Entertainment

MTV Movie Awards Didn't Nominate Many Funny Women

by Nicole Pomarico

After a long awards season of stuffy ceremonies and acceptance speeches that ran way too long, I'm so ready for the 2015 MTV Movie Awards. They might not be as prestigious as the Oscars, but they're definitely fun, and I'm looking forward to the breath of fresh air. What makes this year's show even better? The fact that Amy Schumer is hosting. It's been awhile since a female has taken the reigns at the awards — the only other lady to do it in the past five years was Rebel Wilson in 2013. But don't think that just because MTV chose Schumer as their master of ceremonies, much of the night will be spent honoring funny women. This year, only one woman is nominated for Best Comedic Performance at the MTV Movie Awards, and unfortunately, that's pretty consistent with the nominations from the past 10 years.

This year's sole female nominee in the category was Rose Byrne for Neighbors . I love Byrne. I loved Neighbors. But is MTV seriously trying to tell me that she's the only woman who made anyone laugh in the past year? I find that hard to believe, and I'm kind of bummed that the network doesn't want to be more proactive at a time when women are fighting so hard to be taken seriously as comics. MTV, why don't you have my back? I've watched so many episodes of Catfish and Teen Mom for you!

Going back to 2005, this has been the MTV Movie Awards' pattern: Toss one or two women into the Best Comedic Performance category and call it a day — even if plenty of other women are also deserving. No more than two women have been nominated in that category in the past 10 years, and they are consistently outnumbered by men in the category. In 2005 and 2006, no women were nominated at all — and 2005 was the year after Mean Girls came out! They recognized the movie's stars in four other categories, but not that one, which is strange. Are you telling me Shrek 2 and Hitch were that good?

The other side of the coin? We're in a time when funny women seem to find a more welcoming home on TV than the big screen. But that doesn't mean hilarious ladies don't deserve recognition for their work in film. Here's hoping for a Best Comedic Performance category filled with women at next year's MTV Movie Awards.

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