Tag: weird

Made by Women, About Women: Greener Grass (2019)

Candy coloured suburbs, adult braces, golf carts, and weird humour. What more could a girl ask for? Allow me to introduce you to this loveably weird suburban satire, Greener Grass (2019), written and directed by Dawn Luebbe and Jocelyn DeBoer. 

Dawn Luebbe and Joecelyn DeBoer co-wrote, directed, and starred in the film. Their directorial debut, Greener Grass, brings you into their strange, pastel-coloured world with a vibe similar to The Stepford Wives. The adults all wear braces and act overly polite; there is a sinister atmosphere behind every interaction, yet they all seem to keep their composure. 

The basic premise revolves around two soccer moms, Jill and Lisa, who are constantly competing against each other to have the more “perfect life”. They compete over every little thing, from their husbands to their pools. Right off the bat, without giving spoilers, things get weird, and they only get increasingly weirder as the story moves forward. To give you a basic idea of the film’s tone, I’ve added the trailer below.

A hilarious, absurdist take on suburbia through a female lens, this story is unlike anything anyone could expect. I think this film is entirely underrated. It holds strong through its wonderfully bizarre acting, writing, sets, and costumes. 

The movie is reminiscent of other suburban satires like Serial Mom (1994), The Stepford Wives (1975), and takes a lot of visual inspiration from the suburb of Edward Scissorhands (1990). While there are some similarities, this film remains quite distinct from its inspiration. Director/writers Luebbe and Deboer’s feature debut does an amazing job of creating a silly, bizarre, and creepy world with the strangest eerie twists and turns. 

I urge you to dive into their strange little world for 95 minutes and let the weirdness take you in.

If you enjoy learning about new weird movies about girls, then I urge you to check out my previous post about the film May (2003). I hope I was able to introduce you to something new today.

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Till next time, dolls!

The Ultimate “Weird Girl Representation” Film: May (2003)

(No Spoilers)

I thought the perfect way to start this blog off would be to highlight one of my favourite movies of all time, one about a weird girl and her doll (you may start to notice a theme). I bring you the underrated masterpiece May, a horror/thriller with a beautiful, tender performance by Angela Bettis, directed by Lucky McKee, released in 2002.

Criteria for a “weird girl movie.”

Throughout this blog, I will be talking about and recommending a selection of “weird girl movies” because it may be my favourite film genre. The criteria I have created for such films consist of a few things:

  • Indie/ offbeat or cult film genre (cannot be block buster when it came out)
  • Starring at least one girl who isn’t just weird because she has glasses (though they normally do wear glasses), there must be at least one more thing about them that is truly odd.
  • Themes of loneliness
  • The lead cast cannot include big stars (who were famous at the time of the release)

This is one of those movies that shocked me when I found out it was made by a man. It is a beautiful, intimate, empathetic look into the life of a strange and lonely girl named May. And it is done so well.

About May

The story follows a strange and lonely young woman named May, who does, in fact, wear glasses because she has a lazy eye (which she was bullied for as a child, leaving her friendless). She’s socially awkward, and her only true friend is her doll, which was gifted to her as a child. She confides in her doll about everything. The movie really begins when she develops a crush on a guy she sees during her lunch break at work. Without giving too much away, things… get weird, and creepy.

Lucky McKee paints a beautiful portrait of a lonely girl who just wants to be seen. It is handled with empathy, and surprisingly (for a man) doesn’t sexualize her to make the audience fall for her! This is really important to me when watching films about women. I’m so sick of sexualization and nudity being used as an “intimate” lens to understand and empathize with a character, which often reduces the character even more (in my opinion). You fall for May in all her quirks; she’s whimsically innocent and loveably awkward. Because of this, we can forgive her faults, as we understand what she desperately wants — to be truly seen and loved. Though the film is a horror movie, you don’t leave the film scared or fearing her, but instead truly understanding her and empathizing with her, and rooting for her. 

I urge you to watch this film if you like creepy movies and weird girls! Now tell me, what is your favourite “weird girl movie”? Share your thoughts below, and if you liked what you read, please follow Anatomy of a Doll on social media and subscribe to my blog!

Thank you again, and stay weird and freaky.