nikki Glaser’s Spicy Golden Globes Roast of Nicole Kidman’s “babygirl”
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The 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards, broadcast on CBS January 5th, saw comedian Nikki Glaser deliver a memorable – and somewhat controversial – monologue. Her target? Nicole Kidman’s performance in the erotic thriller,”Babygirl,” a 2024 release that’s been generating importent buzz.
“Babygirl,” starring kidman as a married tech CEO entangled in a risky affair with a younger intern (played by Harris Dickinson), has already faced scrutiny.Glaser, however, didn’t shy away from the film’s provocative themes during her Golden Globes appearance. “Nicole Kidman is here, oh my gosh. Nominated for ‘Babygirl’,” Glaser quipped. “Oh my gosh I loved that movie. I gave it two fingers up.”
The comedian’s jokes didn’t stop there. Addressing Kidman’s husband, country music star Keith Urban, Glaser playfully remarked, “Thank you to Keith Urban for playing the guitar so much that she wants to leave and make 18 movies a year.Keep strumming you kooky coola.”
The “Babygirl” Backlash: Age Gap and Inspiration
The film’s director, Halina Reijn, recently addressed the considerable age gap between Kidman and Dickinson in an interview with W Magazine.Reijn discussed “Babygirl” within the context of the current trend of May-December romances in film, offering her viewpoint on the creative choices made in the movie.
Glaser’s comments, while humorous, highlight the ongoing conversation surrounding “Babygirl” and its portrayal of relationships. The film’s success, coupled with the public reaction to Glaser’s jokes, underscores the continued interest in exploring complex themes in modern cinema.
Nicole Kidman Defies Hollywood Norms in ‘Babygirl’
Nicole Kidman’s latest role in the provocative film “Babygirl” is generating significant buzz, not just for its daring subject matter, but for its challenge to long-held Hollywood conventions surrounding age and female sexuality. The film, directed by Halina Reijn, presents a complex portrayal of a powerful woman grappling with identity and desire, a narrative that resonates deeply with both Kidman and the director.
Director Reijn, in an interview with Interview magazine, directly addressed the film’s challenge to conventional Hollywood portrayals. “If we see a movie where the male actor is the same age as the female actor, we find that odd. Which is insane,” Reijn, 49, stated. “It should completely be normalized that the age gaps switch and that women have different relationships.”
Reijn further emphasized the film’s aim to break free from ingrained societal expectations. “We’re not trapped in a box anymore,” she added. “We internalize the male gaze, we internalize patriarchy, and we need to free ourselves from it. It’s really hard.”
Reijn’s vision for “Babygirl” extended beyond challenging ageism; she aimed to redefine on-screen sexuality. “I wanted the sex scenes to ‘feel incredibly hot and steamy and fun, but I also wanted them to be real’,” she explained. “Sexuality is stop-and-go. It’s never like a glamour scene from a Hollywood movie in the ’90s.That’s just not how it works,” she added.
The director also shared a personal connection to the film’s themes, stating to Interview Magazine, “I found so much fun in the fact that America to me has a kind of suppressed relationship towards sex, and I do too. I really relate to it. So America serves as a metaphor of my own struggles with this theme.”
Kidman herself echoed these sentiments in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. She discussed how “a lot of times women are discarded at a certain period of their career as a sexual being,” highlighting that “it was really beautiful to be seen in this way” in “Babygirl.” She further elaborated on the film’s appeal, stating, “From the minute I read it, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is a voice I haven’t seen, this is a place that I haven’t been, I don’t think audiences have been.’ My character has reached a stage where she’s got all this power, but she’s not sure who she is, what she wants, what she desires, even though she seems to have it all. And I think that’s really relatable.”
“Babygirl”: challenging Age Gaps and Female Sexuality in Hollywood
Interview with dr. Emily Cartwright, Film Studies Professor at NYU
Dr. Emily Cartwright is a leading authority on contemporary cinema and gender portrayal in film. We spoke with her to unpack the controversy surrounding Nicole Kidman’s new film, “Babygirl”, and its exploration of age-gap relationships and female desire.
World-Today-News Senior Editor: Dr. Cartwright, “Babygirl” has sparked a critically important amount of discussion, especially concerning the significant age gap between Nicole Kidman and her co-star, Harris Dickinson. Can you shed some light on why this topic is resonating so strongly with audiences?
Dr. Emily Cartwright: Certainly. the film confronts a pervasive double standard within Hollywood and society at large. older men engaged in relationships with younger women is a common trope, rarely questioned. Yet when the genders are reversed,as we see in ”Babygirl,” it becomes a source of scrutiny and controversy. “Babygirl” pushes back against this double standard, forcing us to examine our own preconceptions about age, power dynamics, and female sexuality.
World-Today-News Senior Editor: Nikki Glaser’s remarks at the Golden Globes specifically targeted this idea, humorously implying that Nicole Kidman’s career choices are driven by Keith Urban’s guitar playing. Do you think this kind of humor, while intended to be light-hearted, contributes to the dismissal of serious conversations around gender representation in film?
Dr. Emily Cartwright: Humor is a powerful tool, but it can be a double-edged sword. While Glaser’s jokes might have been intended as lighthearted, they can inadvertently perpetuate stereotypes and trivialize the complex issues ”Babygirl” attempts to address. It’s important to distinguish between playful banter and genuine engagement with the nuanced themes presented by the film.
World-Today-News Senior Editor: Halina Reijn, the director of “Babygirl,” has spoken about her desire to normalize age-gap relationships in her work. How do you see this film contributing to that broader conversation?
Dr. emily Cartwright: Reijn’s commitment to normalizing age-gap relationships, particularly from a female outlook, is commendable. “Babygirl” offers a refreshing departure from the stereotypical portrayals of older women in Hollywood. Kidman’s character is multifaceted, powerful, and exploring her desires independently of societal expectations. This representation has the potential to challenge ingrained norms and encourage a more open and accepting dialogue about relationships in all their diversity.
World-Today-News Senior Editor: Do you believe “Babygirl” will have a lasting impact on the way Hollywood portrays women and relationships?
Dr. Emily Cartwright: While it’s too early to definitively gauge “Babygirl’s” long-term impact, its willingness to tackle taboo subjects and present unconventional narratives is undoubtedly significant. The film’s success, coupled with the ongoing discussions surrounding it, suggests a growing appetite for more complex and nuanced representations of women on screen. Hopefully, “Babygirl” will pave the way for future filmmakers to continue pushing boundaries and exploring the full spectrum of female experiences.
