Is Salt a Feminist Movie?

A review of Salt.
by Courtney Hilden
Spoiler Alert!: Part of this plot, though not the final twist, is given away in this review.  

There was a lot of talk on blogs and forums on the Internet about Salt, a movie starring Angelina Jolie.  Before the movie came out, there was a lot of enthusiasm over how the movie was originally written with a male main character, but once Jolie became interested in the project, the gender was changed to reflect their star's.  Feminists celebrated this as a moment where gender didn't determine the casting of an actor.  After the movie came out, the movie was given mixed reviews, discussing it as a fun and well-made popcorn movie, but complaining it was not especially deep.  But it must have captured someone's attention, as it managed to make $70.8 million in ten days. 
But after the movie came out, there was not much of a discussion about if the film was feminist in and of itself.  And, given that other reviews have already dissected so much of the other aspects of the film, it seems important to talk about how this movie, being the only film I can think of where the gender of its main character was purposeless changed, about how gender operates in the movie
First and foremost, it was a relief to see Jolie not play up her sexiness or body.  She wore frumpy work clothes that looked unflattering and unfashionable.  She had a miserably bad haircut throughout the beginning of the movie, her blond locks looking like a bad dye job.  (While her character's actually dye job looked utterly normal on her, the kind of hair someone who only washes it every other day looks.)  Considering Jolie is the woman who, about ten years ago, played Lara Croft, where, because she apparently was not what the directors and producers wanted, had to wear fake breasts.  In a world where one of the most beloved film stars has an imperfect body, you know the standards are far too high.  It almost felt like Salt was purposeless not more than just a woman with a government job.  It was nice to have a heroine who was relatively ordinary.
But the plot's reliance on Salt's dedication to her husband is troublesome.  Early on in the film, Salt's husband, Mike, is taken by Orlov's group.  After he is killed by Orlov's men, it becomes Salt's apparent motivation, leading her to follow enough of Orlov's plan to dismantle it.  (I say apparent motivation here because it is possible that other things are motivating her, but her husband's murder is the only clear force propelling her.)  Salt's dedication is admirable, but it's troublesome that her only motivation throughout the movie is her love for her husband.  If this movie really had been about a man, it is hard to believe that it would follow this same plot.  A male character in those circumstances would have other things motivating him.
It is also important to note the lack of female character, beyond Salt.  All the other characters are male, and apparently, other than Salt, everyone important at the CIA is male.  Although women have historically struggled with jobs in the CIA, they do exist.  The complete lack of other female characters within the story just serves to remind the audience that even if the main character's gender was changed, that it was because one of the biggest stars in the world became attached to the project, not because it was a moment to make a statement about gender and characters in the movies.  And of all the things about this movie, from the ludicrous chase scenes and the McGuyver moments and the unbelievable idea that Russia has trained children to eventually bring down the U.S., that indifference to gender within the story is the most disappointing. 

Make Your Move

by Courtney Hilden
Spoiler Alert!: This is one of those romance novels with a mystery, and some of the clues are given away in this review.

Make Your Move by Samantha Hunter is about a young woman and entrepreneur, Jodie, and her business partner and best friend, Dan. Jodie and Dan own their own bakery with cookies that contain a "special ingredient" that work somewhat similarly to Spanish Fly combined with an aphrodisiac. In his day job, Dan works as a scientist at a university, which is how he developed the ingredient. Dan's in love with Jodie and they both decide to give it a try. This would all be fine and lovely if it weren't for the fact that someone has broken into the bakery and stolen the ingredient, blackmailing them both.
Usually, romance novels suffer from a lack of plot, but this one works to at least have obstacles for the characters to overcome, both romantically and professionally. There's a small mystery to solve, and Hunter smartly sets it up so that there's easily a least four potential thieves at the beginning of the novel. It's almost too bad that Hunter didn't stretch this mystery out a little more, since it would be a great opportunity to set up more time for Dan and Jodie to explore their feelings for one another, and bring to light some of the emotionally problems Jodie has with men. It's also a pity that the thief turned out to be the most obvious answer, instead of someone less expected or more complicated.
The "science" of this special ingredient is handled well. Often, when writers create something that is fantastic, they break their own rules of the story to make something else go a particular way. Here, Hunter defines the rules early and sticks to them. Although some of the characters themselves confuse the "science" with other things, they get set right, and the story itself never deviates. So much of science-fiction and fantasy, not just in books but in film, could learn from this example.
On the issue of feminism, this book, like so many others, makes Dan stereotypically macho, with him showing possessiveness and being violent. Although Jodie is in no way helpless or pathetic, since she has built a business from the ground up, is often sidelined for Dan, who is so smart and manly. It would be nice, for a change, for men and women to be defined by something other than their gender. Also, making Jodie's business a traditional womanly art is not really as feminist as it might first appear. And Ginger, Jodie's best friend, is not somehow better for getting back together with her husband who just left her and then suddenly changes into a good man.
One of the stronger romances out there, and one that actually attempts a plot. (And, it should be said, a plot that could probably stand on its own as a short story.) Like most romances and romance novels, it's imperfect and quick.