Bring on the Wonder

Ever heard of Patty Jenkins? Yeah, me neither. I still would not have heard of her, but a football game we wanted to watch wasn't on DirectTV. Neither could we stream it. We went old school - an old AM radio - and gave up when "our" team got behind early. We bought Wonder Woman, as much because we'd had a cartoonish kind of week, and we'd already seen The Avengers a bunch of times.

It was wonderful. Set in the waning years of WWI, cars blew up, machine guns sputtered and the special effects crew worked overtime on the Matrix-like bullet slo-mo. The leads were beautiful and handsome, the support as quirky as one might expect and who could argue with a scene that starts and ends on a beach. But, that wasn't the best part.

What is probably the British Parliament is in session. There are no women present (the first would not be elected until 1919). The presence of Wonder Woman, dressed down (she's still obviously a woman), brings cat calls and shrills of derision. "Get her out of here" was fairly prevalent.

She does not heed their commands. She is bright, witty, idealistic, crazy brave... A leader. She is not a cartoon.

This was Director Patty Jenkins' breakout movie. She had tried a dozen times, and failed, to bring projects to the big screen. Her other film, Monster, turned a nice profit. Then, fourteen years of TV. Wonder Woman hit big - the highest grossing film directed by a woman, ever. It beat Mama Mia!, which you must not miss.

In the credits - we always watch the credits to the end - there is a beautiful dedication. Simple. "In Memory of Captain William T. Jenkins." Who's that?

Her dad.