Suicide Squad - Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn

[Punisher007]

There is a double-standard on that front. I mean you had a surprisingly (and depressingly) large number of people who were complaining that Amy Adams was "too old" to play Lois Lane. Or that she was "too old" for Henry Cavill (she's nine years older than him btw). But reverse the genders, and no one bats an eyelash.

[Green Ghost]

Pairing her with two insanely popular and talented actors is sexist . . . how? Hell, even if they weren't insanely popular or even talented I fail to see how sexism factors in. Hollywood is more racist than it is sexist, and the fact that they paired her with a black man is quite nice to see.

It is sexist because they don't cast actresses the same age as the male, because they need to be young and pretty. It is a known problem in Hollywood and lately got into focus when Maggie Gyllenhaal (then 37) was told she was too old to play the love interest of a 55 year old man.
There are endless examples where young women play the love interests for much older man, even when they're supposed to be the same age. For example in Green Lantern Hal & Carol are childhood friends but Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are 11 years apart.

[Nite-Wing]

Margot Robbie has already talked about how people tend to view her as older than she actually is for whatever reason
Its not like this will be her first time playing the love interest to a much older man anyway.

[Tayswift]

Margot Robbie has already talked about how people tend to view her as older than she actually is for whatever reason
Its not like this will be her first time playing the love interest to a much older man anyway.

that happens to all actresses. only cases I remember of older actresses are Amy Adams with henry cavill, and Jlaw with hutcherson and it was a small difference. Adams still get a lot of bash because she is 40, never mind iron man and war machine/rhodes being 50 years old or batman being 42;

it is good that people are noticing that men get older, but their love interests get younger

Pairing her with two insanely popular and talented actors is sexist . . . how? Hell, even if they weren't insanely popular or even talented I fail to see how sexism factors in. Hollywood is more racist than it is sexist, and the fact that they paired her with a black man is quite nice to see.

Anyways, I think Margot Robbie will disappoint as Harley. I think she and the writers simply don't understand the character, and are treating her like a female Deadpool. "Just get her to do crazy things on screen. The audience will love that."

deadpool isn't extremely sexualized

Margot looks older because she only did mature roles, unlike Jlaw and emma stone

[TsukiSentinel]

It is sexist because they don't cast actresses the same age as the male, because they need to be young and pretty. It is a known problem in Hollywood and lately got into focus when Maggie Gyllenhaal (then 37) was told she was too old to play the love interest of a 55 year old man.
There are endless examples where young women play the love interests for much older man, even when they're supposed to be the same age. For example in Green Lantern Hal & Carol are childhood friends but Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are 11 years apart.

That still doesn't explain how any of this is sexist. I highly doubt directors, producers or whoever is making these casting decisions care about gender politics, nor do they have to. They just want to make money. So the question they're asking themselves is what gets people into movie theaters. Will Smith gets people into movie theaters, as does an attractive young actress like Margot Robbie.

that happens to all actresses. only cases I remember of older actresses are Amy Adams with henry cavill, and Jlaw with hutcherson and it was a small difference. Adams still get a lot of bash because she is 40, never mind iron man and war machine/rhodes being 50 years old or batman being 42;

it is good that people are noticing that men get older, but their love interests get younger

Not that it matters, since all that's happening is fiction mimicking reality in order to please moviegoers.

[Confuzzled]

That still doesn't explain how any of this is sexist. I highly doubt directors, producers or whoever is making these casting decisions care about gender politics, nor do they have to. They just want to make money. So the question they're asking themselves is what gets people into movie theaters. Will Smith gets people into movie theaters, as does an attractive young actress like Margot Robbie.

And that line of thinking is not sexist, how? Especially at a time when older actresses like Melissa McCarthy, Sandra Bullock and Angelina Jolie are proving to be far more consistent box office draws than most of their younger counterparts or even male counterparts. Also, while The Wolf of Wall Street justified casting Robbie opposite Leo, Focus completely wasted her in a rubbish and thankless role.

[Confuzzled]

There is a double-standard on that front. I mean you had a surprisingly (and depressingly) large number of people who were complaining that Amy Adams was "too old" to play Lois Lane. Or that she was "too old" for Henry Cavill (she's nine years older than him btw). But reverse the genders, and no one bats an eyelash.

It's especially gross because if it had been a male actor of Amy Adams's multiple Oscar nominated calibre appearing in a superhero movie, fanboys would be all over that actor, buttkissing him for not being snobbish for comic book movies. Amy OTOH who doesn't even look her age and is just playing the love interest gets all kinds of crap.

And again, it is an incredibly rare instance of an actress being noticeably older than the actor in a film unless the story is specifically "cougar-related" like The Graduate.

[Green Ghost]

That still doesn't explain how any of this is sexist. I highly doubt directors, producers or whoever is making these casting decisions care about gender politics, nor do they have to. They just want to make money. So the question they're asking themselves is what gets people into movie theaters. Will Smith gets people into movie theaters, as does an attractive young actress like Margot Robbie.

Casting a female role much younger to make more profit is exactly what it sexist! Just imagine you are a 35-40 year old acress and you are constantly told you are too old, even when you male counterpart is 55+ and the the part goes to a 25 year old.

Not that it matters, since all that's happening is fiction mimicking reality in order to please moviegoers.

It's not mimicking reality (of course there are cases, but far less than in movies) and that shows how Hollywood already altered the view of the people. Over years it made you think that it is the standard for older men to date younger women, but the other way around the woman is a cougar and probably has issues.

It's especially gross because if it had been a male actor of Amy Adams's multiple Oscar nominated calibre appearing in a superhero movie, fanboys would be all over that actor, buttkissing him for not being snobbish for comic book movies. Amy OTOH who doesn't even look her age and is just playing the love interest gets all kinds of crap.

As a comic fan myself, I was embarrassed by this debate. I thought she was (and is) a great and inspiring choice for Lois and seeing that backlash because of her age was really a low point, even for comicbookmovie-comment-section standard.

[TsukiSentinel]

And that line of thinking is not sexist, how? Especially at a time when older actresses like Melissa McCarthy, Sandra Bullock and Angelina Jolie are proving to be far more consistent box office draws than most of their younger counterparts or even male counterparts. Also, while The Wolf of Wall Street justified casting Robbie opposite Leo, Focus completely wasted her in a rubbish and thankless role.

No, that's not sexism. The driving force behind these decisions is money, not contempt for women, or even a belief in their inferiority.

A fair point about Melissa McCarthy, Sandra Bullock and Angelina Jolie, but that's not going to translate to all actresses of their age.

Casting a female role much younger to make more profit is exactly what it sexist! Just imagine you are a 35-40 year old acress and you are constantly told you are too old, even when you male counterpart is 55+ and the the part goes to a 25 year old.

This is one of the few instances I'd say a double standard does not equate to bigotry, because the motivation behind these decisions is money. It is mimicking reality. The only thing I see as unrealistic is how old the men are compared to the women. It's not rare to see women dating older men, but 55? That's too old.

It's especially gross because if it had been a male actor of Amy Adams's multiple Oscar nominated calibre appearing in a superhero movie, fanboys would be all over that actor, buttkissing him for not being snobbish for comic book movies. Amy OTOH who doesn't even look her age and is just playing the love interest gets all kinds of crap.

Consumer is always right. Personally, I do think Amy Adams was too old, and she stood out like a sore thumb. Not surprisingly, their was no chemistry between Superman and Amy Adams on screen.

Guys, unfairness does not always equate to bigotry. Yes it sucks that we age and our value diminishes. Yes it sucks that older men are viewed as potentially more attractive than older women. Yes it sucks that Hollywood is driven by money. That's the human animal for you though.

Anyways, I'd like to get back on topic, so I will just stop here. I'll leave you with this relevant debate thread posted on a gender politics debate subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/FeMRADebate...esentation_in/

[The Kid]

Yes but when their decisions have no basis in fact, there is a sexist component. Movie studios also refuse to cast other races in major roles and do you think that isn't partially racist? There really has been no evidence that age effects box office. Especially when Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy are two of the most bankable actresses in the world

[bonbon]

I think Margot can represents Harley perfectly (both physically and mentally). From the trailer, she has the correct vibe. Still, I think we should not expect a movie adaptation to be 100% similar with the comic.

[The Batlord]

So long as Harley has more personality than she does in the current Suicide Squad comic, then I don't see how Margot isn't going to be awesome. "Classic" Harley simply wouldn't work in a movie, especially in one so "adult" as Suicide Squad. I've never seen the sexualization of Harley as OOC. The whole reason she became Harley was because she was bored of her mundane life. She then adopted a ridiculous persona and started wearing a harlequin body condom. I can totally see her flaunting her body for the sake of attention.

[gwangung]

No, that's not sexism.

Actually, it is. Don't keep insisting it isn't when you can't reverse the sexes and make it work.