NY Mag says female action stars too skinny to be believable threats

[terry78]

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainmen...e_action_stars.html?imw=Y&f=most-emailed-24h5


Kind of have to suspend disbelief, but if they get around to Wonder Woman hopefully they know what body type to go for.

 

[SuperFerret]

They have a point.

 

[Liam_H]

Well Wonder Woman doesn't have to be fully built woman, she just needs to be toned and somewhat muscular. She already has superhuman strength.

 

[Project862006]

uma thurman was'nt some ripped woman in kill bill

if jeremy renner who is short and has no muscles can be cast in action roles i see no problems with the women being thin

double standard if you ask me

 

[flickchick85]

Speaking as a woman, in the case of Zoe Saldana, I agree. I've been thinking the same thing since I first saw the trailer to Colombiana. And Angelina Jolie in Salt, for that matter. I don't think a woman needs to be ripped like Linda Hamilton to be a believable action heroine (not all male action heroes are ripped, after all)...they just need to look healthy. Like there's actually room on their arm for enough muscle to throw a punch.

I feel like the last action heroines that I found believable were on TV: Katee Sackhoff in Battlestar Galactica (though they did push it too far in the boxing episode) and Jennifer Garner in Alias (not so much in Daredevil, which just goes to show that execution plays a large part in this argument).

Uma Thurman worked in Kill Bill because she was slicing people up with swords for the most part. She didn't fight many big musclemen, either.

But the heart of the matter here that the article pointed out is that the body image issue in Hollywood has reached utterly ridiculous heights. Promote healthier bodies, and this wouldn't be a problem. Their definition of "good shape" has been warped beyond recognition at this point.

 

[Project862006]

and how is zoe saldana not healthy looking?

 

[KRIM]

uma thurman was'nt some ripped woman in kill bill

She had a sword. Build doesn't matter much there.

More importantly, Uma didn't look frail or cute. That's where most female action "stars" go wrong. Just because the camera is showing you whoop a bunch of guys asses, doesn't make it any more believable. I'm looking at Summer Glau and Eliza Dushku, in particular.

Gina Carano in Knockout is precisely how a woman with a fighting background should be displayed. Her build is convincingly sturdy and her hits have the grace and impact of a true fighter.

 

[WildcatNC]

Very few of them seem like a believable *** kicker.

 

[bullets]

I thought it would be laughable to see a ninety pound Angelina Jolie kicking ass in Salt. However I didn't find that distracting enough to ruin the film.

 

[Red Mask]

and how is zoe saldana not healthy looking?

He didn't mean she wasn't healthy. He meant she was too thin to be a believable fighter.

 

[Sawyer]

You all know where this is leading...

Tyler Perry: Female action star

 

[Red Mask]

Check out Danielle Rayne in the short feature of Portal: No Escape. She rocked hard!

 

[Liam_H]

She was basically Sarah Connor in that short but it makes sense to evoke the feeling of such an a**-kicking character.

 

[The Morningstar]

Angelina Jolie is the worst. She must way less that 100 pounds, even if she did punch you in the face it'd be like "Errr... what was that i just felt? A slight breeze?" lol

 

[WildcatNC]

Jessica Biel is believable also.


You guys are right though, Sarah Conner is the archtype for kick *** b***h.

 

[flickchick85]

and how is zoe saldana not healthy looking?

Are you serious?

There's no meat on those bones! She's borderline anorexic-looking. Sadly, that look is considered "hot" these days, which is the problem.

But as I said with the Jennifer Garner example, it's not just the body type, as the execution of the action is key. Prime example: I found Chloe Moretz in Kick-Ass more believable than the what I've seen of Colombiana, despite the fact that that's even more ridiculous. Because they had Hit-Girl flipping around, using various sharp weapons and guns to take people out - Colombiana should have to do more than a round-house kick with that stick leg to flip a guy to the ground like she does in the trailer. I could totally buy her with the guns and explosives and stuff, but as soon as you put her 100-pound self in hand-to-hand combat with those big guys...you lose me. The first punch they landed would knock her off her feet. When they finally did that with Hit-Girl, it happened the way it should happen - she got the s*** beat of her by a guy 3x her size.

The Colombiana folks could pull it off if they went the Sherlock Holmes-route where the little guy takes out the big guy because of strategically placed pressure point hits...but they didn't. So if you're gonna have a smaller person fighting a bigger person in the traditional sense, the smaller person needs at least have room on their body for us to imagine they have muscle. Male or female. If we were talking about DJ Qualls, I'd be saying the same thing, lol.

 

[Mace Bloodstone]

Maggie Q looks way too frail in Nikita.

 

[dark_b]

i bet that a lot of actresses would gain muscle mass for an action movie. it would be a challenge for them. but hollywood would never allow it. she needs to look cute and pretty for promotion.

look at Hunger Games. everyone looks like a supermodel. i know the context of the f... story. and please dont start with acting and quality. we are talking now about the look.

 

[dude stannis]

If Saldana or Jolie were to punch me in the face, the bones in their fists would shatter.

If Rhona Mitra punched me in the face, I'd wake up a week later.

That's the difference.

 

[Sawyer]

Maggie Q looks way too frail in Nikita.

Eh. Unlike Jolie and Saldana, Maggie actually can kick ass, so...

 

[Laderlappen]

NY Mag doesnt know what they are talking about.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

Most of the whole "female empowerment" thing that Hollywood likes to shove down our throats takes a certain suspension of disbelief. This is nothing really new.

 

[November Rain]

If Saldana or Jolie were to punch me in the face, the bones in their fists would shatter.

If Rhona Mitra punched me in the face, I'd wake up a week later.

That's the difference.

that's because you'd be out with a fap attack

 

[November Rain]

There's two things here

hollywood still sees females as objects of desire and getting a woman to bulk up for a role ultimately may remove some of her sex appeal and therefore the reason to get her in the film in the first place (ie to put more bums on seats based on the perv factor)

The second, and I may be wrong here but the average female star is not willing to change their body significantly for a role. all the radical weight losses and gains men do for roles, I've never witnessed a female equivalent.

peharps its a lack of dedication to the role etc, who knows

I just look at the sarah michelle gellar in buffy situation, where her stunt double is incredibly well built and sarah is tiny and in 10 years never tried to be anything other than she was.

i don't know why, i think muscle on a lady is an attractive and far healthier way to look than simply skinny or simply naturally curvy.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

The second, and I may be wrong here but the average female star is not willing to change their body significantly for a role. all the radical weight losses and gains men do for roles, I've never witnessed a female equivalent.

peharps its a lack of dedication to the role etc, who knows