HOW BEYONCÉ WON THE MET GALA
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Women Get the Last Laugh Summer’s coming, and it’s bringing more female-driven comedies to the big screen than ever before. Call it a trend or call it the Bridesmaids effect—either way, Hollywood’s officially paying attention. BY NICOLE SPERLING
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| EW.COM May 15, 2015
WHEN HOT PURSUIT, the Reese Witherspoon–Sofia Vergara
buddy comedy, opens on May 8, it will mark the first of— count ’em—four shiny, big-budget studio comedies starring women being released smack in the middle of this summer’s movie season. They feature a virtual power list of today’s female stars: Rebel Wilson and Anna Kendrick in Pitch Perfect 2 (May 15); Melissa McCarthy and Rose Byrne in Spy (June 5); and newcomer Amy Schumer in her very personal (and filthy) Trainwreck (July 17). Why is all this estrogen suddenly on the big screen? Well, it isn’t some alternate sci-fi universe concocted by Margaret Atwood. Believe it or not, Hollywood may have finally realized that women—and yes, even men—like to see funny movies about women. “It’s an amazing sign of progress, but I think it feels a little silly to be celebrating it,” says Spy director Paul Feig, who also directed what is widely assumed to be the godmother of this
Illustration by
JOH N R ITTE R
BEYONCE: MCMULLAN/SIPA USA; WITHERSPOON, VERGAR A: SAM EMERSON (2); MCCARTHY: LARRY HORRICKS; KENDRICK AND WILSON: RICHARD CARTWRIGHT; SCHUMER: MARY CYBULSKI/UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Reese Witherspoon, Sofia Vergara, Melissa McCarthy, Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, and Amy Schumer