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“This Looks Demeaning”: Amy Adams’ New Film Stirs Debate Over Its Grim View of Motherhood
The first official trailer for Amy Adams’ latest movie was released on September 3, 2024, to mixed reception.
Produced by Searchlight Pictures, Nightbitch is described as a horror-comedy with the tagline “motherhood is a bitch,” a double entendre meant both as an insult and a reference to a critical plot point in the movie: the main character turning into a female dog at night.
Highlights
- The trailer for Amy Adams' 'Nightbitch' released on September 3, 2024, received a mixed response.
- The film's tagline 'motherhood is a bitch' sparked debate, with some finding it empowering and others calling it anti-family propaganda.
- Critics praised the novel 'Nightbitch' is based on, calling it a powerful depiction of modern motherhood struggles.
- Set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, the movie will be released in theaters on December 6, 2024.
“A woman finds motherhood hard, so she fantasizes about physically harming her partner before literally returning to the streets. Empowering,” wrote one viewer sarcastically.
“This movie is a nice nod to the 80s when writers and filmmakers were unafraid to take risks on new and wild ideas. I dig this!” stated another.
Needless to say, netizens had a lot to say about this “bizarre” film.
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The trailer for Amy Adams’ upcoming film Nightbitch, which sees the frustrations of a mother and her transformation into a literal dog, has gotten a mixed reception from audiences
Image credits: SearchlightPictures
“You’re never going to be smart, happy, or thin ever again,” Adams’ character says in the clip. The clip shows her growing increasingly jaded about her role as a mother as she cleans, cooks, and takes care of her infant son while reminiscing with other women at the daycare about better days in their lives.
Her internal rage causes her to turn into a dog, literally, and the trailer’s tone shifts into a more hopeful one as her now canine version is shown running through the streets freely.
Image credits: SearchlightPictures
As Adam’s character embraces her potential (represented by her dog form), she becomes more assertive and seems to return to her old hobbies. She embraces her kid’s chaotic playfulness and even enjoys intimacy with her partner more.
Despite the nuanced approach presented by the trailer, negative reception appears to be mostly motivated by both the movie’s title and its tagline, which seem to demonize the concept of motherhood at first glance.
The Nightbitch trailer… pic.twitter.com/RhXcIpf0TZ
— just adam (@apat10) September 3, 2024
“Typical Hollywood, kids suck, motherhood is a nightmare, women are victims, and men are shit,” wrote one user on X.
“This looks like the worst movie of all time. And more anti-family, anti-stay-at-home mom propaganda from Hollywood, as usual.” stated another.
“Men and children ruin everything and keep us from fulfilling our potential, we are all goddesses, blah blah blah.”
Critics have praised the novel the movie is adapted from, considering it to be a powerful depiction of the struggles of modern mothers
Image credits: SearchlightPictures
The movie is based on a novel of the same name published in 2021 by American writer Rachel Yoder.
Upon its release, critics labeled the magical realism tale as a “modern feminist fable.” Reviews by the Washington Post praised the novel as “a powerful understanding of the alienation that can set in for stay-at-home mothers.”
Image credits: SearchlightPictures
The New Yorker considered the story a good representation of the conflict that arises from the idea that “mothers are capable of anything” and the struggles that women go through to meet the demands of parenthood.
Fans of the book and actress were much more positive in their assessment of the trailer, believing it to be the opportunity Adams has been waiting for to win an Academy Award, for which she has been nominated six times so far.
I’m just a morning bitch. pic.twitter.com/HKRPoo3n48
— Nickel 🌈 🥥 🌴 (@nickelgeetweets) September 5, 2024
“Pack it up, folks, Adams is winning Best Actress,” said one viewer.
“The tagline for this movie should be ‘Give her a damn Oscar already!’” stated another.
“I’d watch it just because of Amy Adams, but Night Bitch also looks like a lot of fun.” wrote one of her fans.
The actress has won two Golden Globe Awards, four Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, and one Screen Actors Guild Award.
Netizens were left confused by the trailer and have, due to the film’s catchy title, been creating memes to poke fun at the movie’s premise
Image credits: SearchlightPictures
Considering the trailer to be “utterly bizarre,” viewers were left unsure how to react, with some opting to forgo any seriousness and embrace the weirdness presented to them.
Motivated by the catchy title and the strange premise, some netizens have instead opted to make fun of the trailer, with one speculating it might be the beginning of the “Bitch Cinematic Universe.”
“It’s called NIGHTBITCH. Amy Adams plays a mother who turns into a dog at night. It’s the first film in the BCU, the Bitch Cinematic Universe,” joked one user on X.
Image credits: SearchlightPictures
Another viewer had a better idea in mind.
“The bosses are saying movies are for boomers & want to target a younger, more hip demographic. We’re now turning NIGHTBITCH into a 6-part series exclusively on Peacock,” they replied.
A third user even put on their best “movie trailer voice” impersonation and created their pitch for the BCU.
“Each week, NIGHTBITCH goes to a new town and takes on a new persona; one week, she’s a sinner, the next a saint.”
Netizens have left a mix of positive, humorous, and more critical comments both on Searchlight’s official X page and the trailer’s comments section on YouTube
“I am a woman; hear me roar. So original. Can’t wait,” wrote one viewer sarcastically.
“I love Amy, and I think it’s unjust she hasn’t received an Oscar so far, but critics are saying this is the movie that’s going to make her win one? Seriously? I don’t see it,” pondered another.
“This is so weird! Oddly, I completely relate to being a new mom at 40. Can’t wait!” said one excited viewer.
Image credits: kathrnmontalto
“Why is this trailer getting so much hate? Why are all the Oscar prognosticators in a rush to write Amy off? It’s Searchlight and Adams; they know what they’re doing,” wrote another, stating they were looking forward to the film.
The movie is set to premiere next Saturday (September 7) at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. A theatrical release will follow a couple of months later, on December 6, 2024, across the United States.
“Bizarre.” Viewers were left confused by the movie’s first trailer, with many being surprised by the story’s unconventional premise
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What do you think ?
Becky Samuel 3 months ago
This sort of article is why art is dying a painful death and being replaced by dull, vanilla cookie-cutter content.
MaggieMay85 3 months ago
I think after hearing, “I can crush a walnut with my vagina”, I’m intrigued.
Beak Hookage 3 months ago
A movie about how hard motherhood can be is "controversial" and "anti-family" and "anti-men"? She clearly loves her kid and her husband; being stressed out and having a personal crisis doesn't mean you don't love and value your family. For heaven's sakes, grow a brain and find something real to get upset about.
Becky Samuel 3 months ago
This sort of article is why art is dying a painful death and being replaced by dull, vanilla cookie-cutter content.
MaggieMay85 3 months ago
I think after hearing, “I can crush a walnut with my vagina”, I’m intrigued.
Beak Hookage 3 months ago
A movie about how hard motherhood can be is "controversial" and "anti-family" and "anti-men"? She clearly loves her kid and her husband; being stressed out and having a personal crisis doesn't mean you don't love and value your family. For heaven's sakes, grow a brain and find something real to get upset about.
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