And a failure has two of his most complex characters: The Gingerbread Lady.
In adapting, I think Simon and Hal David were blind to how a male privilege-dominated story denied Fran much agency beyond tragic romantic yearning. Yes, the songs do the heavy lifting in a musical, but as per my post above, Fran wanted nothing but a better (unmarried) man. A boomer perspective, since boomers are sometimes blamed for being clueless and feckless: In 1968, when I was 17 and my ambitious female classmates were applying to top schools, somewhat startling.
Am I overthinking this, in the thread? Maybe. But I always think musical comedies set in the present (see Company, etc.) are compelling windows into were we are as a society, and gender is ever an interesting prism. |
