Is this a joke?
I found myself asking this question one too many times while watching Netflix’s Golden Globe winning original film, “Emilia Pérez.” The Spanish-language comedic musical contained countless scenes that can only be described as jokes. Yet, the funny thing is that none of them managed to make me laugh.
“Emilia Pérez,” directed by Jacques Audiard, debuted in theaters on Nov. 1 just shortly before it became available for streaming on Nov. 13. The movie follows Mexican cartel boss Manitas del Monte’s, later known as Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón), gender transitioning process. After kidnapping lawyer Rita Mora (Zoe Saldaña) and bribing her to handle Emilia’s surgeries and push away Emilia’s family, Emilia ends up missing her family too much to stay separated from them. Then as a result, once again, Emilia hunts down Rita to fix this problem.
Rita tries to reconnect Emilia and her children by telling Jessi del Monte (Selena Gomez), Manitas’/Emilia’s former wife, that Manitas has passed away and that Emilia is his distant cousin who will be sent to live with them. However, Rita’s plan skews south after Jessi and Emilia argue over Emilia’s possessive behavior toward their children. Through Rita’s straining journey to help Emilia, “Emilia Pérez” attempts to provide commentary on transgender people and women’s struggles; however, to no fault of starring actresses Gascón and Saldaña, the film is not very successful in getting its message across due to its horrible production.
I have to praise the film for inclusively casting Gascón, a transgender woman herself, as Emilia. Gascón’s performance portrays Emilia’s struggles and emotions in a beautifully complex and authentic way, adding a necessary depth to the film. Additionally, Saldaña’s portrayal of Rita is incredibly well-done. She hit every line with emotion and every microexpression with her whole heart. However, their performances weren’t even close enough in saving the film’s ridiculousness.
One of my biggest problems with the movie is its sad excuses for songs. When addressing such a sensitive and relevant issue through comedy, it must undergo an incredible amount of curation and consideration. “La Vaginoplastia” has the most unserious lyrics I think I’ve ever heard from a Golden Globe winning movie. I struggle to find what is funny about such a carelessly produced song like “La Vaginoplastia” which neither sounds good nor includes any productive commentary on the struggles of transgender women. Additionally, it happens within the first 30 minutes of the film, creating an insensitive tone right off the bat. While watching it, I could almost hear Audiard screaming, “I put no effort into this! Isn’t it funny because it’s so bad?”
Most of the songs also featured unnecessary autotune, sloppy lyrics and bad choreography– including “El Mal” which won best song. Not even Lin-Manuel Miranda could save these musical numbers. They added nothing to this movie. It didn’t need to be a musical at all.
To be honest, “Emilia Pérez” didn’t have to be a comedy, either. Every joke falls flat, giving the movie a very rushed and sloppy feel. I felt that rather than creating well-executed moments that tie in humor with the experiences of transgender women, the humor of the movie leaned more towards making a joke out of the fact that Emilia is transgender.
Do I think this was anybody’s intention while working on the film? No, absolutely not. However, next to its fellow Golden Globe nominees such as “Wicked” and “Dune: Part 2,” it looks absurd. I can see why this film winning best film, comedy or musical and three other awards has induced outrage from many consumers.
The main issue that attracted conversation around the film was Audiard’s blatant lack of research and carelessness regarding his depiction of Mexican culture. Audiard, a French man, took it upon himself to base the film and its characters on his preconceived stereotypes of Mexican people. Additionally, he then proceeded to shoot the film in Paris rather than Mexico, most likely merely just for his own convenience. He also failed to hire Mexican crew members and Mexican actors who are fluent in Spanish.
Many people took to social media to point out Gomez’s underwhelming performance, not because she’s a bad actress, but because she struggled so much to speak Spanish that she couldn’t focus on her character. In my opinion, Gomez’s role should’ve gone to a Mexican actress with more knowledge of the Spanish language. Audiard had the opportunity to uplift an actress and allow her to act in her native language, but he didn’t. He chose a well-known name like Gomez, knowing Gomez’s name would attract viewers.
After Mexican people expressed their disappointment with the movie’s shortcomings, Audiard responded with excuses, claiming that the film was meant to be exaggerated because it is an opera. Which is more sickening: Audiard’s ego or his faulty depiction of Mexican culture?
In an interview about the movie, Gascón describes it as “an action movie that’s not an action movie, a drama that’s not a drama [and] a comedy that’s not a comedy,” and I fully agree with her. I believe that “Emilia Pérez” has done something that has never been done before with its combination of comedy, action and drama. But I also believe that its execution was far from well done.
