**SPOILERS AHEAD** For a movie that wants to play with spy movie tropes, Matthew Vaughn‘s "Kingsman: The Secret Service" doesn’t do much to upend the traditional role of women in these kinds of films. In his R-rated movie, heroic women are either sidelined like Roxy, are villains like Gazelle, or in one of the movie’s most controversial developments, become nothing more than a sexual reward for our hero. Teased at in the trailers, the finale of the movie finds Taron Egerton‘s Eggsy given the promise of anal sex if he succeeds in his mission of saving the world, as if saving the world wasn’t reward enough. It’s the most juvenile joke in an already juvenile movie and many took offense, but Vaughn is defending the inclusion of the lame-brained gag.
"If you’ve noticed, this is my ‘Spinal Tap‘ of trying to find 11 with every scene. What happened there was I studied all the old movies, especially the Bond ones. At the end of ‘Moonraker,’ he’s floating around in space on Dr. Goodhead, and they say, ‘Bond is attempting reentry.’ In ‘The Spy Who Loved Me,’ he says he’s ‘keeping the British end up.’ The innuendo is pretty strong and always comes from the men," the director explained to EW.
"I just thought it would be great to turn it on its head by having the woman say it. I actually think it’s empowering," he continues. "Some bloody feminists are accusing me of being a misogynist. I’m like, ‘It couldn’t be further from the truth.’ It’s a celebration of women and the woman being empowered in a weird way in my mind, which will cause a big argument again I’m sure. It’s meant to be tongue-in-cheek and crazy."
I’m not sure how having an imprisoned woman bargaining her way out of her predicament with anal sex is "empowering," but calling those who question the scene and the joke "bloody feminists" doesn’t exactly help one’s argument that they are creating a "celebration of women."
But mostly, Vaughn feels it’s "just a joke," and while there were debates with the studio about the line, he felt the movie was more "brave" by including it. And that without it, the finale just wasn’t as satisfying.
"What you do is you say, ‘If you save the world, I’ll give you more than a kiss.’ That’s it. Then he goes back for it and shuts the door. That’s it. Then you go, ‘Yeah, that’s okay.’ For the 20 percent who were offended by it, there are 80 percent who are rolling around laughing so hard. Those 20 percent of people just need to lighten up a little bit," Vaughn said. "It’s about pushing boundaries and having a bit of fun. It’s not meant to be offensive, and it’s definitely not misogynist or any attack on women. That’s for sure."
Thoughts? Pull together a stiff drink and hit the comments section.
You missed a golden opportunity for a less predictable and really effective joke. Instead of the princess presenting her ass you should have had her waiting with a huge strap-on dildo.
<I\’m not sure how having an imprisoned woman bargaining her way out of her predicament with anal sex is "empowering,">
Seriously? What a bullshit. She wasn\’t bargaining, she could\’ve gotten out for just a kiss. She wanted it and that is made very obvious in the movie. How is a woman that gets what she wants NOT empowering?
AS if that makes it better coming from the woman???? It wasn\’t the first time anal sex was mentioned in the film. If you wan\’t to empower women have her find her own escape and save the men for once. I\’m am so tired of having to defend white trash men. They are not real men.
@Dave…"\’Murica" is not the only place where this film was controversial. See the Guardian or Telegraph pieces. So much for your typical condescending European two-cents, or the ever enjoyable "cultured" American who hates being/everything American. Idk which is worse.
I really liked the movie, right up until the anal sex joke. I had made the conscious decision to ignore the lack of decent female roles (Roxy was definitely token, and the mum needed rescuing by her son!), but then when the movie compounded the lack or representation with an anal sex joke + woman\’s ass footage, it felt like a slap in the face. It really put me off the whole movie. The fact that it was an anal sex joke definitely made it worse. Anal sex is more typically the domain of porn, not something that most women enjoy doing, so it felt even more exclusionary.
Don\’t forget the woman is from a Scandinavian country where the laws and culture strongly favor female empowerment, where women are expected to make the first move. Her sexual liberation is a direct result of her being from a culture where women feel safe to express her sexuality openly without ugly misogynistic consequences. Most Europeans are aware of this, but \’Murica.
Humor is a very effective tool in normalizing misogyny. Because it\’s a "joke" we are supposed to laugh it off. It shames and silences us. The movie has cool gadgets and innovative sequences, but at the end of the day it\’s just a pile of white dudes spouting the same tired shit and upholding the same upperclass, patriarchal values that have always run through Hollywood (despite the embarrassingly on-the-nose use of the line "it\’s not that kind of movie"). When will these bros step off so the money can be funneled into projects worth making?
I\’m a feminist and I totally agree with article. If Vaughn really wanted to turn the spy genre on it\’s head he should have given the princess a strap-on.
Two parts of this film difficult for a parent seeing it with a child. (Yes, under 16 they are still children!). 1. the level of violence in the chapel slaughter should have been rated 18. (he agreed). The Land of Hope and Glory head explosions were, conversely, very funny and, he said \’tastefully done\’. 2) A joke about anal sex. Which he didn\’t get. Not an issue for me. Excruciating for him when he finally plucked up the courage to ask because his mates kept talking about it. "Sweetie, some adults haven\’t tried stuff so they say it\’s wrong. They\’re wrong. Some kids will have you believe everyone does it, they\’re wrong too. When you meet a girl, never ever presume. Consent is all." Thanks for that Kingsman. Not what I anticipated from seeing a 15 movie. But yes, bloody funny. 🙂
You\’re an uptight politically correct liberal twit. Losers like you are ruining society.
I imagine the butt shot later on is much more offensive than the inappropriate "joke".
people need to lighten up god we only live once why bother complaining about something some liked and not liked. everyone has a opinion and some people need to feel important by attacking movies, actors, directors etc but bottom line if u saw it then did not like it just face book it or tell your friends don\’t watch it don\’t write to the news or other media outlets or the person who wrote the script.
I mean SHOULDN\’T**
I don\’t think he SHOULD have used that line.. It\’s as if women\’s value, and what she can contribute is just her sex, virginity, or in this case, her anus. He thinks it\’s not a joke, but by making light of a comment, or implied connotation like that, it actually makes it more commonplace for opinions like that to be made towards women. Also "bloody feminists" suggests that he does NOT respect feminist thoughts, and by saying "bloody" he is trying to discredit their opinions. Also, "bloody" to the English shows negativity towards the feminists.
I am an ardent feminist, lawyer, graduate of Tisch School of the Arts (NYU Film School) and this joke was funny, not offensive. You want to see misogynistic films, watch Jean Luc Godard\’s Two or Three Things I Know About Her and just about anything he has ever done. Pedro Almodovar\’s Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down. He hates all women except his mommy. This is a silly spy comedy and not a political polemic. Have you ever read a book, have you ever seen a serious film, do you think? I\’m glad this is controversial. It will put more behinds (pun intended) into the seats and that means there will be a sequel. All publicity is good publicity.
I think the scene is great satire, but wow, Matthew Vaughn shouldn\’t be allowed to defend his awesome work anymore. Way to blow this argument out of the water, dude.
*Old man yells at cloud*
Joe
Bloody is common terminology in the uk, so is spelling realise with a s, not a z . Bloody is a term used to express annoyance, it\’s a more socially acceptable way of saying "f**king" i.e bloody hell -f**king hell.
Wow. I didn\’t think I could like him any less after seeing his film, but hearing his own words is the nail in his coffin. The movie felt like the work of the angriest, most technically skilled, ADD-addled fourteen-year-old, and his own words seal the deal. This movie is also a perfect example of what the otherwise brilliant The Lego Movie fell victim to as well, which was detailed in an article somewhere online. In that movie Wyldstyle, and in this movie Roxy are both introduced as more skilled and confident than the male leads, a seemingly feminist choice. However they never change or grow, and the male leads spend the whole movie learning and eventually surpassing them, until the finale, when both women are sidelined.
I am a feminist, and loved the film, which I have seen 3 times, and waiting for my 4th! This very English humour is being misunderstood. I know many people didn\’t like the last scene – this is a film without sex, after all. But I saw it as a \’two-fingers\’ to Bond films, which really exploit women and wouldn\’t have dared show a bum to the world. I found both the other women incredibly strong, violence matching violence, and a woman sent into space to carry out such an important task. People forget that this is based on the comic books – perhaps they should read them? It is not real!
Mr. Writer of this Article, you do realize countless women and so-called feminists paid good money all around the world to turn 50 shades of grey into a frigging franchise. So, this scene in the movie, which is frankly quite funny and harmless, is seen as offensive, when you have a movie like 50 shades abusing women, is really hypocritical of the writer who wrote this article and those women taking offense. Those women need to get their heads checked. So I guess it\’s only misogyny if it is not women who subject themselves to abuse by men and not when it\’s played for laughs in a tiny scene in a movie.
Ugh… bullshit.
AS if that makes it better coming from the woman???? It wasn’t the first time anal sex was mentioned in the film. If you wan’t to empower women have her find her own escape and save the men for once. I’m am so tired of having to defend white trash men. They are not real men.
All I can hear is Spinal Tap explaining how the cover of "Smell the Glove" is satire.
You do realize he said "bloody" because he\’s English, right? It\’s common terminology in the UK, and not the offensive \’joke\’ as you\’re making it out to be.
The world\’s leaders heads blowing up is not an issue in the real world. Misogyny is.
It\’s a little crazy that the bulk of the controversy is about this joke and not the scene where all the world\’s leaders get their heads blown up