Reasons why gender swapped reboots is a good idea poorly executed
By Rachel Roth
A move to increase female roles in cinema has brought a pile of lazy gender-swapped remakes to our doorstep and it’s time to stop.
There’s a female Lord of the Flies, Nice Guys, and High Fidelity in the works and I can’t be the only one that wants to shout “ENOUGH!” In the wake of feminism sweeping Hollywood, further influenced by the likes of the #MeToo movement, women are getting higher paychecks and larger roles. Where before the leading ladies would only have supporting roles and limited dialogue, they’re now taking charge and standing up for themselves. Trading in heels for sneakers.
Wonder Woman, the upcoming Captain Marvel, Thoroughbreds, and Widows are just some of the great films that have recently handed the spotlight over to women. Allowing them to be as strong as the boys and leave the damsel-in-distress roles behind them. Honestly, the biggest problem with the damsel roles, was how the women would literally wait around for their boyfriends like a useless potato in a dress.
Even when he showed up to fight the villain, the girl would just stand there watching. Do something! Help your man out! Pick up a stick and help beat your kidnapper!
However, this rising wave of girl power has created one of the worst trends in Hollywood: gender-swapping classic movies. Consecutively known as the “Jane Wick” phenomenon, used to describe a successful franchise remade with women in leading roles.
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It started with Ghostbusters, which was the worst decision anyone could have ever made. Not because the 2016 version was bad, but because 1984’s Ghostbusters should have been off-limits.
There’s always a risk when remaking a classic movie, but to swap the genders and give it a dumbed-down comedy style was never going to fly. People hated Ghostbusters before they even saw it. It currently sits at a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes despite the high critic score and it was a box office bomb. Fans considered it disrespectful to the original films, like it was no better than dirt under their shoes.
After Ghostbusters came Ocean’s 8, which fared better (and wasn’t nearly as hated) but still wasn’t a big success. The all-female version of Ocean’s 11 honestly tried to fit its reboot into the franchise. The title character, played by Sandra Bullock, was the sister of George Clooney’s character in the original films, making the franchise set around the Ocean siblings instead of a total stranger. However, it struggled to come into its own and received a lukewarm response from audiences and critics alike.
You can make the statement that haters of these movies are misogynistic, but let’s be honest. Any remake of Ocean’s 11 or Ghostbusters wouldn’t have been successful. Gender swapping them just seemed like an excuse to remake former blockbusters and be progressive at the same time.
This gender swapping needs to stop or at least reworked into a new formula. It was a decent idea that took a wrong turn. It holds potential that we’ll never see unless studios rework their execution.
Girls can kick as much ass as the boys, and they deserve to show it so stop feeding them leftover movie carcasses. This goes for all reboots; stop remaking popular movies in hopes for an easy buck. History has shown that it’s never a good idea. But all these female remakes? They’re just lazy.