You know a country has been completely infantilized when everything starts becoming a comedy. And yes, I’m still talking about the Gambit movie…and yes the X-Men’s Gambit. It’s likely a result of the movie being trapped in development hell for the past three years. The people working on the project get replaced faster than Imperial Admirals. But I think an X-Men loving audience could take almost any direction they went with the film. Ex: Action adventure, dark character piece, etc. Simon Kinberg, a producer on the movie, had this to say in an interview with IGN:
“When you look at Gambit, he’s a hustler and a womanizer and we just felt like there was an attitude, a swagger to him, that lent itself to romantic comedy. You know, when I say romantic comedy, I use that term loosely, in the same term that I use the term western for Logan loosely. It’s not like they’re gunslingers at high noon in Logan. It’s just a vibe. And I would say the vibe of Gambit has a romantic or sex comedy vibe to it. While it is also still very much a superhero movie with villains and heroes, as all these movies are.”
While Kinberg does say he uses the term “romantic comedy” loosely, he does use Logan as an example of a loosely defined western. Logan was an amazing movie, but the core rang with familiar western tropes. The lone gunman who wanders a savage land while trying to save a girl from bandits. But Gambit has to be caught in a superhero version of a romantic comedy because he’s a “hustler and a womanizer.”
Womanizer is modern day speak for a man who isn’t ashamed of being heterosexual. And in the liberal movie industry, that’s an unforgivable sin. Why do I bring that up? Well, think about it. What usually happens to the main character in a rom-com? They’re fools and losers that fall into one awkward situation after another and then somehow win over the person they fall in love with.
This would mean that the “womanizer” Gambit would be the perfect target for abuse – fumbling and cringing his way through every line while the superheroine he’s trying to end up with gets to be flawless. Also, it’s very likely that Gambit will start off as this “hustler womanizer” and then learns to “respect wamen!” by the end. Only then will he finally win the lady’s heart. Judging by today’s usual standard of moviemaking, the whole film will probably hammer the audience with an anti-male-the future is female message. Probably…
Also, of course, it’ll be a comedy. The rom-com is essentially the tone of every SJW Marvel comic. (when it’s not doing oppression porn, anyway.) I wrote a piece on this once, but to summarize my point, the way creators are turning everything into a straight-up comedy is a little disturbing.
You had this with Teen Titans GO!, where they took a popular and complex show, and trimmed everything that wasn’t a comedy. Now Thundercats has gotten a more cartoonish style that’s better for comedy. (I mean if it’s not one, the show’s going to be like trying to do serious Shakespeare with happy-faced popsicle sticks.)
This is coddle culture at its best. The Social Justice crowd pushes comedies because they’re safe. They have happy endings, and most of the movie is played for laughs. There’s nothing heavy to deal with. Nothing that might scar a young mind. A superhero movie should be, by the rule of thumb, should be anything BUT a romantic-comedy – especially for an established character. It might work for a television series, but not a movie. Established heroes like Gambit have fostered a dedicated fan base and has earned various complexities during his existence. Fans want to see him respected – not watch him be an idiot for an hour and a half until he wins over the girl’s heart.
Not everything needs to be a comedy. And just because Gambit is a “womanizer” and a “hustler” doesn’t mean his movie should be dedicated to ridiculing him for those traits and it defiantly doesn’t mean he should have to change just because it’s the “current year.”
Movie makers should do what Marvel comics refuse to do…show their legacy characters the proper respect.
Literature Devil 