I haven't seen "Contact" yet,
but ever since I saw Anthony Lane's review of
it in the New Yorker (July 21), I've been reading an awful lot about it.
Cos you know what Mr. Lane said about Jodi Foster's character in this film?
That she needs a good lay. I'm not kidding. I quote: "Ellie does not need a
long trip into space. She needs to get (1) a square meal inside her, (2)
some rest, and (3) laid."
She does get laid — by Matthew McConaughey's character no less —
but according to Lane, Ellie is not fulfilled by this and still needs to
get laid. Is he bothered that a woman on film is more interested in aliens
than in men? Because gorgeous MM gets to play the girly role in this film
— a good screw and then excuse me, but I need to contact some aliens. I
can see how some men might be bothered.
I've heard that scientists relate to Ellie just fine. And Clare at Girls on
Film thought Matthew McConaughey "was great at just showing up and
standing there, surprising Ellie (and me!) with his incredible good looks
(and impressive height!)." So what's the problem, fellas? Don't like the taste of
your own medicine?
Paul Tatara at CNN is just a bit confused by
the whole thing. He can't figure out why Matthew McConaughey pops in
and out of the film at random moments with no real relevance to the plot
(um, because he's got the girly role, remember?). To be fair though, I did
find a
woman who didn't like the movie and wasn't all that impressed with Jodi
Foster. She disliked the way MM "thrusts out his lower jaw like a calendar
pinup." Maybe she was just having a bad day.
If you'll excuse me, I've got a movie to see.
Emma Taylor is the editor of Tripod's Women's Zone. Her e-mail is [email protected].
