Films where women have jobs and that's okay??? Answers on a postcard please:

I don't remember his name, but the boyfriend from the devil wears prada can join this list. Andie was only gonna have to work that job for 1 (1!!!!) year and then she would (as put by everyone in the movie) have her choice of writing jobs. Still everyone in her life was acting like toddlers because suddenly she had different priorities and cared to look a bit more put together. Also, the boyfriend was a chef, a job with notoriously long hours, but that was perfectly fine.

"Women in films who have jobs and that's ok" - this blew my mind, I've never thought about it, and now I'm thinking about it.

There is nothing I hate more than an unnecessary love story. Why do we need it EVERYWHERE? Loved this video 🤩

Rachel got back on the plane, met a lovely woman and lived a full lesbian life in Paris. It's true, I have to believe it, it is the only way I can enjoy Friends now.

Can we add “90% of films where the protagonist ends up with the best-friend character at the end” purely on the grounds that it’s sets up this weird president that teenagers have to endure where their friend thinks if they just hang around and be nice long enough you’ll eventually love them romantically despite having literally zero attraction to them?

In theory, I agree with you about Bridget Jones, but when I see Colin Firth… all principles go out the window

Why, after 5 minutes of thinking of an answer to the question “which movies allow women to just have jobs and that’s fine,” did I land on only Ripley from Alien LMAO

Exactly! ROSS HAD TENURE!!! Rachel got her Paris position after losing her previous job, she didn't have the job security Ross did and it was a fantastic opportunity. GAH!!

Ross is a terrible partner throughout their relationship. I never realised when whatching friends when I was younger but I tried to re-watch it some time ago and was surprised by how I couldn't stand Ross!

Leena swearing is my serotonin boost XD

I haven’t read time travellers wife since I was 12 but I remember being so annoyed that she had her first time with him on the eve of her 18th (?) at a point where he was considerably older. Felt like it was sort of approving grooming and I think she deserved to have those growing up experiences separate from him like he did separate from her, instead of her whole life revolving around him (although I guess that’s the whole point of the book lol)

I'm always happy to see more hate on You've Got Mail! The romance in that film makes me so mad. I cannot fathom why a woman would fall in love with the guy who closed her mother's bookshop. Also, why is the guy closing independent bookshops the hero at all? I just don't understand why we're supposed to root for him to get the girl.

Just saying, a world with a bilingual leena that can read Brazilian authors and comment on them is now my dream haha, love from 🇧🇷

I completely relate to the "I could've grown up bilingual but didn't" problem. My dad could've taught me Dutch, instead I've gotta learn it as an adult and it's incredibly difficult, despite being like the easiest language for an English speaker to learn! Yes I am salty...

Slight Emma correction, Mr. Knightley is actually Emma's brother-in-law as his younger brother John is married to Emma's elder sister.

Any chance of doing a reverse of this...on screen girlfriends who should get in the bin?

I love that you mentioned The Host. That WAS Stephenie Meyer's redemption. An actually interesting and even fairly nuanced YA novel with much less creepy bullshizzle. Though, you know, still a weird thing with age difference. But I can live with it, it's fine.

Respectfully, I disagree about the Clueless argument made here. I still don’t support the relationship, but the “they’re siblings” thing doesn’t hold water for me. They’re ex-stepsiblings who were “siblings” only very briefly, don’t seem to have known each other since infancy, and are pretty distant and not at all emotionally close at the start of the film. I *am* definitely concerned that Cher is only 16 and he’s in college, ostensibly more mature than she is. And same for Emma too, tbh, because although age gaps were more common in Georgian society, I don’t love that Knightley fell for someone he’s seen grown up, someone he’s known since he was 17 and she was an infant. That he’s felt so emotionally invested in and responsible for too since she was a girl. THAT is a bit too close to Renesmee/Jacob for me. I can still understand your discomfort with why the writers of Clueless made the choices that they did, but to your point about art reflecting what’s possible, the head writer/director herself responded to studio execs who were concerned about the relationship that her own grandparents had been stepsiblings. I’m not saying she should be rooting for all stepsiblings ever to get together, but I think her personal experience and cultural norms across the world add nuance to this conversation too. I also know this was just a silly video but hope you don’t mind me offering this perspective!

I am sorry to all the Brits, but this is how I feel about literally everyone's relationship in Love, Actually except for Martin Freeman.

As Good As It Gets is a horror story showing the lengths mothers will go to in a country with no healthcare and extreme wealth disparities

There is truly no reason for the stepbrother bs in clueless. They could've easily made him the son of another lawyer or an intern for Cher's dad

I relate so strongly to the "I make notes on my phone about things that bug me" comment. Wow. Yes. I do that. We love to see it.

"oops I slipped up at a party I was having an existential crisis and didn't really know who I was" is very specific and quite relatable lol

In the same vein as Groundhog Day - 50 first dates. Sure, it's a cool idea to imagine what if you could get a million second chances over and over, but the clueless partner (ha, not to be confused with Clueless) is having a genuine experience, while the other one is just performing a play every day.

The first time Henry meets Claire they’re both adults, so SHE recognises HIM from her being young but HE doesn’t know HER and loves young dream ensues

"I am alive, alert, awake and enthusiastic, the world is a beautiful place to live in." ~Leena Norms 2021 Aye aye captain!

I think Mary in the movie About Time has a really cool job and it's okay and not plot point and a great movie

I think this is a universal feeling because I, too, threw Breaking Dawn across the room. But I just thought it was because I was an adult trying to figure out what they hype was about. Glad to know that I was in good company.

OK! So in the time traveler's wife book, the story starts with adult Clare meeting Henry. He has no clue who she is (because he hasn't time traveled back yet) but Clare knows everything about him because she has all her memories. This sets up a weird dynamic, and quite frankly, their relationship really weird and far from ideal, because Clare was essentially groomed by Henry even though that wasn't supposed to be his intention. (He could have left her alone though whenever he time traveled to her house and not hung out with her, and he DEF could have not had sex with her once she turned of age, who cares that she was persistent). This is my favorite book of all time because it explores so many things (chronic illness, autonomy, death, love, freewill), but I definitely don't romanticize Clare's relationship with Henry perhaps as much as the book might want me to. As a teen, I loved the "unconditional" love they had for each other, but as an adult, I question whether that's a good thing, especially for Clare. I think the book does a good job of showing just how imperfect their relationship is, and how much Clare really suffers and sacrifices. She could have had a much happier life with someone else, honestly. I feel like the character Gomez, was supposed to represent that, but he's sleazy and not at all a good choice, and of course, isn't supposed to match up to Henry. But I'm sure there are tons of other men out there LOL. I never saw the movie, there's no way they could get any of the interesting nuance in it without making it a trashy romance.

Like, you're 100% right that Rachel should have stayed on the plane, but I can't not love how it turned out because 'I got off the plane' is the first TV moment to ever make me cry haha

Time Traveler's Wife: yes, there is a scene. I remember it oddly clearly. Young Henry has never met Claire and they have quite a nice, boozey dinner party where she's totally grown up and sexually empowered (I remember she playfully straddles him at one point; can you tell I read this during a dry spell?) I do think the "yikes" is successfully diminished in that book, although you'll never really banish it when you have a grown man meeting his 6yo future wife.

Mr. Bean's Holiday, nothing but support for Sabine and justice for her film premiere at Cannes!

This was JUICY. I LOVED it.

Now there is a lot of speculation on Ben in the last few seasons of Friends, but surely that was Ross's excuse for not going to Paris. I read one theory that when Ross had his breakdown and went on sabbatical, Carol had his custody rights revoked.

I just DIED when you said jacob and renesmee - I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about twilight?!?!? Also yes the host is the best book ever

I feel like I'm watching myself sending videos/voice messages to my groupchat at 1AM on various topics skdghlahds I feel represented and seen. ALSO TED AND ROBIN.

If I remember correctly, in The Mummy Evie has a job she wants to progress in and her boss is a turd for holding her back. But it's been a while since I've watched it.

Should Rachel have gotten off the plane? No. Could Ross just have moved to Paris with her? Also no, he wanted to stay in NYC for his son. Ross and Rachel would have been better off without each other anyway.

I also would love the opposite of this video which is you gushing about relationships on the screen you LOVE and why

omg thank you for saying this about You've Got Mail. i could not believe my eyes when I saw that film that so many people love. Just absolute trash characters and story. That film actually gave me nightmares

look as an old gen z, i have never watched friends or content of that time but i was entertained by it

Leena I haven’t even started this video yet I already have my question: where is that gold eyeshadow from? It’s so sparkly ✨

We can’t let Jane Austen completely off the hook because in Mansfield Park, she pairs Fanny Price with Edmund Bertram-not only are they biologically first cousins but they also grew up together so they’re basically siblings?? I love Fanny as a character but this aspect has always creeped me out.

I know that comments can boost and help a video but sometimes I feel like a facebook mum wanting to comment something like “that was brilliant, really enjoyed it! Thank you so much!” 🥴🤠

The Intern!! Thank you, I was so upset the ending was about the relationship and not her feeling more empowered about running her company

The point about Ross has sparked a rage in me because I last watched friends when I was a teenager, since then I’ve done most of a PhD and worked in academia and like as well as Ross being 100% able to get a job in Paris, it would probably further his career! Like such a big part of academia is moving being research groups and international collaboration, I don’t think I know anyone who’s senior in research who has stayed in the same country for their whole career! Ugh!

I agree that Rachel should've stayed on the plane, but I think the main reason Ross can't go with her to Paris is because Ben, his sister and his parents are all in the US. But tbh Rachel could've gone to Paris and they could've remained Friends and awesome co-parents!

Would love to see a wedding version of this style of video like bride wars and my best friends wedding etc! Love your take all these relationships and totally agree with everything 🤩

oh my god! we need to talk more about kids who can't speak their parents languages because our parents didn't want us to?? I'm convinced they never wanted me to learn so they could continue to goss about me

Big Time Traveller's Wife fan here: I have cried along to both the film and the book in the last few months. In both the film and the book, Henry meets Claire as an adult (she already knows him but he has no idea how it who she is) before he ever meets her as a child. It's a huge theme and conflict in the book where Claire sees their relationship when she was a kid as more sexual than it was, because she was a child who had a crush on an older man and fantasised about him, but to him she was just a child. There's also the added confusion of him kind of grooming her by mentioning that they get married in the future, but the book does explore that and how he consciously tries to push her away. A lot of the book is discussing whether their relationship is even healthy tho so you could argue it is a timey-wimey kind of grooming. Definitely worth re-reading (though if you sob to the end of the film like I do, please be warned the book ending is even more tragic).

I love saying “Alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic”!! I feel like you’ve just unlocked forgotten memories of school for me my teacher loved motivating us with that haha

I live and breath by the belief that Rachel should have stayed on the plane! That poem is perfection and belongs in the book!!

I recently wrote my A-level English lit coursework on The Time Traveller’s Wife (and The Handmaid’s Tale but that’s irrelevant) and about two pages of it was basically just me slagging off Claire and Henry’s relationship while trying to phrase it somewhat eloquently. Suffice to say, there were enough examples in the book to back me up. The fact that Niffenegger made the conscious decision to make Henry lose all of his clothes every time he time travelled and then have Claire meet him for the first time when she was (I think) six doesn’t sit quite right with me. Also, I’m pretty sure he impregnates her whilst she’s asleep (or she was asleep but wakes up during it) while a different version of him slept on the bed right next to her. Full offence, I despise Henry.

Yes. Just yes to all of this. Also have to nominate my favourite series, the Gilmore Girls. I bloody love Luke, but come on man, grow up (thank you seasons 6+7 for ruining his character), and especially Christopher, and I also like Rory's boyfriends in general, but they all are wrong in one way or the other (rooting for Jess, though, he seems to be getting decent as he grows up, thank goodness). Ally McBeal and Everwood come to mind as series where women's jobs are respected - though in Ally McBeal it's a constant topic because of Ally's insecurities.

I haven't seen several of these so I can't comment but I am looking forward to loving them and then rewatching this and going "omg, actually that is so weird and wrong why did I like it?!" lol

John from "The Breakfast Club" can absolutely get all the way in the bin. Right down deep in the trash heap.

You've got mail is legit my most favourite movie, my most comfy time, but I adore listening to you trash Jo hahaha

Can we also talk about how Joe Fox literally manipulates her into falling for him?!

When you first posted your short about Rachel and Ross I agreed, but I also thought it was harder for Ross to go with Rachel because of his son Ben. But I've just remembered Ross also had Emma ( I had completely forgotten about her!) so yes, his decision to stay, and therefore Rachel's, did come down to his career! As a side note, when I first watched friends as a teenager I dreamt of having a relationship like them. As I rewatched it as an adult, i realised their relationship is verging on toxic and nothing like what I wish to have!

This was so cathartic, thank you!

I think in the movie The Time Traveler's Wife Claire certianly already knows Henry when she first meets him in adult life. She has been waiting to ser him and keeps repeating "you are so young". He's the one who has obviously not met her yet and asks her to slow it down a bit, to pretend they are strangers for a bit.

YES about the get on the plane XD I hadn't even hit puberty when that episode aired (I don't think - may have been new to it) BUT I remember being really sad that Ross didn't move to Paris with Rachel and surprise her by showing up at the end by somehow beating her to Paris and meeting her there. I bloody loved this video, Leena xxx

sadly i would also have to say that the relationship between emma and mr knightley also gives me a massive ick, mostly because of how much older he is than her, and the fact he has known her basically her entire life. i know that the historical context might be different, but i still remember being quite put off when i realised that, during the events of the book, she is 21 and he is 37

I thought I was the only person with bilingual parents who used their second language as a "secret adult language" against me!!

Wow this one stung. The Time Traveler's Wife is my favorite book! Clare does first meet Henry when she's 6 and he's an adult, but they don't become sexually entangled when she's a child. He does at some point accidentally let on that they do get married, but it's not until she's a teenager and it's framed as a mistake he's made. It's pretty much involuntary for him, but the involuntary nature of it does start when he's an adult, whereas for her it's when she's a child. There is a lot of concern about the fact that he's 'making her weird' from both parties, and some darkness and angst about it, but at that point, they're both so wrapped up in and trapped in his time travel, and this codependent relationship/their collective obsession with it that neither one of them is really capable of unravelling it, y'know? Like they're both trapped. One of the major themes of the book is that there isn't such a thing as free will: not even someone who can travel in time and see the future/interact with the past is capable of changing anything. I do think it's a very dark book about a very flawed love, and not a romantic book about a perfect relationship, which is one of the major tonal problems of the film. The book is about love and there is a great deal of beauty and joy in that love, but it is a very messy and flawed love made not more magical but more codependent, complicated, and painful due to the time travel. There's something that has always felt incredibly real about the love in the book even with this sci fi fantasy twist: they're too flawed people in an imperfect situation and they're making due and loving each other in the midst of it. The movie is just not a faithful adaptation in terms of tone and concept. I think the smartest thing in the movie is that Clare and Henry dance to 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' at their wedding, and I genuinely don't think that was an intentional move on part of the borderline incompetent production team LOL.

Good news! As a member of "The Youth" I have never heard of As Good As It Gets

I believe in You’ve Got Mail, at the end, she became a children’s book author. I liked that she moved on from grieving the past and fighting to hold onto it, which was where her love interest at the start of the film had been stuck.

I too have parents who used Brazilian Portuguese as their secret language while I was a child! Got them back though didn’t I, played the long game & got a degree in it. Anyway, THANK YOU for this video, I agreed with all of it & will be showing all of my friends who don’t believe that Rachel deserved better! Xx

Re Bridget Jones, I was so confused/surprised by the extreme difference between third book and third film. Like ultimately third film is just 2nd film w middle aged-ness and babies. Like they break up and get back together _again._ Third book did way more to reflect on life and build on the previous ones

Okay but Clueless revolutionized the classic literature to high school reimagining pipeline and is a testament to the power of costume design for movies. The impact of those outfits? Iconic. They’re still felt to this day. All this to say the Josh romance is the least appealing part of the movie for me and something I gladly ignore in favor of everything else about it.

I think the worst thing about all these movies/relationships is that I didn't realise how messed up they were when I watched them for the first time as a kid lol

This just convinces me more I should make my video idea of “would have been better if it was gay” 😂 because it makes more sense.

Loving your content so much!

Yes yes yes I love you for this rant!

Loved thissss

I loved this video, and I'm totally with you up to a point on You've Got Mail - but as someone who has been watching that movie nearly since birth, Kathleen Kelly is writing a book at the end of the movie and she says that losing the shop freed up her time to do that. I'm reading this back and I know it's thin but at least it's something!

love this so much

I love your videos while im at work they always make me literally laugh out loud :)

Bad Santa is one of those films where I just kept thinking “no fucking chance would these women make these choices”. I know it’s not exactly along the same lines but STILL

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who didn't like the relationship in You've Got Mail, it made me so frustrated!!

i choked on my food at the Rachel poem PLEASE put it in the collection!!

Yes, more of this. You can absolutely make this a series.

(Second comment on this video.. oops?) Leena, could you do on-screen (book too maybe) romances that you like? Romance in general grosses/bores me but the ones I like (and don't feel suffocated by) I cherish. My favourite is Anne and Gilbert (from the books). Their story covers such a range from boy-teases-girl-he-likes, friendship, fights, kinda broken engagements etc. My favourite bit is that both of them hold a lot of platonic admiration and respect for each other (their academic competition is...intense.) which makes their relationship so comforting instead of "person treats another person with respect and dignity because they're attracted to other person"

This video is everything I needed today ❤️

actually love this video, please do more of these x

A poetry collection! I've been waiting for this and although that is not the point of the video, I am already so excited to get my hands on it next year! Wooo! On another note: thank you so much for another very entertaining little break in the day ~

Absolutely loved the pure chaos of this

Thank you for making the content we NEED in this world.

i swear 'seeking a friend for the end of the world' is my villain origin story. i was literally thinking about how weird it is yesterday lol ty for validating me

leena!! the eye makeup!! the takes!! amazing!

This is delightful!

Ohhh i’d love to see a video on the Host I feel like people barely talk about it and I love it!!

This is truly some of your finest work, I need more! Always love your film videos.

I did not expect to find this video SO HILARIOUS. Excellent work, Leena. This is truly a public service.

This video needed to be made. 💜

great analysis Leena! Also I love the makeup look, its banging!

You're so dope Leena , i love you and your videos !

This was exactly what I needed to watch today omg, I was laughing so much and saying Yes! Omg! My husband got worried 😂

I really enjoyed this video. Thanks for making it Lena.