male gaze alert: ‘Grown Ups’

I didn't see the film....and won't, but I was wondering if they ever address the improbability of the Sandler and Hayek coupling...and Mario Bello and Kevin James? Does anyone notice the physical mis-match there?

The physical mismatch? Yes, we did notice that a man that fat and schlubby has no business being married to a beautiful woman, because that's the only way to judge his worth.

Why is it that men are not more upset over films like this, that are so insulting to men?

Not meaning to ignore men out there who are indeed insulted over this. Thinking about so many men who consume this and buy the sense of superiority and ownership over women as objects these films use as packaging to disguise the infantalization that goes on underneath. The men I know who buy into this model of masculinity are sad, anxious, frustrated and unable to understand why everyone else gets ahead of them in life while they are busy trying to avoid growing up.

The get the patriarchal gaze, but lose their wisdom. Bad trade.

Whew, point out a double-standard and people get punchy. I've noticed this with all the Apatow threads. How can anyone deny the obvious hypocrisy in these movies? Are they over-identifying with these "schlubby" cartoon versions of dudes out of necessity because they provide a buffer for their morale? Is that why they feel they're are being personally attacked when someone criticizes these characters? Silly. How the hell can you get on a soapbox about beauty only being skin-deep when the guys in this film objectify all the chicks? Hypocrisy and self-entitlement, I guess.

I wasn't talking about the movie, I was responding to mortadella, who didn't seem to be talking about the movie, either - as the post began with "I haven't seen the movie".

The way I read the comment, "does anyone notice the physical mis-match there?" came off as saying that them being together made no sense based on the "physical mis-match": ie, "no guy who looks like that would be with a girl who looks like that".

Which, yes, to me, read that way, comes off as doing the exact same thing that happens to women a lot: judging their worth in any sense, including romantic or sexual, by nothing but "the physical" aspect. Just because it's doing it to a guy doesn't make doing it alright.

I don't think I'm trolling, merely responding with a valid argument to mortadella in an exasperated and sarcastic fashion.

man - you would cut yourself on those abs!

I dunno about the voice thing. I get what you're saying, but on the other hand, David Beckham is insanely hot and then he opens his mouth and it kills it for me.

Heh. I guess he's pretty, but in a I-spend-far-too-much-time-at-the-gym-and-wax-my-chest kind of way. I've never got the David Beckham thing, either - at the risk of sounding like a raging snob there's something about his face that looks a bit dim, and it doesn't work for me. Johhny Wilkinson, on the other hand. . .

I get annoyed by these films in the way they depict women, but also in the way that they seem to think that oiled begymmed pretty boy-men is what women want.

He does look slightly dim in a Brad Pitt sorta way. Cheats on his wife too which is also a turn off.

To be fair, the gender equivalent has been made light of plenty of times. Don't you remember scenes where a ridiculously gorgeous woman would open her mouth only to reveal an absurdly deep voice? At that point, any potential titillation disappears and is replaced (potentially) by comedy.

But then again, I've not seen this movie so I'm not sure how it treated the female characters' response to the man's voice so you may still be entirely justified in how the movie treated their mockery of him.

Erm, that last sentence was a bit...ungraceful. I meant YOU may justified in your disgust of the double standard applied to the male and female characters and their respective gazes in this movie.

They did it in Singing in the Rain, didn't they?

@Lisa

Perhaps, it's been a very long time since I've seen Rain, but for some reason the example that will not leave my mind at the moment is from the animated show (and adventure serial send-up/parody/homage) the Venture Bros. with its character of Dr. Girlfriend.

What is it about the fat, schlubby American male always with the trim, smart, super housewife? Particularly in comedy.
I get calling back to the Honeymooners if you're a comedy writer, but this seems more entrenched now than a mere trope.

@vucubcaquix

The fascinating thing about Dr. Girlfriend is that, despite the comedy Tony-Curtis-with-a-cold voice, she has become an interesting (and still-sexy) character elevated from one-note humor because they've created a 3-dimensional character over time. Her voice has become part of who she is, and you pretty much forget that she sounds hilarious.