and absolutely loved it. I was absolutely shocked when my guy
friends told me that they were hanging out and just decided to see
“Bridesmaids” and loved it. I’m sure that sounds a little sexist, but I had my
own apprehensions about seeing this movie, mainly because I didn’t think it
looked funny, and I’m not the biggest Kristen Wiig fan. To me, it seemed like a
girl’s version of “The Hangover”. But, I ended of loving it just like everyone
else. The movie itself just seemed different.
It wasn’t a bunch of girls trying to tell raunchy jokes and be on the level of “the
guys” in comedy.
Maybe this is only encouraging to me, as a lover of comedy
that has never found women-comics funny, but I think it could be viewed as
significant. But really, I have never seen a woman-comedian that didn’t make me
cringe, until I started seeing more and more of Fey’s work, and women like her.
I agree that Tina Fey is a very entertaining actress. I was not aware that she was writing for SNL years before becomimng an active member of the cast, but that is very interesting. I guess it took them a while to realize her talent because she is truly very funny. I have not seen very much of 30 Rock, but what I have seen has been pretty funny so I think I'll try to catch more episodes of that show. Also, I have not had the chance to see Bridesmaids yet, but I have heard good things from many people as well. I, like you, found it somewhat odd when a group of my guy friends said they went to see Bridesmaids, but they said it was really good. I have never thought of her success as a big step for women in comedic roles, but I can see where you're coming from. All in all, I find Fey to be a terrific actress and she is deserving of the success that she has had in recent years.
ReplyDeleteI think pretty much every person on the planet agrees with your thinking that Tina Fey is awesome. She was the head writer at SNL for a while before she started doing Weekend Update. She was actually the first female head writer, which I think is awesome and very fitting. When she and Amy Poehler were doing weekend update together has to be some of my favorite parts from SNL. It was the one segment that was reliably funny every week. Seth Meyers, the current head writer, still does a good job with it. Also, Mean Girls is a pretty classic movie that I definitely recommend people go see. I don't think that there is a recent movie that has actually made me laugh harder than Bridesmaids. It was a truly funny movie that wasn't just filled with dumb jokes. The only thing that could have made that movie even better is if Tina Fey or Amy Poehler was in it.
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