Now through March 14, 2010, at the Geffen Playhouse, audiences can delight in Joanna Murray-Smith’s The Female of the Species. Annette Bening stars as Margot Mason, a writer suffering from a terrible case of writer’s block.
As Margot struggles to find inspiration she becomes a captive in her home albeit surrounded with a talented cast of characters. Mireille Enos delivers an excellent performance as Tess, the neglected daughter who abandoned intellectual pursuits for a humdrum existence as a housewife. The debate rages on about whether motherhood is the most challenging career a woman could choose or whether the “real” world is woefully deprived of brilliant female minds that are wasting away with stories of Pokémon.
The roles of the other actors are humorous but without substance. Thus, their formidable talents are not necessarily brought to the forefront. The supporting cast includes David Arquette as Tess’s husband, Julian Sands as Margot’s publisher, Merritt Wever as a deranged college dropout, and Josh Stamberg as a cabdriver. All of the characters have a purpose that drives the plot along, except for the cabdriver who seems to be added to highlight a Neanderthal view that a man’s unique contribution to a relationship resides in his sexual prowess.
If you let go of critical analysis and the potential implications of the conflicted feminist theories of Margot Mason, anyone can enjoy approximately ninety minutes of comedy.
