the half of it – Page 2 – Just another WordPress site

April 19, 2020

So it’s kind of like the Life Partners movie. Where Leighton Meester’s sexuality wasn’t really the main focus but the friendship between the two women. I get it’s at least two women in the forefront of the film so maybe that’s why a lot of ppl were okay with it? Or were ppl not okay with it? No clue lol

Lol, I have no idea either. To be accurate, I”m seeing more of the defense of THOI than I am the actual negativity, so it might have been a similar reaction back then, just more amplified now. I do think the era makes a difference too, this is six years later. Now everyone, not just f/f fans or even fandom in general, is so much louder and…MORE on social media. But I’d also say that, as loud as the outcry over things like Willow/Tara and Glee (in general) were, the f/f community specifically has become more vocal about what it doesn’t like and why. And every year, every movie that brings along another unhappy ending just adds to how much people are waiting for one.

I think maybe also what would have been different for that one is that while people would have groaned at the initial premise of Life Partners, it did seem like a friendship between a straight girl and a lesbian from the offing? So it was more a muted “oh, this again” from the start, instead of what we got here, people getting excited over thinking THOI was a f/f romcom in the vein of TATBTILB and then being disappointed.

April 9, 2020

Of course Alice Wu isn’t supposed to fix years of misrepresentation, but she’s someone who has been to hundreds of festivals and met fans and she knows how the community is waiting for a romcom and she gets a chance with Netflix and makes a movie about a friendship between a girl and a guy? that’s disappointing tbh even in the comments everyone missed the point of the trailer and are shipping the lesbian and the guy.

Nooo, they’re not! Are they?? Nooooooo. Surely it’s just a teeny tiny group of people.

But leaving those people aside, it sounds like you do still kind of think Alice Wu should have made a different movie? Even if all that is true, it’s still not her responsibility. She wrote what she felt inspired by and this is the story she wanted to tell. I think all the choices she made were important to her, not just that it’s f/f, but that it’s in small town Americana, that it’s a white guy she befriends and who begins to understand her, that we can find commonality with anyone. She was inspired to write this after the 2016 elections, there was something more here than just “let me throw something down”. The choices here weren’t a platonic m/f friendship vs a f/f romance, it would have just been this movie or none at all. If anyone’s on the hook here, it’d be Netflix and Hollywood as a whole, who’ve made so few lighter-toned f/f movies that this one has to stand for them all.

I totally get being disappointed by it but two things can be true:
1) I wish this were different
2) Alice Wu can make what she wants

Neither negates the other. It just means you and Alice Wu are different people and like different things, which is totally normal and healthy and fine? It’s only when it goes from “I like something else” to “I wish this was something else” to “this creator should have made something else” that you get near dangerous territory. And honestly, even that last comment is pretty mild, it’s just, when you consider your audience, which is Anyone On the Internet, we want to be a little more careful because often that’s not where it stops, it goes to “this creator is stupid/selfish/bigoted in some way for not doing this instead”. Not saying that’s what you’re saying! Not at all. But I think we all know how things can spiral, or even be open to misinterpretation.

I went to my friend and said actually much more extreme things, because I know she understands where I come from, what exactly irritated me, what I meant and didn’t mean, and most importantly, I knew she was on the same page. Aside from not wanting this to spiral out, I know people are excited about this, I don’t want to ruin it for them. My priority in answering these asks is trying to make sure everyone feels heard but I especially don’t want to take this good thing and bring anyone down.

Which kind of hilariously takes me to literally the very next ask:

And another anon:

alrighty so originally the only things i knew about The Half of It was GAY and alice wu but now having seen the trailer is see that its a little less gay and more about friendship (which is fine). Heres to hoping they go nancy drew-esque in that the guy is like Ace and is more than ok with being friends instead of getting the girl. Either way i will watch and keep any and all negative opinions to myself cause Alice doesnt need or deserve that shit

I do think the guy will be fine, I think it is very much a story of Paul and Ellie’s friendship winning out over everything, not just small-town racism or homophobia but the more focused “relatable”–at least in fiction–issue of liking the same girl. But you know, exactly the same as above except in reverse, you can have your preferences and not like something and not have it be an attack, heh

And another anon:

the ironic thing is alice wu HAS made a romcom with a full on happy ending with saving face years ago but that movie gets so overlooked and underappreciated

She has, she absolutely has, but even if she hadn’t, it wouldn’t have been on her to provide one now.

Although on the other hand, I also don’t think the existence of that or IMAY can be used to stop people from wishing there were more happy f/f romcoms in general. It’s not even like there’s been a jump in the number in the last few years, even though sometimes people act like the lack of rep has been addressed. And that’s aside from the generational differences. Someone who wasn’t born when Saving Face came out could be old enough to be the target audience for this teen movie.

And another anon:

I’m not sure but the trailer looked good. And I like the platonic side

That’s good, anon! I think it’ll be uplifting and even many people, like myself, who wish for something more romance-centric, will like it.

April 9, 2020

Where are you all reading info on the half of it’s ending? My google skills are failing me! Also, darn… really hoped it was a feel good movie.

Whoops, sorry, forgot to answer this above. But I think it’s still feel-good, just not purely in a romantic direction? Anyway, by now you’d have seen the trailer and what it’s aiming at. I think it’s still a pretty uplifting ending for Ellie.

April 9, 2020

how do people know the ending of the half of it already?? was the script leaked or smth

And another anon:

Hey, I was wondering where the supposed “leak” of the half of it is? I would like to read it

A whiiiile back it was up on reddit (and probably other places?), I found out through this post which summarizes much of it:

https://morningmightcomebyaccident.tumblr.com/post/182073207613/if-you-want-to-read-the-script-for-the-half-of

It’s been removed since but it should be reinforced that we have no idea what the actual ending or even movie itself are like now, anything could have changed from that script to actually being shot. For what it’s worth, the ending as it was written was open-ended but hopeful for the f/f pair.

April 9, 2020

THE HALF OF IT TRAILER IS OUT!!!! it’s so surreal seeing it because I’ve been waiting since before anyone was even cast but it’s still so exciting and looks like it’s going to be another alice wu masterpiece. while some people are probably going to be upset at the opening ending I think the way aster and ellie’s interactions play out on screen vs just reading off a page are definitely going to color it more positive

Aah, thanks for telling me! And right, right, absolutely! And honestly, of the possible endings when you see the actual dynamics at play, it’s only a little bit short of a full f/f HEA.

April 9, 2020

It seems that the excitement for the half of it is misplaced and will only lead to whining about the movie after it comes out, people have been selling it as this glorious lesbian romcom when it really isn’t.

Ah, well, if the ending holds, maybe, although I wouldn’t characterize it as “whining”, I think people are allowed to be upset at the difference in what’s available. When you see Netflix put out a bunch of m/f romcoms and then one f/f movie which totally reads like a romcom, if it’s not…I get it.

But of course on the flip side, Alice Wu is entitled to make whatever she wants, she’s not solely responsible for making up for decades of underrepresentation (especially when she made one of the first good and still tragically rare f/f romcoms we DO have) and people shouldn’t go after the cast or crew or even fans who do like it or ruin it for them. It’s always a balance, right, unless something is clearly deliberate and egregious, stick with criticizing the trends more than individual creators, don’t fill the tags with hate, etc.

And maybe it won’t be so bad, Portrait of a Lady on Fire wasn’t the happiest ending but the f/f community embraced it. And this ending should be happier than that, at least. And you know, I realize you might be talking about two different reasons people’ll be disappointed, both the ending and the fact that it’s more about a friendship between Ellie and the dude, but Saving Face wasn’t just between Viv and Wil either. In fact, it had not only Wil and her mom but the whole separate subplot of Wil’s mom and her bf. And most of us were okay with it. It depends a lot on how it’s done and Alice Wu is pretty skilled at balancing it all.