MovieChat Forums > Nurse Jackie (2009) Discussion > Jackie attracting so many men isn't even...

Jackie attracting so many men isn't even realistic.

posted 8 years ago by zombiewhitegirl
24 replies | jump to latest

Edie Falco at her BEST, when she has long hair and the right makeup, is an average looking middle aged woman imo. There's nothing wrong with that; most of us are average, right? But it becomes a problem when you cast her as a character who:

a. has her looks played down by giving her a short, cropped butchy haircut and
b. apparently attracts men like bees to honey.

It was really hard for me to believe that she's got this smokin' hot younger husband (who IS younger and looks even younger than his actual age), and then she's got a boyfriend on the side, and then they really went too far was when even COOP got all goofy over her and dumped his gorgeous girlfriend to pursue Jackie! What the heck! It's like they had some other actress in mind when they wrote the script, but then decided to star Edie at the last moment and it was too late to change the script.

I'm not trying to be mean but I just think they should have either gone with someone else, or wrote in other drama that didn't involve sex with multiple men who in real life wouldn't go for her.

[–] deborahkerr1992 8 years ago

So in other words this show is like every other movie or tv show where the average looking middle aged MAN hooks up with beautiful younger and more accomplished women all over the place? And the problem would be?

[–] theflash71 8 years ago

Perhaps the character of Jackie has a mouth like a velvet vacuum cleaner!!!
😜

[–] deborahkerr1992 8 years ago

This too lol

[–] zombiewhitegirl 8 years ago

Typically the women are younger/more attractive than the guy but NOT more accomplished. I'd like to hear of a show where beautiful, younger, more successful women throw themselves at an older middle aged bum.
But if that happened, it would be ridiculous. Just like the imbalance is ridiculous in this show.

[–] deborahkerr1992 8 years ago

First off the men that throw themselves at Jackie are not hot, young gorgeous men. The husband is younger but he's not some great catch.

Second, Jackie is (at least in the hospital) a rock star. She is an amazing and highly accomplished nurse which everyone respects.

Just because Coop (who clearly has maternal issues) was temporarily turned on by her, it does not really even make this far fetched.

And turn on just about any tv show and I will show you a fat, underachieving dude, with a beautiful and thin wife. Modern Family just to name one.

Bottom line: movies and tv shows have catered to the male ego and fantasies for decades.

Now you have a woman in a much more believable situation and you're whining?

[–] zombiewhitegirl 8 years ago

"Now you have a woman in a much more believable situation and you're whining?"

Whose whining? I'm pointing out an element of a show that I don't agree with. That's what these message boards are for; discussion, both in praise and criticism of the show. If you find that hard to deal with, go somewhere else. Quit "whining".

As for "believable", give me a break. When the show opens, and for several seasons (until near the end), Jackie is just old looking, haggard, wrinkled, looks like she's got a ton of sun damage, does not do anything to fix herself up, has a very butch haircut and she's way too skinny. She looks like an inmate at a women's correctional facility. Hardly the cougar they try and make her out to be. Oh but wait, she's successful, so all men have to do is think of how much money she makes while they're getting intimate...just keep her "success" in their head...and not open their eyes. Oh wait, men don't do that.

It doesn't matter if she's a "rockstar"in the hospital; men in general are attracted to beauty, youth and signs of fertility, not power. WOMEN are attracted to power.

It may be "fair" to portray old women getting with young men because we've seen the opposite for so long on other shows, but it doesn't make it realistic.

We can portray people doing anything we want in shows to push whatever agenda we like. We can have a worn-out old boot of a nurse attracting younger men, because that makes us feel good to see; we can have little 90lb girls kicking the butts of guys twice as tall and 3x as heavy. BUT IT DOESN'T HAPPEN. You may like turning your brain off to watch a show but mine is still up and running throughout. And I call bullsh*t on Jackie attracting any of the people she does.

[–] katnim 8 years ago

such *beep*
Women are attracted to looks as well. I know no woman who does not care about her potential partner's look. So yeah those shows that portray fat, unattractive men with stunning wives are just extremely unrealistic.

[–] lisavonbitten 8 years ago

Bravo, Deborah

[–] liscarkat (16496) 6 years ago

"And turn on just about any tv show and I will show you a fat, underachieving dude, with a beautiful and thin wife. Modern Family just to name one."

You're right, in general, but Modern Family isn't a good example. Both husbands have beautiful, thin wives who are more attractive (and in one case much younger) than they are. However, one husband is a wealthy entrepreneur, and the other is a successful realtor. While both husbands have their problems, neither can be defined as "underachieving".

[–] mhan00-2 8 years ago

Watch any Kevin James comedy tv show, ever. Watch that Belushi comedy with the girl from Melrose Place as his wife. There are numerous examples of fat, schlubby men having drop dead gorgeous women as their significant other/love interest, to the point where it's a trope. Look it up on TVtropes.com.

[–] OhNooos 8 years ago

There's so much more to allure than physical looks. She might not be attractive to you, but she was to them. Does happen in real life, just not typically in Hollywood portrayals.

[–] blakegirl 8 years ago

I totally agree with you on this one. I thought exactly the same thing when I first saw the show (about Jackie and Kevin).

[–] NightSprings 8 years ago

If I may add my two cents: functioning addicts are professional liars. They HAVE to ooze charisma and be alluring to keep up the guise. Nurses have to be kind and empathetic and maternal to do their job efficiently. Every man who wanted Jackie was under her spell and she would use these traits to manipulate them to get exactly what she wanted - to cover her tracks, to get her next fix, etc.. Sometimes it was so subtle viewers would barely notice. It has nothing to do with looks. It has to do with the fact that she's an expert con artist and wrapped these men around her finger.

Off topic, but not. I met Edie Falco while they were filming season six. She was SO BEAUTIFUL in person. And she was so lovely. The show went out of its way to make her look like she did. Off camera, she is very, very pretty.

Also, New York can be very lonely. There are so many people in NY and if you find yourself not fitting in or alone for whatever reason, that loneliness feels magnified times a million. Some of these men just wanted some companionship. And like someone else said, Jackie, at her job, was like a rock star. Who, in that work environment, wouldn't be flattered to have Jackie show you some kindness, charm, and affection?

[–] blakegirl 8 years ago

Yea good points there and oooow congrats on meeting Edie Falco!

[–] calpurnia-62329 8 years ago

She has a hot body! Men don't look at the face. She's a Butterface!! If she were fat, I'd agree with you but the body is smoking which is all men care about.

[–] andreolimarco 8 years ago

Obviously beauty is personal.
The fact that Jackie has several relations is due to the fiction requirement: writers had to carry on the show for 7 seasons and so they had to make up interesting plots.

[–] Carlie64 8 years ago

I agree! Not a pretty woman AT ALL. "Jackie" was such a bI^ch , but she DID behave like an addict. B

[–] mgreen9715 8 years ago

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and not everyone is as shallow as you.

It's also a FICTIONAL TV show, so theres that.