Over the years, women have fought hard for the right to vote, for equal pay in the work place and even for the opportunity to play rugby and football. But heaven forbid a woman or girl be funny. Welcome 2011 — the year of women's comedies (even if it means showcasing a slightly less feminine side).
Most won't admit it, but women can be every bit as rude, crude and lewd as their male counterparts.
For every guy friend I have who believes us girls sit around discussing the pros and pitfalls of a manicure or how "comfy" the pillows are from Debenhams over Harvey Nics, I have two girl mates who are more than happy to lower the tone in favour of a laugh.
And why not?
This summer has so far been the season for "power-to-women" comedy, rich with profanity, bodily fluids and sexual innuendo.
Here's the evidence:
Bridesmaids
The R-rated Bridesmaids works with the kind of crass but "rings true" humour that established winners in films including American Pie, There's Something About Mary and of course, the godfather of the sweet-and-sour comedy, The Hangover.
As with the majority of comedies, firstly you're handed a bunch of misfits whose personalities predictably clash in perfectly set-up scenarios.
Annie (Kristen Wiig) is the girl who can't find a man to love and finds herself being squeezed out of maid of honour duties by Helen (Rose Byrne). The circumstances we all recognise. Again, the reason this film works is it's finally allowing the truth to be revealed.
We've all laughed at those cliche lines about men, women and the apparently different worlds they live in. But when it comes to girls, it seems movie directors have wanted us to remain in the '50s. Yes we wear pretty dresses, have dinner on the table on time at the same time as ticking off things from the housewive's work list. Don't we girls?
After watching a clip from a potential car-crash-crude chick flick one brave insider from Universal Studios admitted: "It's hilarious; I was cracking up. But I can't get that made. No one wants to see women do that."
If the Bridesmaids Effect really takes hold, imagine the possibilities. There's the comedy about the hen party gone horribly wrong, the honeymoon from hell because of her, not him. Face it guys, we are far from perfect and the sooner you except that the better.
Horrible Bosses
Jennifer Aniston is one actress who in recent years has bordered on boring due to her predictable, fluffy roles in chick flicks.
Best known for playing Rachel on the long-running sitcom Friends, the actress has continued to be a presence on the big screen with films like The Break-Up, Friends With Money and Just Go With it.
But this year things have changed. She drops her girl-next-door persona to play a raunchy, sex-obsessed dentist in Horrible Bosses and the results are shocking.
On track to earn $25 million in its opening weekend, Anniston in a role as a nymphomaniac whips up a mixed storm.
Kirk Honeycutt writes in The Hollywood Reporter that it's far-fetched that Charlie Day, who plays her dental assistant, would be turned off by Aniston's advances, calling it a "casting problem".
"Let's just say that if you insist on casting Aniston in this role — and she, for whatever reason, actually accepts it — you have destroyed any comedy. This, for a heterosexual male, is your dream boss," he writes.
The New York Times' A.O. Scott thinks Horrible Bosses tops The Hangover Part II and gives the credit to Aniston. "The sheer tastelessness of this situation is what makes it work, coupled with its almost surreal improbability."
The comments are exactly what you'd expect. It's a role which works because it makes people laugh, but it's a role which shouldn't work because it's a woman. But it does.
Bad Teacher
Cameron Diaz always struck me as someone who could let her hair down and give it to you how it is.
Sure she was great in She's the One, In Her Shoes, The Holiday, What Happens in Vegas and My Sister's Keeper but Diaz hits new highs in Bad Teacher.
The actress plays Elizabeth Halsey, a foul-mouthed Chicago middle school teacher who drinks heavily and pursues wealthy men.
Her language and actions are massively inappropriate, but we all relate to it — even if you don't admit it. You don't have to be a rugby-playing, beer-swilling ladette to throw out a shocking sentence.
Diaz sheds light on the appeal of these types of characters, explaining that everyone shares at least a few bad girl tendencies.
"If you were to say or do something that hurts somebody's feelings, after the endorphins ran off, you would feel terrible about it. Elizabeth doesn't," Diaz says of her character.
"That's the wonderful thing about her — everybody wants to be like Elizabeth. They wouldn't feel guilty if they said or did what she did, or they had no censor. But that's how the majority of us are, so we wish we could be like her."
Diaz also crosses other borders in Bad Teacher proving it is in fact possible to work alongside your ex in Hollywood. One scene with co-star and ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake is what Diaz says is the "least sexiest sex scene ever put on film".
"This is not a sex scene. This is a story point to illustrate the lack of chemistry between these two people," Diaz clarifies.
"We had a lot of fun with just trying to make it as ridiculous as possible."
