Bait by Actriz
Funny Women
Written and directed by Patty Jenkins
Produced by Donna Gigliotti and Patty Jenkins
Edited by Dylan Tichenor
Cinematography by Greig Fraser
Score by Clint Mansell
Distributed by The Weinstein Company
Premiered at the Telluride Film Festival
Limited release November 1st
Wide release Thanksgiving weekend
Budget: $9,000,000
Tagline: “Does daddy love you?”
Cast:
Ava Ivans - Charlize Theron
Calista Ivans - Martha Plimpton
Kitty Gilligan - Sutton Foster
Cynthia Bellis - Frances McDormand
Plot: Calista Ivans (Plimpton) is a well-known and respected comedic musical actress on Broadway. She lives in an upscale New York City apartment, complete with an outdoor patio overlooking the city below. Although she is happy with the success she has achieved, she is unhappy with her personal life, having just ended a loveless and sexless relationship. Calista has been nominated for six Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical but has yet to win, and is considered overdue by the theater-going community. She received raves for her role in the hilarious new musical “Crazy Queen” in which she played a clinically insane sadomasochist. She received her sixth nomination for the show, and had also been nominated as a producer. One week before the Tony Awards, she reads in the New York Times that she is heavily favored to win, but that she faces tough competition from her arch-nemesis, the also Tony-less Kitty Gilligan (Sutton Foster).
The next day, Calista is in the supermarket on the phone with a friend named Jenny (voice of Patty Jenkins). Throughout the conversation, she is interrupted multiple times by passer-bys who wish her good luck at the upcoming Tonys. She tells Jenny that she will be unable to have dinner this week because her sister Ava, a stand-up comedian from New Jersey, is coming into the city to do a show and will be staying with her. Jenny recognizes Ava’s name and tells Calista that she seems very nice in the interviews she has seen of her. Calista tells her that the niceness is really the result of the acting classes that the two of them took together as children, and that Ava is actually a very angry person. When Jenny asks why, Calista laments to her how their parents always visibly favored Calista and disliked Ava, especially their father, which caused Ava to reject all future male affection, yet she developed into a self-hating lesbian. Ava then quickly developed anger issues and paranoia, as well as a hatred for the world and humanity which she channels through her stand-up comedy. Calista tells Jenny that even though she does love her sister, she knows that she requires a lot of maintenance and fears that she will not have enough time to focus on herself before the Tonys.
The next morning, Ava (Charlize Theron) shows up at Calista’s apartment. Calista is surprised at how giddy and joyous Ava seems to be. Calista makes lunch, and the two catch up. When Calista comments that Ava looks great, Ava tells her that she has finally given in and now takes medication for her anger and paranoia. Calista happily embraces her after hearing the news.
That night, Ava slays at her show. It is a box office hit, and Ava quickly becomes popular online afterward. After the show, the two sisters go to a bar to celebrate. At the bar, slightly intoxicated, the women tearfully share how happy they are that they are finally getting along and have moved passed their rocky childhoods. Calista asks Ava to accompany her to the Tony Awards, and Ava accepts. Moments later, Ava spots Cynthia Bellis (McDormand) across the bar. Calista can clearly tell that Ava is interested in Cynthia, but Ava refuses to admit it due to her disapproval of her own sexuality. When Ava is distracted, Calista approaches Cynthia, who recognizes her from her appearances on stage. After awkwardly asking if Cynthia is a lesbian, to which Cynthia confidently and un-awkwardly replies yes, Calista asks her to go over and try to make conversation with Ava, just to see if something happens. The conversation starts off well, with Cynthia relenting that she is okay with their noticeable age difference because she feels like she is entering a sort-of mid-life crisis (something evident in the way she dresses). Ava refuses to show any emotional affection, and instead defensively makes anti-lesbian slurs as well as personal insults toward Cynthia. A fight quickly breaks out between the two and it quickly escalates to violence.
The film then cuts to Calista nursing Ava’s black eye. When asking why Ava never pursues romance, she makes a homophobic comment that instantly makes Calista flashback: a younger Calista and Ava in the car with their mother (cameo by Glenn Close), who utters the exact same homophobic line. Calista encourages Ava to move past the disapproval of their parents. This sparks an argument, in which Calista fruitlessly denies being their parent’s favorite. Ava angrily shouts the film’s defining line: “daddy never loved me.” Calista then reminds Ava what they established earlier: that they have become successful career women despite their childhoods and that they are both the winners of the “fight.”
The day before the Tonys, the sisters (with a slight coldness between them) go grocery shopping together, and this time it is Ava that is recognized rather than Calista, who becomes slightly bothered. At the Tonys the next day, they are sitting in their seats when Kitty Gilligan shows up, wishing her good luck. Calista rebuffs her (“cut the shit Katrina, whataya want?”). Kitty brags about how she has her next show lined up: a play about a woman who goes berserk after finding out her husband is a cheater. She says it’s “Tony bait” which she will easily win for. Calista, who had planned to take a break from acting after winning, now feels pressured to find a new show very quickly, just to upstage Kitty. Ava tells her that that’s exactly what Kitty wants, to get Calista to do exactly the opposite of what she wants to do.
Later that night, Calista wins the Tony and receives a standing ovation led by Ava. She even wins a second Tony as a producer when the show wins Best Musical.
The next day, Calista is on the phone with her agent and turns down a role in a new play so she can take the break she wants. She goes into the kitchen, where Ava has made her breakfast and tells her she has “big news.” At the Tony after-party, when Calista was wasted, Ava was approached by a theater producers who offered her a role in a new show after her recent success, which she accepted. Ava claims that the news quickly became the top trending topic on twitter. Calista, unable to be upstaged by her own sister, quickly calls her agent and accepts the role she previously turned down.
That night, Calista walks up the street to her apartment building and enters. There is a coldness in the air and everything seems darker. As she enters the apartment, Ava is waiting for her in the dark apartment, with no makeup, ratty clothing and undone hair. She has heard the news, and is disappointed at Calista’s incessant need to always seem better or higher up than her (“ever since I was born, it was your job to be the football player and my job to be the cheerleader. When do I get to play football Calista?”). Calista is confused as to how Ava is this angry even with medication, to which Ava responds that she lied about taking medication to placate Calista, knowing she would be worried about herself in the week prior to the Tonys, and that she used her acting skills from the acting classes they took together as children to hide her anger. Ava physically assaults Calista, and the girls fight. This happens just as Kitty’s opening night commences. The scenes are cross-cut: as Kitty talks of what she is going to do to the cheating husband, one of the sisters does exactly what she says to the other.
The fight culminates with Ava beating Calista with her Tony awards (“you love success so much? HERE, HAVE SOME!”). Calista is finally able to force Ava out of the apartment, and collapses to the floor afterward and has a breakdown. Months later, Calista’s opening night bombs, while Ava’s is a wild success, with her show being called an instant classic. A year later, Ava wins the Tony on her first nomination (over Kitty). Calista’s career quickly slows down, and she is no longer able to afford her apartment. She moves into a low-class apartment in the slums and quickly starts smoking and drinking excessively. As she is sitting on the side of the street as people walk by, no longer recognizing her, as she starts talking to herself and crying on-and-off, and the film closes as she shows signs of a mental breakdown.
Critics: “Patty Jenkins’ psychological thriller about two successful sisters with a strained relationship is thought-provoking as it is entertaining. While the audience is entertained by the sisters’ antics, they are also being challenged by the film’s unique screenplay. Why is it unique? It never establishes a hero or a villain. Each sister sees the other as the villain. Plimpton and Theron, two incredibly intelligent actresses, played the roles exactly this way: by making themselves the angel that they think they are, but simultaneously the devil that the other sees them as. Plimpton is beautifully understated, and gives a layered, nuanced performance. She has the character down-pat, fully thought-through and fleshed out. But the film’s most successful aspect is Charlize Theron’s colossal performance. Jenkins has pulled yet another tour de force from her, this time allowing her to keep her beautiful face. Frances McDormand, who appears for one scene, gets the biggest laugh in the film with her blunt “yeah, why” after Plimpton’s long and drawn out “are you a lesbian” speech. McDormand is brilliant as the middle-aged lesbian at the start of a mid-life crisis, and despite her rising age, still eschews brilliant physical acting in her fight scene with Theron. Sutton Foster, despite having a rather undeveloped and one-note character, still manages to be perfectly bitchy and charming at the same time. Hopefully this film will help her segue into more mainstream film roles. While this film isn’t the best of all time, it certainly works as a psychological thriller, even if it is somewhat unbelievable, as well as a character drama between two deeply troubled women. It’s one part Blue Jasmine, one part What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and one part Notes on a Scandal. A-.”
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%, 77% from top critics (Consensus: “Patty Jenkins’ fast-paced Funny Women is a wild ride with wild performances from Plimpton and Theron.”)
Metacritic: 76 (generally positive reviews)
FYC Oscars:
Best Picture
Best Director - Patty Jenkins
Best Actress - Martha Plimpton
Best Actress - Charlize Theron
Best Supporting Actress - Sutton Foster
Best Supporting Actress - Frances McDormand
Best Original Screenplay - Patty Jenkins
FYC Golden Globes:
Best Picture Drama
Best Director - Patty Jenkins
Best Actress Drama - Martha Plimpton
Best Actress Drama - Charlize Theron
Best Supporting Actress Drama - Sutton Foster
Best Supporting Actress Drama - Frances McDormand
Best Screenplay - Patty Jenkins
Funny Women
Written and directed by Patty Jenkins
Produced by Donna Gigliotti and Patty Jenkins
Edited by Dylan Tichenor
Cinematography by Greig Fraser
Score by Clint Mansell
Distributed by The Weinstein Company
Premiered at the Telluride Film Festival
Limited release November 1st
Wide release Thanksgiving weekend
Budget: $9,000,000
Tagline: “Does daddy love you?”
Cast:
Ava Ivans - Charlize Theron
Calista Ivans - Martha Plimpton
Kitty Gilligan - Sutton Foster
Cynthia Bellis - Frances McDormand
Plot: Calista Ivans (Plimpton) is a well-known and respected comedic musical actress on Broadway. She lives in an upscale New York City apartment, complete with an outdoor patio overlooking the city below. Although she is happy with the success she has achieved, she is unhappy with her personal life, having just ended a loveless and sexless relationship. Calista has been nominated for six Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical but has yet to win, and is considered overdue by the theater-going community. She received raves for her role in the hilarious new musical “Crazy Queen” in which she played a clinically insane sadomasochist. She received her sixth nomination for the show, and had also been nominated as a producer. One week before the Tony Awards, she reads in the New York Times that she is heavily favored to win, but that she faces tough competition from her arch-nemesis, the also Tony-less Kitty Gilligan (Sutton Foster).
The next day, Calista is in the supermarket on the phone with a friend named Jenny (voice of Patty Jenkins). Throughout the conversation, she is interrupted multiple times by passer-bys who wish her good luck at the upcoming Tonys. She tells Jenny that she will be unable to have dinner this week because her sister Ava, a stand-up comedian from New Jersey, is coming into the city to do a show and will be staying with her. Jenny recognizes Ava’s name and tells Calista that she seems very nice in the interviews she has seen of her. Calista tells her that the niceness is really the result of the acting classes that the two of them took together as children, and that Ava is actually a very angry person. When Jenny asks why, Calista laments to her how their parents always visibly favored Calista and disliked Ava, especially their father, which caused Ava to reject all future male affection, yet she developed into a self-hating lesbian. Ava then quickly developed anger issues and paranoia, as well as a hatred for the world and humanity which she channels through her stand-up comedy. Calista tells Jenny that even though she does love her sister, she knows that she requires a lot of maintenance and fears that she will not have enough time to focus on herself before the Tonys.
The next morning, Ava (Charlize Theron) shows up at Calista’s apartment. Calista is surprised at how giddy and joyous Ava seems to be. Calista makes lunch, and the two catch up. When Calista comments that Ava looks great, Ava tells her that she has finally given in and now takes medication for her anger and paranoia. Calista happily embraces her after hearing the news.
That night, Ava slays at her show. It is a box office hit, and Ava quickly becomes popular online afterward. After the show, the two sisters go to a bar to celebrate. At the bar, slightly intoxicated, the women tearfully share how happy they are that they are finally getting along and have moved passed their rocky childhoods. Calista asks Ava to accompany her to the Tony Awards, and Ava accepts. Moments later, Ava spots Cynthia Bellis (McDormand) across the bar. Calista can clearly tell that Ava is interested in Cynthia, but Ava refuses to admit it due to her disapproval of her own sexuality. When Ava is distracted, Calista approaches Cynthia, who recognizes her from her appearances on stage. After awkwardly asking if Cynthia is a lesbian, to which Cynthia confidently and un-awkwardly replies yes, Calista asks her to go over and try to make conversation with Ava, just to see if something happens. The conversation starts off well, with Cynthia relenting that she is okay with their noticeable age difference because she feels like she is entering a sort-of mid-life crisis (something evident in the way she dresses). Ava refuses to show any emotional affection, and instead defensively makes anti-lesbian slurs as well as personal insults toward Cynthia. A fight quickly breaks out between the two and it quickly escalates to violence.
The film then cuts to Calista nursing Ava’s black eye. When asking why Ava never pursues romance, she makes a homophobic comment that instantly makes Calista flashback: a younger Calista and Ava in the car with their mother (cameo by Glenn Close), who utters the exact same homophobic line. Calista encourages Ava to move past the disapproval of their parents. This sparks an argument, in which Calista fruitlessly denies being their parent’s favorite. Ava angrily shouts the film’s defining line: “daddy never loved me.” Calista then reminds Ava what they established earlier: that they have become successful career women despite their childhoods and that they are both the winners of the “fight.”
The day before the Tonys, the sisters (with a slight coldness between them) go grocery shopping together, and this time it is Ava that is recognized rather than Calista, who becomes slightly bothered. At the Tonys the next day, they are sitting in their seats when Kitty Gilligan shows up, wishing her good luck. Calista rebuffs her (“cut the shit Katrina, whataya want?”). Kitty brags about how she has her next show lined up: a play about a woman who goes berserk after finding out her husband is a cheater. She says it’s “Tony bait” which she will easily win for. Calista, who had planned to take a break from acting after winning, now feels pressured to find a new show very quickly, just to upstage Kitty. Ava tells her that that’s exactly what Kitty wants, to get Calista to do exactly the opposite of what she wants to do.
Later that night, Calista wins the Tony and receives a standing ovation led by Ava. She even wins a second Tony as a producer when the show wins Best Musical.
The next day, Calista is on the phone with her agent and turns down a role in a new play so she can take the break she wants. She goes into the kitchen, where Ava has made her breakfast and tells her she has “big news.” At the Tony after-party, when Calista was wasted, Ava was approached by a theater producers who offered her a role in a new show after her recent success, which she accepted. Ava claims that the news quickly became the top trending topic on twitter. Calista, unable to be upstaged by her own sister, quickly calls her agent and accepts the role she previously turned down.
That night, Calista walks up the street to her apartment building and enters. There is a coldness in the air and everything seems darker. As she enters the apartment, Ava is waiting for her in the dark apartment, with no makeup, ratty clothing and undone hair. She has heard the news, and is disappointed at Calista’s incessant need to always seem better or higher up than her (“ever since I was born, it was your job to be the football player and my job to be the cheerleader. When do I get to play football Calista?”). Calista is confused as to how Ava is this angry even with medication, to which Ava responds that she lied about taking medication to placate Calista, knowing she would be worried about herself in the week prior to the Tonys, and that she used her acting skills from the acting classes they took together as children to hide her anger. Ava physically assaults Calista, and the girls fight. This happens just as Kitty’s opening night commences. The scenes are cross-cut: as Kitty talks of what she is going to do to the cheating husband, one of the sisters does exactly what she says to the other.
The fight culminates with Ava beating Calista with her Tony awards (“you love success so much? HERE, HAVE SOME!”). Calista is finally able to force Ava out of the apartment, and collapses to the floor afterward and has a breakdown. Months later, Calista’s opening night bombs, while Ava’s is a wild success, with her show being called an instant classic. A year later, Ava wins the Tony on her first nomination (over Kitty). Calista’s career quickly slows down, and she is no longer able to afford her apartment. She moves into a low-class apartment in the slums and quickly starts smoking and drinking excessively. As she is sitting on the side of the street as people walk by, no longer recognizing her, as she starts talking to herself and crying on-and-off, and the film closes as she shows signs of a mental breakdown.
Critics: “Patty Jenkins’ psychological thriller about two successful sisters with a strained relationship is thought-provoking as it is entertaining. While the audience is entertained by the sisters’ antics, they are also being challenged by the film’s unique screenplay. Why is it unique? It never establishes a hero or a villain. Each sister sees the other as the villain. Plimpton and Theron, two incredibly intelligent actresses, played the roles exactly this way: by making themselves the angel that they think they are, but simultaneously the devil that the other sees them as. Plimpton is beautifully understated, and gives a layered, nuanced performance. She has the character down-pat, fully thought-through and fleshed out. But the film’s most successful aspect is Charlize Theron’s colossal performance. Jenkins has pulled yet another tour de force from her, this time allowing her to keep her beautiful face. Frances McDormand, who appears for one scene, gets the biggest laugh in the film with her blunt “yeah, why” after Plimpton’s long and drawn out “are you a lesbian” speech. McDormand is brilliant as the middle-aged lesbian at the start of a mid-life crisis, and despite her rising age, still eschews brilliant physical acting in her fight scene with Theron. Sutton Foster, despite having a rather undeveloped and one-note character, still manages to be perfectly bitchy and charming at the same time. Hopefully this film will help her segue into more mainstream film roles. While this film isn’t the best of all time, it certainly works as a psychological thriller, even if it is somewhat unbelievable, as well as a character drama between two deeply troubled women. It’s one part Blue Jasmine, one part What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and one part Notes on a Scandal. A-.”
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%, 77% from top critics (Consensus: “Patty Jenkins’ fast-paced Funny Women is a wild ride with wild performances from Plimpton and Theron.”)
Metacritic: 76 (generally positive reviews)
FYC Oscars:
Best Picture
Best Director - Patty Jenkins
Best Actress - Martha Plimpton
Best Actress - Charlize Theron
Best Supporting Actress - Sutton Foster
Best Supporting Actress - Frances McDormand
Best Original Screenplay - Patty Jenkins
FYC Golden Globes:
Best Picture Drama
Best Director - Patty Jenkins
Best Actress Drama - Martha Plimpton
Best Actress Drama - Charlize Theron
Best Supporting Actress Drama - Sutton Foster
Best Supporting Actress Drama - Frances McDormand
Best Screenplay - Patty Jenkins