So The Tourist actually had the ⚾⚾ to feature a main female character outside the Hollywood Beauty Standards™ (and I remark Hollywood standards because Danielle Macdonald is BEAUTIFUL) and not only that SPOILER AFTER THE JUMP
she also gets the Hot Male Main Character™ played by Jamie Dornan in the end.
My new obsession is The Tourist on Netflix and I'm sad to see the Fandom on here for it isn't very big (yet🤞). I've been on a hunt the last two or more years for books with plus sized main characters, but have had a hard time finding any that are realistic or don't involve magical shape-shifters or mob bosses. They're good enough to scratch the itch, but just don't feel real or relatable enough. (Please, if anyone has recommendations, feel free to share.)
The Tourist though, is pretty great. I love Danielle Macdonald in Dumplin', but what I like even more about this one is that while her struggle with her own weight and self-image is a part of her character and her story, it's a pretty small part overall. Most movies or books I've seen with plus-sized main characters make the entire storyline surrounding their weight and self-esteem issues. This has action, mystery, comedy, romance, all of it. It's a storyline with two people who go through a bunch of shit together and it draws them closer together, and it could be any two people in the world, but it just so happens to be a very conventionally attractive man and an unconventionally (by Hollywood standards) attractive, plus-sized woman who looks unlike anyone else ever put into a role like this one.
Reminds me a bit of Melissa McCarthy in Spy or Rebel Wilson in Isn't it Romantic, where the plus-sized woman has hunky, hot men as love interests with little-to-no question or fanfare. Just men and women who like each other, which I think is nice, just like in any other story. It's not just looks either, Helen(fmc) is also a very quirky, awkward, compassionate character too. But for once, it's not just a comedy and it's a running show, not just a one-time movie.
Idk, there's a lot I like about it and it gives me some hope for the future. Maybe post-strikes we'll see more diverse representation, specifically in romance.
Maybe if you've made it this far you'll consider giving it a chance🤞😆🤞 I need people to talk to about it.
Everyone swoons when he says "Willowdean I think you're beautiful, etc." I swoon when he says "But it doesn't really matter what I think" because that shows he has the emotional maturity to understand she needs to come to terms with and accept herself and that he respects her enough to let her figure it out on her own.
So that’s what it takes to make you happy? I mean, screw self-knowledge, just get me a burrito. Next time you’re down, think of that. Or I can just...I’ll text you. I’ll just send you an emoji of a burrito. And from that moment on, you’ll know that everything will be okay.
You can spend the first few days of 2024 with Jamie Dornan's Elliot and Danielle MacDonald's Helen when series two of THE TOURIST returns to Stan Australia (Jan 2nd) and BBC One/iPlayer (Jan 1st).
What is our favourite amnesiac and favourite rookie officer up to now that they have traded Australia for Ireland?
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*TBT Paul Mescal putting in a request to Jamie's IG.
I fell into this show and did not come up for air until I finished the 2nd season. It was wild and delightful fun. I love the amnesia trope and this story satisfied.
Stars Jamie Dornan, Danielle Macdonald. On Netflix.
Content notes: lots of violence. claustrophobia, a scorpion. A dog gets killed by a villain. Drug use. Car crashes. Hospitals. Unrealistic healing from injuries. Probably others.
Reasons to watch: Extremely tropey, funny, excellent chemistry between various characters. A fun mystery format that unravels as our hero, who has lost his memory, tries to figure out what the hell is going on. This show really made me like Jamie Dornan, he's excellent at being baffled and handsome. There are some wild plot twists and his response is like, "For fook's sake!"
Helen, our main heroine, is super charming. She is also fat and the narrative is on her side, which is so unusual and refreshing. What I mean is, there is fatphobia / weight loss attempts shown in the first couple of episodes, but it's correctly shown as abuse and control, and Helen gets away from it. That plot line is basically dropped and then she's just like, a regular fat person. She has some kind of self-admitted attraction to "broken men," she's cheerful, she's brave, and she's an excellent detective.
Also enjoyable are the landscapes. S1 is set in the Australian Outback. S2 is set in Ireland.
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