Jucy (Alston, 2010)

Last updated on: January 10, 2015 at 10:59 pm by Kenneth R. Morefield

Jucy (Alston, 2010) 2015-01-10T22:59:24-05:00 Kenneth R. Morefield

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Jackie + Lucy = Jucy

Jucy is a film that celebrates female friendship. The title comes from the names of the two main characters, Jackie and Lucy, whose (we are told frequently enough to almost be homophobic) platonic friendship is so deep that they are almost one person.Female friendship is an admirable topic, and one I am actually somewhat interested in, never having had a BFF myself. I’m a little suspicious, though, about people who make films about their own friendships. They seem to be like people who make art about their own love relationships–always falling prey to the affective fallacy and thinking that if their conversations are so darn interesting to have that must be because they are such interesting people.

It’s not that Jackie and Lucy aren’t interesting or nice people. They are, insofar as twenty-six year old’s working at a video store, putting on plays, and wishing the rest of the world would just “fuck off” can be. If I find them (or the film, which director Louise Alston admitted was autobiographically inspired) a bit pretentious, it is not because their lives are so banal and they don’t know it, but rather because there seems to be an implicit message that their being female elevates their love, work, and family trials to the level of high seriousness. There is lots of easy rapport and witty repartee in the film, and it’s pleasant in a Gilmore Girls sort of way, but it doesn’t have much of a perspective beyond “friendship is good” and “our very special friendship is so very special because it is ours and we are such good friends in the way that only two special lady friends can be.”

See, I’m two paragraphs into a review, and I’m already annoyed at myself for being more catty towards the film than I actually felt. I like that the film focused on two interesting and normal female characters. I wish there were more films about women and their relationships with each other. Maybe a little more showing and a little less telling?

Truth is, Jucy, probably caught me on the wrong day. There have been periods of my life that I’ve been interested in and argued in a fem theory kind of way about the ways women are marginalized in art and culture and for a recognition about the distinct qualities of their relationships with each other. But there are other periods (days) in which I think, “Well, every relationship has some distinctive qualities, and I am more engrossed by the works of art that will draw on experience or imagination to draw me in to a really interesting or engaging relationship, whether it be between two males, two females, or a horse and his boy, then I am by works of art that draw on social generalizations.” Stereotypes may have seeds of truth in them, but generalization is a form of abstraction and can also be a form of laziness.

The most interesting character in Jucy, for my money, is Lucy’s sister, Fleur, who admirably takes on the role of responsible sibling whom Lucy (and the audience) can simultaneously envy and resent. To Lucy’s (and the film’s) credit, when Fleur finally does speak her mind, she (and it) recognize some validity in Fleur’s point of view. I would point out that none of the very, very superficially painted men in the film get anything remotely resembling a perspective or a personality if I thought that doing so wouldn’t automatically make the film’s advocates pounce and say, “We knew it! Another guy who wants even our movies to be about them.”

Not really. I just want it to be about something.

There will be people (yeah, most of them women) who love this film, and…you know what? I don’t feel much inclined to talk them out of it. I want them to have something that celebrates the unique problems and perseverance of women while I am re-reading Jane Eyre.

Film Festivals

Toronto International Film Festival 2010

Jucy

Louise Alston

Previous Post

September 10, 2010

The Way (Estevez, 2010)

Next Post

September 13, 2010 Never Let Me Go (Romanek, 2010)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 10 Years Later 1999 Top 5 2007 Top 10 2008 Favorite Discoveries 2008 Top 10 2009 Favorite Discoveries 2009 Top 10 2010 Favorite Discoveries 2010 Top 10 2011 Top 10 2012 Top Ten 2013 Top Ten 2014 Top Ten Best Picture Winners Christian Spotlight on Entertainment Christianity Today Coming Soon Disclosure Disclosure--AS Disclosure--Book Disclosure--DVDS Disclosure--SEOL Disclosure--Travel Dissenting Opinion Elsewhere Emergenetics Essays Featured Film Fest DC--2014 Film Festivals Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2010 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2011 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2013 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2014 Headline Interviews Laura on the Oscar Winners Podcasts Quick Impressions Reviews RiverRun Film Festival 2014 Television The Criterion Collection The Thin Place To Stream or Not to Stream? Top 10s and Other Lists Toronto International Film Festival 2009 Toronto International Film Festival 2010 Toronto International Film Festival 2011 Toronto International Film Festival 2012 Toronto International Film Festival 2013 Toronto International Film Festival 2014 Uncategorized Video Virginia Film Festival 2011 Virginia Film Festival 2013 Women's Film Festival 2012

Select a Month February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was the primary fabric used for clothing?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Linen Wool Silk Cotton