The Lego Movie was a film that rubbed me the wrong way. This was mainly because the style of Chris Miller and Phil Lord involves a lot of winking at the camera and commenting about how they are in a movie. That jokes gets old very quickly. The same can be said for this year’s 22 Jump Street. One thing I did not pick up on during the film was the lack of female characters and perspective. Well, for those people that were bothered, the forthcoming The Lego Movie 2 will feature a larger female presence.
Chris Miller tells The BBC:
I don’t want to give spoilers but there will be more female characters and more female stuff.
I am all for gender equality in films and, well, life in general. Based on that quote, I do not know if this what people like me are looking for. Granted, I do not hear his cadence with the quote, but to me, it sounds incredibly condescending on paper. Like, it is something to put into the movie to appease people rather than to come out naturally with the story.
Then, Phil Lord adds:
It’s important to us that the movie plays broadly and that we inspire young women as much as we inspire young men.
And my suspicions were almost validated.
Just the phrase “female stuff” gets under my skin. What is female stuff exactly? Shopping? Makeup? Other stereotypical things? I could be proven wrong when the film comes out, and they really do understand how to implement a gender balance. But for now, these quotes sort of make my skin crawl.
Warner Bros. is currently scheduled to release The Lego Movie 2 in theaters on May 25, 2018 with Chris McKay (The Other Guys) directing.
