In which Ryan Gosling speaks softly and carries a big gun.

[browngirl]

I went to see L.A. Confidential: The Prequel - I mean, Gangster Squad. It was pleasantly unbad, definitely better than the reviews I read had suggested. It was tropetastic, unsubtle, and often inadvertently hilarious, but it surprised me more than once (for instance, only 50% of the people I thought would die did, and at least two deaths surprised me, although in retrospect I should have seen one coming). And hey, there were four whole people of color with speaking roles, only one of whom was a criminal, and not only did two of the female characters have plot-driving agency but there was one scene where two women actually had a conversation (not a Bechdel pass, but still nice to see). Unsurprisingly, there were ludicrous quantities of violence; also, there were lots of slurs, including a couple that made me wince, but it is a gangster movie, and of course only bad people used them.

Plus, Ryan Gosling was very pretty. I really hope someone submitted this movie to the Porn Battle, as I dearly want [spoilertext] a Jerry/Jack/Grace threesome. Maybe I'll write it anyway.

Anyway. It wasn't Cinema For The Ages, but it was slick and stylish and fun. Worth at least matinee price, I think.

Comments

[gingicat]

I would be kinda surprised if no-one referred to Mob Boss Cohen as a k---. but maybe they thought that only Jews would recognize that particular slur any more.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Your surmise is correct, and it was clearly a slur in context and meant to be recognized as such.