Lets be honest: in terms of screenwriting, women tend to get the short end of the stick. Its not so much a deliberate effort to negate women, its just on some level the (normally male) writers fundamental lack of understanding on how to write female characters. For every hundred great male roles, theres just a few well-written and nuanced female ones. However, if you were to cherry-pick a few headlines from this past year then things are looking up for women in movies. The action thriller Lucy, in which Scarlett Johansson essentially obtains superhuman powers, grossed over $330,000,000 worldwide. Meanwhile, director Joss Whedon revealed that there would be four major female roles in Avengers 2: Age of Ultron. If only these were signs of some kind of larger progress. While this year has seen its fair share of great women characters (Reese Witherspoon's portrayal of heroin addict turned hiker Cheryl Strayed is a notable standout), it has also seen its fair share of terrible ones. Women who are stereotypical, purposeless, or simply bland as a pair of beige curtains. And that's the topic at hand today. These cinematic women range from a journalist with the worst journalistic instincts ever to the lamest slasher villain of all time. This list shines a light on the very worst female creations of 2014. Minor spoilers ahead.
Jesse Gumbarge is editor and chief blogger at JarvisCity.com - He loves old-school horror films and starting pointless debates. You can reach out at: JesseGumbarge@JarvisCity.com
