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The Meaning of Headlines: 'Brownie points' - film




The Weekend section of The Washington Post published an article on 7 April 2016 with the headline: ‘Melissa McCarthy wins no Brownie Points in ‘The Boss.’ What are Brownie points?

The Free Dictionary defines ‘Brownie’ as ‘a member of the Girl Scouts (Girl Guides in England) from 6-8 years of age,’ who perform good deeds for people and receive a badge to wear on their uniform. So do the Boy Scouts.

Lord Robert Baden-Powell (1857-1941), who established the scout movement for children in England in 1907, used the term Brownies because a Brownie was ‘a small sprite’ who helped around the house or with any tasks, usually at night when no-one was looking. The Brownie was like a secret helper. The British writer, Juliana Horatia Ewing (1841-1885), wrote about helpful brownies in her 1865 children’s book called The Brownies.

A Brownie is also defined as ‘a bar of moist … chocolate cake, often with nuts’ or ‘a brown trout (fish).’ The Brownie box camera is also just referred to as a Brownie. The Phrase Finder defines ‘Brownie points’ as ‘a notional mark of achievement or kudos for performing some creditable act.’

Why doesn’t Melissa McCarthy get Brownie points for the movie? The article says that McCarthy plays ‘yet another selfish, cluelessly narcissistic character’ – Michelle Darnell, the 47th richest woman in America – in her recent movie, the comedy called The Boss. The author describes the movie plot as ‘predictably schematic’ and concludes with: ‘although her charisma is still undeniable, there’s also no denying that McCarthy is capable of much more…’

Now, the plot of the movie is about Michelle Darnell – rich businesswoman – helping a group of school girls make a profit selling cookies, instead of just earning badges like the Girl Scouts. Darnell’s friend’s daughter has a recipe for Brownies and it is intended to be the start of a get-rich-quick scheme.

The Scorecard for The Washington Post headline is 99%. Although the term ‘Brownie points’ is not used in the article, it is nevertheless implied in the movie’s Girl Scouts group, in which the girls sell Brownies. It is therefore a reference to both the Brownies (the girls who do good deeds in the Girl Scouts) and the Brownies (chocolate cakes) they sell. When the girls sell the Brownies, they are making money instead of points that go toward a badge for their uniform. So no points for Melissa McCarthy and no badge of merit for the movie.





https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/melissa-mccarthy-reverts-to-stock-cheerfully-unsavory-form-in-the-boss/2016/04/07/5e1901b8-fc04-11e5-9140-e61d062438bb_story.html


MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).


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