Rosaline (Hulu 2022) - Most alternative history movies like Inglorius Basterds or RRR are violent, action movies/thrillers. Rosaline does alternative history as a comedy, and it works really well. The premise of Rosaline is that Romeo and Juliet was actually a love triangle between two female cousins that spiraled out of control. I can't tell if the does a great job, or that the premise is such an easy layup for a good movie that they couldn't screw it up, but either way, this movie is a lot of fun.
Kaitlyn Dever has locked up the "smug, know-it-all who screws up a lot" roles for her generation, and the rest of the younger cast is up and coming GenZ'ers who do a really good job. Bradley Whitford, Minnie Driver and Christopher McDonald are all good in supporting roles.
It is interesting how much the portrayal of women in comedies, and the type of actress and actor that gets lead roles, has changed so much in 20 years. At the beginning of the Milennium, the top young comedy actresses were Christina Applegate, Cameron Diaz, Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Reese Witherspoon, or crossover actresses like Rachel McAdams and Lindsay Lohan. All gorgeous, all pushing sex appeal as defined by men. It is a longer discussion, but someone like Kaitlyn Dever would likely have been a supporting actress of that generation. And the lead actors of the comedies of that era: Ben Stiller, Will Farrell, Steve Carrell, Seth Rogan, Jason Segal, were average looking at best, but somehow always got the babe in the movie. It can be argued that this genre reaches its peak in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a movie about two smart, gorgeous women fighting over a whiny drip like Jason Segal's character. I liked the movie, but it was a bit misogynist.
In Rosaline, Dever plays opposite a guy that is basically a model in Sean Teale, who is brave, strong, cool and smart. Basically out of her league. But it works in the movie.
I think this trend is good for the most part. I bet there were a lot of great actresses from that earlier era who never got their shot at a lead because they didn't have the looks, and the ones that did get their shot were a mixed bag in terms of talent. Kunis, Bell, Applegate and Witherspoon were and are excellent. Diaz was kind of annoying, McAdams is only good in certain roles, and Lohan is pretty bad in everything she has done. It is good for the movie and TV industry that someone like Dever who looks more like a real person can be a female lead.