Amy Poehler's Netflix Movie 'Moxie' Will Be Your New Feminist Obsession
Amy Poehler is adding another movie to her already long list of girl-power projects, solidifying her place among feminist entertainment icons. I mean, from her hijinks with Tina Fey to her work with her organization Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, which supports young women and girls in their pursuits, there's no shortage of inspiration you can draw from Poehler. And now, Amy Poehler's Netflix movie Moxie is sure to be your new feminist favorite. The movie tells the story of a teen girl named Vivian who takes a cue from her mother's feminist activism in 1990s and starts her own movement. Here's the synopsis from Deadline:
Moxie tells the story of a 16-year-old girl from a small town who is inspired by her mother’s past as part of the underground punk movement Riot Grrrl, and uses it as the catalyst to start a feminist revolution at her high school.
Riot Grrrl is a feminist movement that started in the Pacific Northwest in the 1990s. In addition to emotional punk music, the movement was fueled by the circulation of zines, which are small-scale homemade magazines. Once she learns how her mom made her voice heard, Moxie's Vivian sets out to tackle the systemic sexism at her school through an anonymously distributed zine. It sounds like exactly the kind of awesome move Amy Poehler's Parks and Rec character Leslie Knope would pull.
Moxie is based on a book of the same name by Jennifer Mathieu, and Poehler has actually been a fan of the story since it was published in 2017. A quote from Poehler in a blurb on the book's cover reads: "Moxie is sweet, funny, and fierce. Read this and then join the fight." Looks like Poehler is joining the fight herself by bringing this story to an even bigger audience.
The news of Poehler's work on Moxie comes just a few months ahead of the release of her directorial debut, Wine Country, which will also premiere on Netflix. Not only is Poehler directing Wine Country, but she's also starring in it, alongside her SNL alum buddies Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, and Ana Gasteyer. The movie tells the story of a group of friends who go to Napa Valley for a 50th birthday celebration that goes a little off the rails. While Moxie hasn't yet started productions, fans will luckily get to see Wine Country much sooner. The movie is set to show up on Netflix accounts everywhere this May.
If that's not enough Poehler for you, you can also see her producing work right now on Netflix's Russian Doll. She created the series along with its star Natasha Lyonne, and it's another example of Poehler finding inspiration in strong women's stories. She told the Los Angeles Times:
The women I work with and know are really, really complicated women. That’s the thing I’m most proud of. So we wanted to show a female character getting to live the width and breadth of life.
With a Riot Grrrl-inspired project on the horizon, it looks like Poehler is going to keep working with stories about interesting female characters in the future.
