2014 began with the expected whirlwind of moviegoers vying for a ticket to the latest and greatest award season films. Much to Bustle's dismay, men dominated most of the movies, leaving female characters out in the dust. Fortunately, it seems this trend is taking a turn for the better as many of the upcoming films for the spring movie season feature some of our favorite actresses playing dynamic female characters taking the lead.
An emerald villainess, a group of supportive moms, three scorned lovers, an action hero, and a slithering sleuth round out the female characters we are set to see in the upcoming months. The festival of female characters kicks off with Veronica Mars and Tyler Perry's The Single Moms Club set for debut Friday. Veronica Mars picks up where the famous series starring Kristen Bell left off back in 2007. Bell leads the silver-screen adaptation, which features Veronica Mars on a quest to rescue her high school love. Looks like the man is the damsel in distress this time around.
Next, there's The Single Moms Club, also scheduled for debut at the end of this week, which stars a circle of Hollywood's actresses, including Amy Smart, Nia Long, and Bridesmaids' Wendy McLendon-Covey. In this film, we watch as single moms rise above their daily battles to rejuvenate their lives and become new friends in the process.
In a few weeks, we'll also catch two Oscar nominees, Kate Winslet and Shailene Woodley, lead the greatly-anticipated film adaptation of the popular book series, Divergent. We're thrilled to see Woodley take on an action-packed role considering there are so few leading action roles for actresses and it's entirely different from the romantic dramas Woodley has been starring in as of late.
There are also two upcoming films that seem to be straying completely away from the norm of female characters in film. Angelina Jolie will play the wickedly frightening Maleficent—a rare role for any actress to lead a film in. Usually, the female villains are supporting, but in this instance, Jolie is set to take center stage.
Finally, there's the most interesting female-driven plot line of the season thus far in the upcoming film, The Other Woman, starring Leslie Mann, Cameron Diaz, and Kate Upton. In the film, the three women meet because their lover is cheating on them with the other women in the group. Instead of a cat fight, the three ladies band together to give their former flame a dose of his own medicine. We're thrilled to see these characters forming a bond despite their circumstances. It's also superb to see Mann, Diaz, and Upton play both sexy and funny. Usually female roles allow for one characteristic or the other, but in this case, they use both to outshine the central male character ten times over.
It looks like women are very busy this spring and we can't wait to buy our tickets to the show.
Image: Disney
