I asked a couple of divorce litigators what they thought of the movie Boyhood. The quote “Women are never satisfied. They’re always looking to trade up.” was cited with approval.
They liked the mother’s practice of multiple marriages and divorces, but couldn’t understand how she could have been so badly informed as to be doing it in Texas (virtually no alimony). Had she been married in Connecticut, for example, she could have been collecting alimony off at least one husband at all times.
They thought that it was unrealistic that the mother was not engaged in post-divorce litigation with the father of her children, at least to get court orders for more lucrative child support payments as his income grew.
What do readers think of the film? Personally I thought the least credible part was the carefree musician becoming an actuary without ever once having a math book in his hands. Also, if he was an actuary working in tax-free Texas (BLS says $94,000/year median pay in 2012), why wasn’t he rich enough to keep his classic muscle car?
Perhaps one of the most overrated films in recent memory. It should’ve been titled, “Mistakes My Mother Made.”
The only thing that that movie had going for it was the one gimmick. It needed a lot more than that. Also see “Momento”.
Memento.
Maybe I don’t watch enough films lately to compare, but I thought it was pretty decent. At least, a realistic walk through the stages of life. The 12 year gimmick is probably unnecessary, but it really reminds me how most women do not age well compared to men.
One thing it did make me appreciate is that my parents kept my family intact and I didn’t have a mother like the one in this movie. I think even in the best of circumstances, it must be really weird to see your parents with other people over time. These days, I wouldn’t be surprised if most women don’t go through such a life.
As the Arabs say, “Women want fried ice.” I think they are right.
I think the wife in the Queen of Versailles video is probably one of the few happy ones. At least she seemed like a nice person (the husband seemed to have a temper though). But even for her, it seemed materially it was never enough.
btw –
Maybe in the future it won’t matter what women choose to do with their lives (multiple fathers/children/etc) – In two generations, women will be poised to inherit 70% of the wealth – out of $41 trillion! In fact it’s already happened:“Women already control 60 percent of the nation’s personal wealth – they outnumber men and they are traditionally the shoppers”
Maybe when they all get to be trillionaires and can “have it all” ala Sheryl Sandberg – they will finally be happy.