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I Am Not An Easy Man takes the less worn route of the idea of the primary genders swapping to quite pleasing results.
| Director(s) | Eleonore Pourriat | |
| Screenplay By | Ariane Fert, Eleonore Pourriat | |
| Date Released | 4/13/2018 | |
| Genre(s) | Romance, Comedy | |
| Noted Actors | ||
| Damien | Vincent Elbaz | |
| Alain | ? | |
| Christophe | Pierre Benezit | |
| Alexandra | Marie-Sophie Ferdane | |
Summary
A misogynist womanizer, Damien, finds himself in a world where women not only are the ruling class but treat men how he is used to women being treated. However, it doesn’t end there. On top of the gender power dynamic being flipped, the style and expectations are changed as well. Men are the caretakers, feminine, and fighting for their rights. It is expected of men to shave, take harassment, or else be seen as the problem of the situation.
Which, as you can imagine, is rather difficult for Damien to handle. Especially since seeing these changes in his father, Alain, and best friend Christophe is screwing with his head. But what really messes with him is Alexandra. The woman who, in his world, is Christophe’s assistant is now Christophe’s boss and after getting himself fired, Damien ends up working for Alexandra as Christophe goes on paternity leave – which is another issue for men.
But, what wasn’t expected from Damien was to possibly fall for Alexandra. Someone who, with her being of a male mindset, and having an idea of how to use Damien’s interest in her next book, may decide to add him to her collection vs. show reciprocity.
Other Noteworthy Facts & Moments
- It seems the turning point was men being the gatherers and caregivers while women, who still give birth in this world, would be the hunters. They’d just also get pregnant, give birth, and leave the children with men.
Highlights
It Doesn’t Take It’s Subject Matter And Make It Into A Huge Joke
Though listed as a comedy, I honestly didn’t find I Am Not An Easy Man that funny. It had its moments worth smiling over, but there is this vibe that the jokes are just meant to be a trojan horse to putting a mirror to society. Like the idea of men wearing tight, uncomfortable pants so that their balls won’t hang. How one gender can have body hair and it being considered absolutely disgusting on the other, as well as sexual harassment, rape, and so much more.
And, at times, it makes you uncomfortable. As you take note of the gender flip, and how far it goes, it begins to seem ridiculous how the men are portrayed. Yet, it pushes you to wonder why is it, in our world, women are usually bare bottomed in movie scenes, rather than underneath the covers like men usually are? Why sexualize breasts? How come the bad boy gets to be the lead and appealing but you rarely see a bad girl as the lead and be won over by some nice guy?
So many thoughts run through your mind and it makes you appreciate that the film took a road not often traversed when it comes to this subject matter. For it really does push the idea that power corrupts whoever has it. That women weren’t simply destined to be the more mature, more understanding gender because that’s how they are, but because it was a survival tactic considering their options. Yet, change a few things in human history, like the hunter/gatherer dynamic, and so blooms a complete change in how the system works. Making it where the movie pushes the idea that being in a position of authority is more so the corrupting influence than your gender.
On The Fence
It Has A Sequel Built Into Its Ending
Not to give away the ending, but surely you can predict with a story like this what happens. However, things don’t perfectly go back to how they used to be and with that, you get two things: The first being an interesting sequel possibility but also an incomplete ending. For what feels like the climax of the film ends up being where things end.
Overall: Positive (Worth Seeing)
While touted as a comedy, the way I Am Not An Easy Man explores what the world would be like if women were in power, since the stone ages, pushes the idea it may be more so a thinking person’s comedy. One which may have jokes in it but the jokes aren’t one-liners made for a laugh and that’s it. They create teachable moments which, similar to [tooltips keyword=’I Feel Pretty’ content = ‘I Feel Pretty is the follow-up to Trainwreck people were waiting for out of Amy Schumer.’], forces its audience to question what is or isn’t funny, albeit in a less awkward way, as it flips gender norms.
Hence the positive label. I Am Not An Easy Man, even with its abrupt, sequel begging, ending, puts to task the idea and reasons behind why the two lead genders interact with one another as they do and have established the world we live in. All the while pushing you to question your part in it and how odd some of the things we see as normal would be if the situation was flipped. Leaving you with more than an entertaining movie but thoughts to mull over even after the credits finish rolling.
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I was really taken by this film. I’m drawn to the device of flipping gender roles, since I’m personally dissatisfied (even dysphoric) with what those roles demand of me, but i’m also generally disappointed, often bitterly, by how it’s done, especially in comedies.
Ms Pourriat did a remarkable job inverting the ‘male gaze’ and neatly, but not nonsensically inverting stereotypes. The result was just beautiful – though I’m sure she’d be appalled at my reaction:
I so want to live in that world.