It looks like 2017 is shaping up to be the Year of the Woman. This is the year women stood strong in their convictions and beliefs – on social media, in the press and especially in Hollywood.
No longer scared to speak their minds and demand better pay, more respect and juicier roles, we are seeing a huge revolution in Hollywood – and it’s in comedy where women are going to get the last laugh.
Usually actresses get to play someone’s mother, wife, girlfriend or victim – and are eclipsed by the male lead.
And in comedies concentrating on male shenanigans it’s even worse - they might not make it past the ‘pole dancing extra’.
But there’s been a recent surge in films featuring a woman in the lead role, or, as is the case with the riotous Girls Trip, out on DVD and Blu-ray now, they boast a kick-ass female ensemble.
Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish star as the 'Flossy Posse' - four old friends who have drifted apart over the years but get a chance to reconnect on a wild weekend away.
It’s a laugh a minute as they let loose, get laid and fall in and out of love in New Orleans.
There’s stuff in there that would make your Granny blush as they give their all in a bar-room brawl, get off their heads on absinthe and during one scene which will have you running for your umbrella, don’t make it to the loo in time.
Outlandish scenes like these are common in male-led comedies like The Hangover trilogy, but why has it taken so long for women to be allowed to make us laugh without looking particularly pretty at the same time.
Film executives feed the line that its men that have the star pulling power needed to carry a film and get those bums on seats.
But Girls Trip has proved them wrong. On a budget of £14 million, it has struck a chord with audiences - to the tune of £88 million - making a sequel a shoo-in.
So it’s becoming clear that brave and sassy scripts are getting to be the norm now - and are giving women a bigger voice in film.
And the monetary and critical success of Girls Trip is also proof that having women of all different shapes, races, sizes and sensibilities in prominent roles resonates with audiences.
When this year’s Oscar nominated historical drama Hidden Figures, the story of three female African-American mathematicians, bagged profits of £179 million worldwide, one of the stars, actress Taraji P. Henson wrote on Instagram: "Most importantly this proves that PEOPLE LIKE GOOD MATERIAL. HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH GENDER OR RACE. Agreed?!"
The casting has a lot to do with the economic success of Girls Trip and when you put into the mix Haddish as feisty and very funny Dina, you have a recipe for magic.
Haddish, who grew up in foster care in South Central LA and once was so poor she had to sleep in her car, has an exuberant energy that shines through in Girls Trip. What made her turn as Dina special, was that the 37-year-old comedienne is unashamedly confident, a woman who knows what she wants and how to get it.
With three films in production, including Night School with her mentor and friend Kevin Hart, her powerhouse of a performance has resonated with audiences, making her a bonafide breakout star.
“I definitely brought 85% of myself to that character,” said Haddish, in a recent interview with The Guardian. “There’s a lot of Tiffany Haddish in Dina. When I first read the script I was like: ‘Somebody’s been partying with me, somebody knows me really well.’
“I would never relieve myself on a bunch of people walking across the street as I’m dangling overhead, but there are a lot of other things that I would do.” 2
And that gutsy attitude might just have been the reason Haddish has just made history - by becoming the first black female stand-up comic to host Saturday Night Live.
One of the main talking points of Girls Trip is a particularly memorable scene when Haddish, completely in her element, teaches the girls a saucy bedroom trick involving a grapefruit and a banana.
Scenes featuring women talking brazenly about sex were rare up to now but films like Girls Trip and the upcoming A Bad Moms Christmas and Rough Night, are all about ladies being seen and definitely heard.
There’s strength in that honesty and a freedom that must come to an actress when she’s offered a role which encourages her to, sometimes literally, bare all.
And when you’re doing it with ladies of a similar ilk it must be liberating. Because what is also clear with films such as Girls Trip, is that women are good at being mates in real life.
So if you can capture that wicked chemistry firm female friends have – that sisterhood - and put it on screen, while allowing women to be flawed and fabulous, you’re on to a winner.
Girls Trip is out on Digital, Blu-ray and DVD now.