Tomboys! Feisty Girls and Spirited Women

A slight but heartfelt celebration of “tomboys,” filmmakers Julie Akeret and Christian McEwen's aim was to make a film "that would trap tomboys in time," because--apparently--we don't have an accurate picture since so many tomboys in literature end up tamed once they reach adolescence. Tomboys! serves up brief profiles of women of various ages talking about what it's like to be a tomboy, including a courageous firefighter, a proud lesbian artist, a teenager whose mother says she crawled at the age of four months and was swinging from monkey bars soon after that, and a granny activist who decided to march for campaign finance reform at the age of 88. The interviewees talk about shunning dolls and dresses as youngsters and offer advice on how to raise girls to be brave enough to fight female stereotypes. Intercut between these sketches of scrappy tomboys are pictures and film clips from the ubiquitous 1950s television ads depicting subservient moms, or such famous “tomboys” as Rosie the Riveter, Eleanor Roosevelt, Billie Jean King, Sojourner Truth, Annie Oakley, and…female tiger trainers. The trouble here isn't that tomboys aren't interesting; nor, for that matter, that these particular tomboys aren't interesting: the film simply isn't that gripping because the approach is so broad it fails to capture the viewer's attention. Yes, people are threatened by those who are different; yes, girls are often reduced to stereotypes that curtail their freedom of expression; and, yes, it's uplifting to hear tomboys talk about how they overcame societal disapproval. I'm as interested in female self-empowerment as the next guy…err, gal--but for such a strong title, I was hoping for something with a little more bite. Not a necessary purchase. Aud: C, P. (A. Cantú)