The Negative Reviews for ‘The Bride!’ Being Mostly From Men Is….Grossly Predictable
The Bride! is set to hit theaters this weekend, but there’s a micro controversy brewing online. Namely, men reviewing the movie have been crushing The Bride! in their early takes on this film.
Currently, The Bride! sits at 60% on the Tomatometer. That’s a step up from the 57% it enjoyed yesterday. Then, the imbalance in takes on this movie proved to be clear. 60 reviewers had a review ready to go on day 1, but only 15 of them were women. It’s grown now to 101 reviews, but the Rotten Tomatoes game is a fickle one. It’s easy for movies to slide and tough for them to rebound from a rough start. What to make of this discrepancy.
A movie like The Bride! was always going to have a divisive reception. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s latest project has a very strong vision. Feminist messaging and pouring on style by the liter put some of these critics on the back foot from the word go. It’s not surprising or even that uncommon in today’s algorithmically driven film culture. But, that primary imbalance still sits on the tongue weirdly.
That isn’t to say no women found The Bride! to be a bit lacking. There are multiple female critics who questioned the excesses of Maggie Gyllenhaal’s latest. Jessie Buckley’s performance and Christian Bale’s performance enjoy almost universal praise. However, for folks who have seen The Bride!, there’s no question that the movie is stuffed to the brim with ideas, themes and visuals. And, sometimes those various elements crash into each other in chaotic ways.
Men and Women critics react to The Bride!
While some critics like JoBlo’s Chris Bumbray might have categorized the film as “a mess but with undeniable moments of genius.” There are a lot of who weren’t picking up what Gyllenhaal was putting down. Take Yasser Medina from Cinefilia for example. He argues that The Bride! was, “bland An incredibly dull in two eternally long hours that squander a stellar cast headed by Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale.” Mike Massie from Gone With The Twins shares in some of that. He called attention to “the film’s uneven singularness is outmatched by its unsatisfying execution; it isn’t even bizarre enough to generate notable awe.”
Lest you think that the movie only got nods from the ladies, there are some women out there who left the theater cold as well. Hanna Flint from IGN gave Buckley and Bale their flowers. But, argues, “ This gothic horror romance too often veers into the ridiculous and the obvious.” Inverse’s Hoai-Tran Bui contends that The Bride! tries too hard. She explained, “ It wants so desperately to be novel and provocative, that it forgets to offer anything of substance.” Grace Randolph also got her shots in as well.
But the hyperbole in which men reacted to this movie is….weird, to say the least. Many of the reviews from men called it the worst movie they’ve ever seen on social media and that feels disingenuous.
Is the movie worth watching, even if it’s divisive
Due to a number of factors, folks want every single movie to be a frictionless experience now. Yes, there are some cinema fans who welcome a bit of gray area in their entertainment. But, there is a large contingent of viewers that don’t do well with any kind of Gray area. Inarguably funny for a movie reliant on black Gray and white like The Bride!.
The Mary Sue’s Rachel Leishman reviewed the picture and found a lot to like about this stylish entry. Not a perfect movie by any means, but certainly worthy of existing. That goes double in a movie landscape that viewers argue lacks variety. The best way to know if a movie is going to be for you or not: Go see it for yourself!
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
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