Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Sarah Haskins writing movie script about ... boyfriends??

I love me some Sarah Haskins as much as the next woman, but something about this doesn't sit right with me:
She might be Internet famous, but now Haskins is hoping to branch out. She recently sold a screenplay with her writing partner, a friend from college. It’s called Book Smart, and chronicles the two overachieving girls who realize in the middle of their senior year of high school that they don’t have boyfriends and haven’t had enough fun. They decide to put their minds to getting boyfriends by prom and “hilarity ensues,” says Haskins, adding that it just might be inspired by real life. “I'm not going to spoil the ending but you can see it in 2017.”
Really? Really? Come on, Haskins. Boyfriends are not instant equations to fun. Let's hope the script ends up as witty and self-reliant as Haskins' Target Women segments.

8 comments:

Amelia said...

First of all, good find.

Second of all, oh no...My heart kind of dropped when I read this. Unless it turns out to be some sort of commentary about how ridiculous the idea that boyfriends = fun is...why?? If it was being marketed as an autobiographical picture, that'd also be another story. But from the looks of it here, it looks like it's going to be a major disappointment...

That's all girls need. To have their ideas of worthlessness if they don't have boyfriends reinforced by yet another form of media.

Anonymous said...

Why are so many feminists so against the idea that women might WANT to have boyfriends?

Amelia said...

Why don't you ask some of those feminists who are against women having boyfriends. No one in this comment thread or in this post said that having a boyfriend is necessarily bad. What is extremely problematic is this rather widespread idea that if a girl is single, she isn't worth much. That a boyfriend is the key to instant happiness. Basing one's happiness on the presence of absence of another person is problematic because it takes happiness out of the individual's hands. And THAT is a problem.

lindsay said...

@Anon

It's not that boyfriends are bad, it's that the mindset of "we're not having fun so let's get boyfriends." I don't necessarily see romantic involvement of someone with a penis as instant fun (well, maybe sometimes).

I mean, they could go to an amusement park or get a puppy and have fun also, right?

Anonymous said...

It's Sarah Haskins, do you really think she'll let us down? I bet the main message of the film will end up being "we don't need boyfriends after all".

Amelia said...

I certainly hope so, Anonymous #2. And I think that it is very possible for such to be the outcome. But from the available information, there is too much left to be determined. We'll have to wait and see!

BenYitzhak said...

I'm hopeful about it. I mean, it kind of strikes me as a reaction to films like Superbad. I mean, if you switch the genders, I think it's exactly that.

"It’s called Book Smart, and chronicles the two overachieving boys who realize in the middle of their senior year of high school that they don’t have girlfriends and haven’t had enough fun."

So if handled well, it could be an interesting reversal of the theme. From what I've seen of her comedy, I have faith that she can pull it off.

intransigentia said...

A chick bro-mance a la superbad minus the misogyny would be hella awesome! I'm envisioning them ending up going to the prom together, except that some of the fun they've been having means they never make it there. I wouldn't put it past her that they have to fight off an alien invasion or something.