MovieChat Forums > 100 Girls (2000) Discussion > Overreaction methinks

Overreaction methinks

posted 21 years ago by avp202
7 replies | jump to latest

This film really hasn't been talked about by anyone I know in England, but I saw it by accident and quite liked it, mayeb cos I had no expectations. Come on I do think some ppl are overreacting to things, like for example the stereotype of the lecturer... that wasn't just some little stereotype it way just so very over the top that I don't even know how you can be annoyed, I don't know if it makes sense?? It wasn't like some disguised prejudice, it was out their and almost making fun of the stereotype itself. Come on people let's not get all carried away, the guy was trying to express himself not the entire world's view accurately, and we may not all agree! And yeah it's JUST a film and it's also a sad fact that however dumb this boy may be in your eyes there are people like that. But it's called a comedy- PLEASE it's all a big exhaduration! It's a joke, almost slapstick and cheesy, but it's meant to be like that, the lines are cringable and i think meant to be that way, you think?!! I'm really sorry if this makes no sense to people but it does in my head I just think it can be stupid to over analyse. That's about all I have to say, but don't stone me, I'm tired...

[–] cthulhuriffic 21 years ago

Maybe it is "just a joke," but that doesn't mean the director didn't mean it. 'Round my neck of the globe, we call this "kidding on the square"; that is, saying what you really believe, but doing it in a "funny" way so as to soften the blow. It's a way of testing the social waters, to find if there are any like-minded people in the area without unduly offending those who aren't like-minded. And if the unlike-minded get offended anyway, you can claim you were "just kidding," even though you weren't.

And I'm sorry, I don't think it's either an over-reaction or an over-analysis to criticize a film on the basis of the ideas it expresses... especially not when those ideas are so blatantly included as monologues.

It is not an accident that Michael Davis included such messages as voice-overs in this movie. He put them in there because he wanted to express their sentiments. He really means it; if he didn't, he wouldn't have put the messages in there, and he wouldn't have portrayed them sympathetically, and he wouldn't have been so one-sided about it.

Same goes for the "stereotypical" lecturer: it's no accident that Davis portrayed her the way he did, nor that he neglected to show any other type of woman except for fawning Maxim pin-ups.

This is NOT "just a movie." American Pie is just a movie. Sorority Boys is just a movie. Which is why you won't find me on the threads for those movies saying the things I said here. 100 Girls is sociopolitical diatribe disguised as a movie. If it weren't, there would be no monologues about gender.

Davis is kidding on the square here. Yeah, he's trying to be funny (and failing), but he also really means every single word of it. He's kidding, but it's not a joke.

[–] blinkrock 21 years ago

Why don't you just stop argueing and enjoy the film, you either like it or don't.

[–] cthulhuriffic 21 years ago

You know, if the level of conversation is too much for you, there's no shame in sitting at the kid's table.

[–] Zarthania 20 years ago

I thought he succeeded rather well at being funny. So what if there are a few moronic men out there? We all know that there are. Just the same as there are a few moronic women out there. And how many times have you looked a guy and thought to yourself that that guy had to be a brainless jock.... or a science geek..... or you just look at a guy first glance and think he's totally perfect for you? I think we're all just a little bit guilty of judging people at first glance, and logically the more you get to know a person, the more your ideas about them change. The "perfect girl" in the movie turned out to be a lesbian. Matt filmed the "ugly" girl and found that she was rather attractive. He fell for the girl he viewed as a slut. He gained more understanding of his roommate's hate for women and helped get him into a relationship with the "ugly girl". The movie's only 90 minutes long and was meant mostly for comedy. Not to mention, you're prejudging a man you've never met by labeling the director's character because of one movie.

[–] icekweem23 20 years ago

It has its moments. The analogy Matt makes between women, men and the foosball player with a metal stake through its heart is the single best scene in the movie, in the way that it is successful in telling what the screenwriter and director do not know how to show in more subtle ways without seeming contrived and as an excuse to inject witty dialogue into the film.

100 Girls was a noble, if preliminary and half-hearted, effort at making a Do The Right Thing for college guys and girls. If it fails, it fails because it was trying blindly to do something in good taste. People complain about the women. If all the women in it are stereotypes, then the men are twice as bad. Even Matt is one-track-minded and a stalker. What keeps him relatable to guys is that he is still out there searching for answers, the way us guys usually are.

I don't think it even warrants discussion as a serious philosophical film. What it does do well is take ideas one would pick up from a first year Women's Studies class in college and turn them into one-liners and words that are easy for teenagers to relate to and quote to one another. The first time I saw this film I was surprised by how entertaining it was, especially since I'd never heard of it; I gradually came to realize that the reason why it didn't hold up so well on repeat viewings was that it was made in a very simple-minded, overly easy-to-comprehend way for people of a certain age, who have a certain amount of curiosity and naivete towards what it means to be of a certain sex, and who are looking for a film simple enough to provide them with an escape from a world with more complicated characters and issues on gender that can't be so easily put aside.

And those who think of it as one of the great teen movies will grow out of that frame of mind eventually, as they experience more meaningful teen flicks that don't have to rely on voice-overs to supply 80% of the total audio track.

I say that through this film, Mr. Davis succeeds at being witty, but at the price of neglecting any sort of realism and depth on the part of his characters. I applaud the effort but have mixed feelings on the result.

"The world doesn't owe you nothing. It was here first." - Mark Twain

[–] jeebusenroute 20 years ago

Well, just to join in on this discussion, I thought that this movie was one step above the average teen movies, like American Pie and Not Another Teen Movie. It had a little introspection, was sorta funny and tried to elevate itself above the crowd by dispelling some stereotypes, and showing that pretty girls don't have to be jerks and are lonely sometimes, "promiscuous" girls can be the type that you fall in love with and not the girl next door, and the girl next door doesn't have to be in love with the boy next door (à la Dawson's Creek). I suppose, this movie is a little like Mean Girls but for college students.

I think the fact that it has stayed in my mind as one of the better teen comedies and also provokes discussion about the relationship between males and females in these boards, show that it was somewhat, if not completely successful in its tasks, considering the fact I saw it more than a year ago. Of course, this movie is definitely NOT on par with the greats, such as Breakfast Club, Stand by Me, etc. (Please excuse me, as this is in my humble opinion.)

The only part I really didn't like was the when Matthew stood up in Women's Studies class and did his whole speech. It was over the top, in my opinion, and was full of clichés by making the prof a man-hater. And when suddenly, the whole class applauded, that just kinda made cringe at the sappiness. Perhaps, it was a homage to classic teen movies, which often employ that tactic, but still, perhaps, if the monologue was more original - like the one he did when he was trying to get his mystery girl to come out of the building.

"I don't know about what happened... because once you start writing, it all becomes fiction."

[–] pinbackwiggly 20 years ago

I have a friend who is trying to get into movies out in LA, and I suggested he watch this movie. It is exactly the kind of movie he would want to make...a movie about teens to early 20-somethings, stereotypes, humor, a couple sex scenes thrown in, some sort of main character growth and a happy ending.

Honestly, if enough people watch it, then that is the kind of movie we will keep seeing. It was fairly mindless and bounced around, and sometimes that is all I want to see. I haven't seen 5 movies in 5 years that were truly great original works, so I can't put this movie down without trashing almost every other movie I have seen in the past decade.