Raunch Comedies and Feminism

As a feminist cinephile, I often find it very difficult to mesh my beliefs with my love of a good raunchy comedy. Although it is embarrassing for me to admit, I do enjoy such trash films as Knocked Up, The Hangover, and Anchorman. I know that I should probably have my F card revoked for this, but I can’t help it.

I recognize the conflicting nature of this. I am frequently offended by the content of the films and I discuss them at length with my even more movie loving partner (who is also a feminist.) We dissect the misogyny present, but at the end of the day, we still can’t help it—if the film made us laugh heartily, we tend to overlook the many, many cringe worthy elements.

Recently, we saw an advanced screening of "The Hot Tub Time Machine" and I found myself in the same boat. The anti-feminism was clear. (Mild spoilers to follow.) Craig Robinson plays a character who has married and decided to hyphenate his last name w/ his wife’s. He is heavily mocked by his male friends in the film, and his reward at the end is that he retains his own last name.

Obviously, this sat wrong with me and got under my skin. It displayed the same type of depiction of masculinity as this year’s Superbowl advertisements: men who care about and respect women as autonomous beings are losers.

But looking back on the film, I enjoyed it overall and would recommend it for exactly what it is: An R rated raunchy comedy.

I’m curious, do other feminist cinephiles feel this same conflict of beliefs? And where are the funny feminist movies? Recommendations?