MovieChat Forums > Trust the Man (2006) Discussion > Men and women are BOTH wrong

Men and women are BOTH wrong

posted 15 years ago by mogli702
8 replies | jump to latest

I enjoyed reading the thread that said the meaning of this film was "men are wrong." Very provocative there.

In my opinion, if this film was truly aimed at women to help them "fix" their men, then why did it portray the women as schmucks too? Honestly! These girls are just as hopelessly out of touch with their true desires as the guys. It's like watching children play house.

I just tried to post on Bart & David's blog but apparently it's not accepting comments anymore. Here's my rant:

Hello.

I am very disappointed. I have searched the internet over and over and over, periodically for the past year since I first saw Trust the Man.

I have not once found any reviews, blog postings, or forums of any kind that talk about anything meaningful that took place in this film.

I watched the audio commentary at least twice trying to find clues. I actually posted on the "Jackass" review page, three times, asking desperately if anybody else was wondering about the same questions I had.

Now that posting is gone. I don't know why it was removed. I'll admit I'm obsessed! I just CANNOT understand why nobody noticed any of this stuff!!!

For example: the use of red. The use of color symbolism in general. It's talked about in the commentary and I feel like it's trying to say something on a much deeper level. While pondering this (use of red to signify passion, love, anger, danger, etc) I began seeing red pop out at me - synchronicity if you will - wherever I went. I know this is how the brain/universe operates, but it was uncanny at times.

This movie is not about relationships and how to make them "work"!! Hello?!?!? This movie is a snapshot of how ridiculously self-absorbed the majority of people are, and how they either a. completely overlook what they've got or b. completely miss the opportunity to grow up.

It's about petty fears and how they keep us bound. It's about the fact that there's more to life than the *beep* "American Dream" and it's time to WAKE UP. We're all children having children, and it's sickening!!

So many questions. The ending was completely out of control and I think I understand why that was. It had to be the total Hollywood "fairytale" ending, so we could get sufficiently nauseated by the normalness and hopelessness of these people's pathetic lives.

Every time the women really express themselves and start to be passionate about something, the color RED shows up behind them. But they don't follow the energy to find out how they really feel about their meaningless lives; they go on obliviously trying to just keep up pretenses.

What was up with the colors of Julianne's clothes in the play at the end? She was in red (the whore?) and then in white (the mother?)? David's face shows that he had some sort of epiphany. What was it? Or how about the red shoes Maggie's wearing with her white wedding dress at the end? What the *beep* is that? Some kind of Dorothy reference? That her imagination's not totally dead?

What was up with the black/white/red symbolism with Eva and her husband? Eva is "Eve" why? Little Freudian slip there. She inadvertently confronts Billy with his fear of death. Billy is overly afraid of death, and Maggie is so alive she's oozing.

Is that trying to say that younger women tend to not realize what they've got and set their goals higher in life? Instead of putting up with stupid losers? Enabling stupid losers to go on being stupid? They think they want babies but what they really want is to COME FULLY ALIVE, to wake up to reality!!! To come into themselves and actually take charge of their lives. This isn't some feminist diatribe, but it's construed that way because men feel threatened, or something.

This is about men and women pulling their heads out of each others' asses. Going after what they really want in life (to actually grow up and start living) instead of going after what the culture tells them they want. The character with the movie's namesake, the musician-minister guy, was the only one with any sense. "Trust the Man" means the "big man", what silly people call "God" but what we could simply call life itself. Trust life. Trust existence. Trust the universe. Start living.

This is what I think this film is about. Maybe I am way off base.

It has confused me, made me uncomfortable, irritated me beyond belief, and ultimately made me think. A lot.

Thanks for reading my psychotic rant. Allow me to leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

"Women are tough and rather course. They were built for the raw, crude work of bearing children. You'd be amazed what they can do when they divert that baby-hatching energy into some other enterprise.
~Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins

Rebecca
[email protected]

[–] DreamCatcher7 15 years ago

I am very impressed with your little rant.

And you are on to something true with you analysm. We all need to wake up and decide what we really want in Life in stead of doing anything but that. Appreciate it once we find something worth holding onto.

But every movie has a deeper meaning. Often based on clichee morality or typical norms. And I don't find Trust the Man to be special in that regard or more meaningful than almost any other movie out there.

I liked your comments about the colors - nice touch - but still not very original.

As for Eva - hmmm, sometimes I guess you can analyze too much but perhaps Freundlich thought what you do about her character's name. I am not too sure, though...

Why don't you send this to Freundlich - I am sure he would be pleased to know that someone took him seriously.

Life is a single skip for joy

[–] mogli702 15 years ago

Can you tell me HOW to get it to Freundlich? I can't figure out how to contact him, and the blog is apparently not active anymore.

Thanks for your comments. I was frustrated by the fact that in the audio commentary they talked about how they manipulated the color settings in order to accentuate the contrast and the use of red... but they didn't say WHY. Also that "Eve" thing was something they said in the commentary during the scene where Eva is seducing Billy in the club - and the lighting is red. They say "Eve--er, Eva," as if on purpose. There are a lot of annoying little blips like this.

I just want to know what the hell he was trying to accomplish with this movie. If you read the blog entries, you'll notice they sound disappointed that the movie didn't get hugely popular - well that's normal for sure, but it sounds like they don't think anybody GOT it either.

And sure, maybe I'm over-analytical and a little maniacal about this but like I said, it irritated me that much. It's not normal for me to care so much.

:o)

Thanks for your comments!! And please, if you know how to contact him let me know.

[–] DreamCatcher7 15 years ago

Oh, the actress' real name is Eva Mendez - the character's was Faith.

Life is a single skip for joy

[–] sheisariver 15 years ago

>>"Or how about the red shoes Maggie's wearing with her white wedding dress at the end? What the *beep* is that? Some kind of Dorothy reference? That her imagination's not totally dead?"

Maggie Gyllenhaal said in an interview she wears ballerinas all the time for comfort, but she didn't realise (nor the director) that everybody would see them in the end. Plus, red makes everybody and everything look more attractive and captures the attention.

As for Eva Mendez part, I think that she is the ex-gf/temptation for Tobey but it's such a small part, the movie wasn't fully developed so the viewer had lots to think about....soo...It's great that the movie made you think and you could write your thoughts and opinions.

[–] mogli702 15 years ago

Nope you're wrong. Because in the commentary at that moment when Billy scoops her up and you see her red shoes, one of the guys says, "Hup - there - she's still got a little bit"... or something similar. They pointed it out, as they pointed out a lot of the other red symbolism throughout. Another example is the red marquis scrolling on the building behind Julianne as she's yelling at Billy after running across the street - they said they added that in with CG. And then the shot cuts to Billy and he's standing in front of a vivid green bush. This red/green thing just keeps going and going. When David (sorry I'm not using the characters' names) is shown coming home to find Julianne with the kids, he is in a red shirt (just got done cheating on her) but she is in a green sweatshirt. Then she gets mad at him and a big bouquet of red flowers is behind her head so the blob of red looks like an aura. There are many more examples... I'm telling you, it means something...

[–] oorahljim 15 years ago

mogli702;
I like what you say about this subject.I think this is as bad a film as Little Children.Why the use of red as background i do not know.
I wonder how they were able to produce this film.

[–] DreamCatcher7 15 years ago

Yes Mowgli it means something.

And if it does then all it means is this: Red symbolizes sin, anger, passion, lust and green symbolizes innocence, naivity, hope, trust etc.

What is so strange about it? It's a common thing to use colors and I see no deeper meaning to it than this?

[–] mogli702 14 years ago

Alright, I found a perfect little ditty to go with this discussion. The deeper meaning is in the fact that men and women are NOT equal, are basically two very different species, and that "equality" between the sexes is ludicrous. Also, that women are winning the battle of the sexes because it's very hard to avoid getting sucked into a black hole.

I will quote from Dave Sim's Cerebus "Reads"... there are two elements in life: The Female Void and the Male Light...

Blood and Semen.
As Alice Cooper so eloquently put it, 'Only Women Bleed.'
Semen and Blood.
Red and white. White and red.
We are our corpuscles.
We are approaching headlights.
You are retreating taillights.
We are different, fundamentally, irrevocably.
We are as different
As Night and Day.

Since watching a few Woody Allen films (I highly recommend "Husbands and Wives") I have even more appreciation for this movie.

You will not understand the symbolism if you don't understand that Woman is crushing, enslaving men - She has everyone confounded.

White = men
Red = Woman
Green = resisting the evil sucking power of Woman

There is only one Woman, with a thousand faces.