THE NANCY MEYERS HIVE IS IN SHAMBLES: A TIMELINE

Nancy Meyers Week turned our world upside-down.

To put it plainly, fans of Nancy Meyers are confused. Allow me to give you some background.

On December 14, 2020, Vulture’s own Rachel Handler embarked on a salient venture into the depths of what we now refer to as the Nancy Meyers Cinematic Universe (NMCU) in the hopes of bringing cheer to all who needed it. Little did she know that her opus, Nancy Meyers Week, would ignite an unraveling of the very Hive she wished to serve.

Nancy Meyers Week was clearly Handler’s dream project; a weeklong tribute to the filmmaker Nancy Meyers and her goliath contribution to the film world. The monumental achievement featured nine separate pieces, all written by Handler, including a “chaotic taxonomy” of the NMCU, interviews with nearly everyone who has ever so much as glanced at Nancy, and of course, an interview with Nancy herself.

Here is where the trouble began. The interview with Nancy starts harmlessly enough. Nancy and Handler meet via Zoom, and instantly Nancy is directing Handler on where she should place her camera for optimal framing (we Stan a legend who has a shot list at the ready). Nancy is surprised that Vulture is featuring a weeklong piece about her because she hasn’t had a movie out since 2015 (The Intern), but um, the surprises don’t stop there. She’s surprised that people on Instagram DM her to make more movies; she’s surprised by fans who identify and fetishize the Nancy Meyers aesthetic; she’s surprised at Handler’s audacity to broach the subject of race and class in her movies; she’s surprised at the notion that she’s often categorized as a filmmaker who is interested in telling stories about women over 40; she’s surprised that other people’s lives don’t look like a Nancy Meyers movie and she’s surprised that people have exalted her for her taste and ability to give viewers an escape… It’s truly surprising how surprised she is.

As Handler goes through Meyers’ filmography, she presses her for factoids and illuminations on her process and her thoughts on the industry. In response, Meyers is...prickly, to say the least. There are moments of the Nancy we admire, like when she praises Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag, and then there are moments of pure deafness, a person so out of touch that it’s dizzying to think this woman made us all collectively cry into the sleeve of our best cashmere sweater (who am I kidding, I don’t own cashmere). Among one of the most chaotic moments is this exchange regarding Kate Winslet’s character in The Holiday.

"I thought you loved my movies." It’s not just the blatant defensiveness, but the uncalibrated perspective that a white journalist living in a cottage (not a cabin, mind you) in the English countryside who’s able to afford a ticket to Los Angeles one day before her flight is not comfortable... Naturally, after reading the interview (twice, to make sure I was comprehending what was happening) I scrolled down to the comments to check in on the Nancy Hive, who I presumed was imploding at this point. Of course, I was right. Almost every comment mentioned Meyers’ cranky demeanor and abrasive level of resistance, calling Handler a “champ” for soldiering through the bitter schlock being tossed her way.

Obviously, I was shaken after this engagement. Here I am being asked to separate the art from the artist with NANCY MEYERS!? It was so devastating that I had to turn to Instagram for a reprieve. But alas, more turmoil was awaiting me.

I flicked through my stories to find that Hallie Meyers-Shyer, Nancy’s daughter (also a filmmaker, but more on that later), had posted a Notes App message regarding Handler’s piece following the interview. The piece entitled “A Chaotic Taxonomy of the Nancy Meyers Cinematic Universe,” reviews and ranks fourteen of Nancy’s movies (films she’s produced, written and/or directed) and rates them using a wine glass score which is calculated by essential elements like “Protagonist is a neurotic, well-off career woman” (worth one white wine glass) and “Roast chicken as leftovers” (also one white wine glass). Pretty great, right?

Well, not according to Miss Hallie who characterized the piece as “sexist” and “inappropriate,” while also slyly managing to announce she’s six months pregnant. Her post is all over the place. It goes from claiming Handler was “wrong” to point out certain tropes in a Meyers film, to the “feminist triumphs” of Private Benjamin and Baby Boom (which have been much disputed), to Sofia Coppola and Jason Reitman’s lack of criticism because they have dads (?). But, upon further inspection, it becomes painfully clear that Hallie isn’t raging against a sexist and reductive journalist, she’s personally offended by a critic who included Hallie’s first film, Home Again, in the Nancy ranking, despite the fact that Hallie “technically” directed it. “Trying to pass my film off as my mother’s is disrespectful, false, and harmful to the career I am trying to build,” Meyers-Shyer said. To me, Handler's use of the word "technically" was only meant to explain why Home Again was included on the list, even though it wasn't technically directed by Nancy. But, everyone has their opinions on the level of shade intended.

The Instagram post was puzzling. More puzzling still were the comments below. Most people (mostly white, mostly women, mostly rich celebrities and also Jason Biggs) were leaving emojis of the applause hands, flexing arm and trophy variety, until one celebrity, Tavi Gevinson, finally went against the grain to defend the article.

“Aw man. I read the article and thought it was a total love letter. I don’t think it’s sexist or reductive to taxonomize tropes in someone’s movies,” she begins. Fans swiftly began to comment on Tavi’s comment. “Finally someone with some reason!” You could hear the cracks of the Hive splitting...

No more than two hours later, Miss Hallie’s Instagram account went private, but Twitter had the receipts and started sounding off immediately. The majority of trending tweets were in defense of Handler, who clearly spent months on every piece and who very clearly adores Nancy. Miss Hallie’s post sparked conversations about nepotism and how white lady celebrities often mistake criticism for sexism. My thoughts were best summed up in this tweet:

In a weird turn of events, it appears that Nancy Meyers Week took off with haste after the Hallie controversy. The tribute was being shared far and wide, and yet the Nancy Hive was suddenly divided between apologists of the Meyers family and NMCU defenders safeguarding the taxonomy and thus, her movies. It begged the question, “Does Hallie, and even Nancy for that matter, get these films??” It’s strange to witness someone who has illustrated such a strong sense of taste and control simply not understand the vibe of it all. If Hallie felt the themes and tropes highlighted in Handler’s piece were sexist, than what exactly does she think of Nancy’s movies?

The Hive has been bisected, undoubtedly, and much to Nancy’s annoyance, her fans have taken ownership of her movies, despite her. Handler concluded the tribute with a truly HILARIOUS account of her making croissants while high a la Meryl Streep in It’s Complicated. When I say I died laughing… It was a perfect ending to a chaotic week.

Currently, it seems the Hive is on the mend. Nancy herself has yet to comment on Miss Hallie’s stance, but she has taken the time to post a video of Paul McCartney dancing. It's likely she never will talk about it. She appears to be in good spirits and unbothered by the whole affair. Which honestly, tracks. Only time will tell if the Hive reemerges in tact from this devastating blow.