“Pathetic!”- When Drew Barrymore made a bold comment on men writing women's dialogues
In a 2021 interview with Drew Barrymore, as part of the magazine's Life Lessons series, Interview Magazine went back to explore its July 1992 cover story with Barrymore, shot by the legendary Bruce Weber.
Barrymore did this interview after she started her own quirky daytime talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show. Among the many things she discussed, Barrymore expressed her strong feelings towards women's dialogues written by men:
“The way women’s dialogue is written by men is often pathetic!
Drew Barrymore, who is now 50 years old, has a long-running career spanning over 40 years on the silver screen. It all started with her childhood role in E.T., which was followed by several other hits that made her a name to reckon with in the industry.
Drew Barrymore made a bold comment about women's dialogues penned by men
Barrymore, talking about her aversion towards men writing dialogues for women, said:
“The way women’s dialogue is written by men is often pathetic! They make us say things we would never say. But men are getting a better understanding of women. I like transitions, and my character in the show [2000 Malibu Road] starts scared and then becomes very strong, women aren’t usually written that way. A lot of the respect I have for my character in 2000 Malibu Road is because she doesn’t take shit and she speaks her mind, which is very much like me. I want to have real relationships, and I like to see them portrayed.”
Drew Barrymore began her career in the industry when she was just 11 months old. Ever since she could learn to speak, the actor knew that acting was what she was meant for:
“See, I started in commercials when I was eleven months. But my mom [lldiko Jaid] wasn’t sure that it was right. Then, when I was old enough to talk, I said to her, ‘Acting is my dream. I don’t want you to think that you’re doing wrong by me by getting me an agent. I can’t expect you to be sure about this, coming from a two-year-old, but please, this is all I want.’ And I was lucky to have a mother who supported me.”
Drew Barrymore is an American actor, talk show host, and businesswoman. She made her breakthrough as a child actor with a role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), following which she starred in Poison Ivy (1992), Scream (1996), Never Been Kissed (1999), and the Charlie's Angels franchise.
Barrymore also shared about her childhood and her interest in filmmaking
Talking about her childhood and her inspiration, Barrymore shared:
“I had a different childhood from anyone I knew. I listened to Jim Morrison rather than Sesame Street, and I read Charles Bukowski. I thought that it was normal, until I was ten years old, talking about Bukowski to a thirty-five-year-old, who reacted, ‘How the hell do you know that?’ It was just me and my mom. She didn’t have many friends, and neither did I."
She continued:
"I went to about twenty-three different schools. I never really gave of myself in school, because I didn’t want to express myself to the teachers, who would just put me down for it. The only subject I was good at was English. But I would turn in a book report on, say, Henry Miller, and they would give me an F because they didn’t consider him a proper writer.”
Drew Barrymore also shared her interest in filmmaking, saying that she wants to direct a project inspired by The Red Balloon, which is one of her favorites. She expressed her fascination with the filmmaking process but also expressed her own doubts regarding how far she would be able to direct people.
Drew Barrymore is a recipient of a Golden Globe Award, nine Emmy Award nominations, and a British Academy Film Award nomination.
