Herrrmp, am I going to have to see Green Hornet now?
I’m usually a sucker for superhero movies, no matter how ridiculous they are. I mean, I walked out of Daredevil, but that was years ago. I don’t mind going to see big empty-headed flashy movies in the theaters. But I was struck with how little I wanted to see Green Hornet, despite the presence of Seth Rogan and all the big dumb flashy things action movies have that I normally adore. So I’d settled on not seeing it… but then I read this post at Fantastic Fangirls.
(Spoilers ahead)
Jennifer at Fantastic Fangirls makes and excellent case that Green Hornet is a movie worth seeing, because for the first time in superhero movie history, the main hero is a moron, his ethnic sidekick is actually the hero, and the woman is a real person. Listen to how Jennifer describes Kato, the Asian “sidekick”, in the movie:
But what’s significant about his role is just how much better he is at everything than the titular hero, Britt Reid, the ostensible protagonist of the film. The problem with Iron Man is that, as much of a screw-up as he is, Tony Stark is such a genius and so attractive and charming that it’s hard to say no to him, or call him out on his crap. That was the biggest problem with Iron Man 2 – even when Rhodey and Pepper are right, Tony never really apologizes to them, and they still wind up back in his corner by the end, deferring to his authority. But Seth Rogen’s Britt Reid, though portrayed as a popular ladies’ man at the beginning of the film, is pretty much the opposite of Tony Stark. He’s awkward and incompetent and spoiled and selfish and sexist and a complete idiot. He has a good heart, deep down, and it’s that heart that makes him watchable. But as a superhero, he’s awful – and he never magically becomes better. By the end of the film, he’s become a better person, but he hasn’t gotten any better at being a hero or running a newspaper or pretty much anything else, and no one in the movie pretends that he has.
She also points out that no one sleeps with Cameron Diaz in the movie, or ends up with her in the end, but she becomes part of their team nonetheless.
It’s kinda sad to think about, but maybe the reason people have been reviewing this movie so poorly is that it’s not fitting into the superhero script we’ve all gotten used to. The one where the main guy is either an idiot or an asshole but he’s still loved anyway, because damnit, he wears a fun costume. I’m behind you, Seth Rogan, and I love that you wrote yourself into such a weird and unflattering role, and I will totally go see Green Hornet now. Go read the post, seriously, it’s brilliant.
