Despite the buzz around awards ceremonies and film festivals, merely being nominated or selected doesn’t necessarily guarantee quality. I say that while taking into account both the modicums of personal subjectivity that inherently inform any value judgement an individual makes, but also with an eight and a half ruler’s length of film school objectivity.
Take for example, the new to DVD release of Very Good Girls (2013). It premièred at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and the reviews since have been far from glowing. What a number of writers have called the film out on is its poor depictions of females and female relationships. Writing for the Collider, Matt Goldberg says, “Very Good Girls has two talented actresses in the leading roles, and their personalities and actions are defined not by the characteristics of their own friendship, but how a boy controls that friendship.” Kate Erbland, over at Film School Rejects surmises, “It’s yet another film that sacrifices deeply bonded female friendships to the sexual wiles of boring men.” Other criticisms levelled at the film – and there are many – include its tired generic tropes, creepy stalker-like love story (Hollywood hasn’t thrown off the shackles of misogynist love triangles just yet) and its implausible character development, consisting here of pitting two best friends against one another for the benefit of male-ego-massage entertainment.
And it really is as god awful as all the reviews suggest. The question, then, becomes what exactly is of interest in this film? It was selected for a reputable film festival, has a reasonably high profile (albeit not spectacular) cast, including Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Olsen, Peter Sarsgaard and Demi Moore, and managed an admittedly slight but still existent distribution (simultaneously limited theatrical and online in the US, and direct to DVD here in the UK). The one aspect that seems to have piqued curiosity is Naomi Foner, an established screenwriter (and mother to Gyllenhaals Maggie and Jake), for whom this is a directorial debut. Foner’s previous writing credits include Running on Empty (1988), A Dangerous Woman (1993) and Bee Season (2005) – at least one of which was very well received.
For a festival like Sundance, that has a focus on American independent film, it is not surprising to see a film of this ilk in the line up. But the wreaths of festival selection are too often bandied about as a mark of quality when they should more likely be viewed as a mark of films or filmmakers of interest. The two are distinct.
But, much like Courtney Cox’s directorial debut Just Before I Go (2014), which premiered at the 2014 TriBeCa Film Festival, the name behind this film is not enough to mask its thoughtless, disappointing content. Still, when it comes to film, each of us must judge content and affect for ourselves. If you want my two cents, Very Good Girls is riddled with insidious ideology and enraging dialogue, including this gem, “But it must feel kinda good to have a guy want to have your body?” Sometimes it seems impossible, but let’s continue to dream of a world where women aren’t seen to exist purely for the physical enjoyment of men, on and off screen.
This post was written by Tara & Very Good Girls is available to rent, should you be game to take on its gender issues.
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