# Most Egregious Modern Iteration of "The Girl" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 4, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376 "2009-02-04T04:57:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Euryphaessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Euryphaessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euryphaessa)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/41 "2009-02-05T05:54:51Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I liked Liv Tyler as Corey in “Empire Records.” Though I enjoyed the movie as a whole more than any one particular performance, to be honest. Aw, you took mine. I love that movie. I think Megan Fox in _Transformers_ counts as an incarnation of The Girl. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/42 "2009-02-05T06:12:52Z")
Clerks 2 had dancing chick. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/43 "2009-02-05T12:11:23Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Superman. Oh well… Superman, Batman. It’s all about the cape anyway. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/44 "2009-02-05T12:37:09Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > No, what you are doing is indeed a complete hijack – my OP was about the ROLES the actresses play, yours is about the actresses themselves. Completely different, and worthy of a thread of its own, if you ask me. :smack: sorry 'bout that. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/45 "2009-02-05T12:38:59Z")
Man, I can’t find “The Girl” here: [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LoveInterests](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LoveInterests) ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/46 "2009-02-05T15:22:28Z")
A friend of mine suggested the non-speaking female character in the original Planet of the Apes film as a prime example of ‘The Girl’. She’s there for Heston to rescue and lead around and talk at, and that’s pretty much it. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_In\_A\_Top\_Hat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@Cat\_In\_A\_Top\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_In_A_Top_Hat)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/47 "2009-02-05T18:29:53Z")
> [@Queen of Town](#): > > Aw, you took mine. I love that movie. > > I think Megan Fox in _Transformers_ counts as an incarnation of The Girl. I disagree. From what I remember of the film, she _did_ start that way, but she garnered utility and something approaching depth as things progressed. I’m looking forward to seeing what she gets up to in the second movie. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/48 "2009-02-05T18:37:20Z")
_The Crying Game._ ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/49 "2009-02-05T18:52:11Z")
> [@Cat\_In\_A\_Top\_Hat](#): > > I disagree. From what I remember of the film, she _did_ start that way, but she garnered utility and something approaching depth as things progressed. I’m looking forward to seeing what she gets up to in the second movie. She did? She started up being pretty, shallow and good with cars with a boyfriend who is a jerk and she ended up… pretty much the same, only her boyfriend now is a self-righteous asshole (Come on, that stare when he finds out that SHE HAD A PAST. That’s some pretty abusive psycho in training going on there) who also knows giant robots. boring, boring, boring… ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/50 "2009-02-05T18:54:42Z")
Jennifer Aniston in _Office Space_. Her role was to fit into Ron Livingston’s likes and dislikes, without challenging him or requiring any effort on his part. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/51 "2009-02-05T19:02:54Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > _The Crying Game._ Really? Have you seen the movie? Dil was a complex character, and the woman from the main character’s past was complications-on-two-legs. If anything, the male lead seemed to be the least fleshed-out of all of the characters, and even then he was pretty 3-dimensional. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/52 "2009-02-05T19:04:13Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Jennifer Aniston in _Office Space_. Her role was to fit into Ron Livingston’s likes and dislikes, without challenging him or requiring any effort on his part. You think? I thought her character broke the mold a little bit. She was the one who first called him out on his computer program being theft, and she got some of the best lines with the whole “flair” thing. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/53 "2009-02-05T19:06:25Z")
Uh… most of them? Okay, not fair. But I do like to play a game while watching movies with male leads. It’s called What Do We Know About Her? You figure out what you know about the lead male, then try to list what you know about the lead (or supporting) female (works best when he’s fallen in love with her and knows about as much about her as the viewer). Hobbies? Family situation? Occupation? Passions? Liv Tyler’s actually had a few great roles in the past– I’m not sure remembering character names is a great measure, though. I barely remember any, regardless of gender. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/54 "2009-02-05T21:05:57Z")
> [@ArrMatey](#): > > Really? Have you seen the movie? Think I fell asleep before the end somewhere… anything interesting happen? ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/55 "2009-02-05T21:17:33Z")
Andie McDowell’s character in _Four Weddings and a Funeral_ jumps to mind, although I’m not sure if it was because the character was written that way or acted that way. It’s possible I just blanked out anything about her. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/56 "2009-02-05T22:12:33Z")
> [@Queen of Town](#): > > I think Megan Fox in _Transformers_ counts as an incarnation of The Girl. It _is_ a Transformers movie. If the fans had their way, every character with a pulse would be The Meatbag, to be ignored in favour of the giant, stompy robots. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/57 "2009-02-05T22:14:11Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > :smack: sorry 'bout that. No reason to be sorry. I was mainly saying that your hijack was a fairly interesting topic and would make a pretty good thread. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/58 "2009-02-05T22:30:26Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Think I fell asleep before the end somewhere… anything interesting happen? I’ve a feeling there’s a whoosh here…? The opening half hour of the film is a freakin’ hostage drama. I’m not going to hijack this thread to go into details, but, seriously, I’d say that there’s no ‘The Girl’ in this film. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/59 "2009-02-05T22:44:33Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Think I fell asleep before the end somewhere… anything interesting happen? They get married and open a flower shop in Wales. A little boring, but watchable. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376/60 "2009-02-06T00:26:31Z")
Don’t forget her hangnail! That scene was _riveting_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-egregious-modern-iteration-of-the-girl/484376.md?page=4)