A Long Kiss Goodnight
Wow. What a movie. I think the issues of this film could turn into a twenty page paper, but focusing on buddy cop film aspect of it, gender is the main thing that comes to mind. Charley Baltimore or Samantha Cain, played by Geena Davis, is the obvious main character and hero. Mitch Hennessy, played by Samuel Jackson, is the typical sidekick throughout the film.
There a couple standard things in this film that you see in many buddy cop films. One comes to the rescue of the other, as Charley did for Mitch on more than one occasion and as Mitch did for Charley in the end. There was a big fight scene between the hero and villain in the end. A family member, Charley’s daughter, was taken hostage. And the enemy tells the hero of their evil plan before killing her. There may be a couple other things, but those are some of the main ones. However, one thing that differs from other films we have viewed is, of course that the main character is a woman, but also that she is the only character to cry for help. She calls for help in the end when she and her daughter are next to the truck with the bomb. Is this because she’s a woman?
Guerrero would have a lot to say about Samuel Jackson’s character. He plays a stereotypical black man who has been in jail, doesn’t have the best background, his wife assumes that he steals, he drinks and he smokes. I’m sure Guerrero would comment on the fact that he is saved by a woman more than once. He even says to her that he’ll be waiting for her to rescue him. I also think that Geena Davis’s character’s names (Charlene- Charley and Samantha- Sam) were not an accident. Both of her nicknames are male names. How different would her character be viewed if she had a girly name like Suzy or Mary?
All in all, it was very hard to take this movie seriously. The ending was humorous, when it wasn’t supposed to be and too many instances were far-fetched. It was difficult to take the scenes and Geena Davis seriously.
posted by JessicaM at 4:58 PM
3 Comments:
Is it hard to take it seriously though because it is a woman doing these things?
What drives the film to be so ridiculous?
If it were a male doing these things, would you have a different reaction?
Samuel L. Jackson was the stereotypical sidekick in this movie. He was a rookie who messed things up most of the time, until the very end when he learned from Charley how to get things done. He was also funny, giving the film a good mix of humor. The only thing that was different than what we have seen before in the buddy situation was the sexual tension that he shared with his partner but never let happen. It was an interesting component in their relationship.
I like what you said about the woman calling for help. It's so true that in all the other cop films we watched, none of the men called out for help, but Charley ends up having to call out for help. I find it really interesting that a woman in a power position has more weaknesses and shows them more than any man we have seen. Really good point Jessica!
Post a Comment
<< Home