- today
From Lucille Bluth to Tanya McQuoid, the glamorously wealthy dame has become one of our favorite character tropes! Join us as we explore why these eccentric, out-of-touch women captivate us despite (or because of) their moral ambiguity. Whether they're powerful matriarchs or solo tour-de-forces, these characters exude a confidence and privilege that's endlessly entertaining.
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00:00It's a good feeling when you realize that someone has money,
00:03because then you don't have to worry about them wanting yours.
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're discussing one of our favorite character tropes,
00:11the glamorously wealthy dame.
00:13We'll be breaking down what makes her so fabulous,
00:15and why we can't get enough of her out-of-touch aloof humor.
00:18Oh, Sid. Do, I insist. I'm intrigued.
00:23And that never happens.
00:25A character who still takes up space unapologetically,
00:30the rich dame is, from the outside, a beacon of confidence.
00:33Still, like other wealthy characters on screen,
00:36she is often portrayed as out-of-touch, morally questionable,
00:39and, despite her wealth, empty inside,
00:41as if in search of something money can't buy.
00:44Excuse me? Yes. I want this.
00:46I'm sorry, ma'am. That's just a display. It's not for sale.
00:48Everything is for sale. I will take care of it.
00:51Her role can cover a lot of range.
00:53We see her in powerful matriarchs like Lucille Bluth and Emily Gilmore,
00:57as well as the eccentric solo tour-de-force a la Tanya McQuad and Cruella de Vil.
01:02Thank you. Now go, stand somewhere till I need you.
01:05While other wealthy characters are often portrayed as overtly villainous and cutthroat,
01:09these characters are often beloved by fans.
01:12Their moral compass might be skewed, but we just can't get enough of them.
01:15This begs the question, why do we love our rich dames?
01:19Live! That's the message.
01:21Live!
01:21Yes, life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.
01:25Now, come on, Agnes, live!
01:27Though it may seem counterintuitive, in times of economic hardship,
01:31audiences can feel drawn to the wealthy on screen.
01:34It's partly a form of escapism,
01:36watching the luxury resorts of the White Lotus
01:38or the lavish properties of succession to see how the other half lives.
01:41Stories of the wealthy's misfortune are also appealing
01:44because they confirm our belief that money can't buy happiness.
01:47In fact, quite the opposite can easily be true.
01:50Life is full of terrible things, Lorelai.
01:52She was emotional.
01:53When you're emotional, you don't think clearly.
01:55I remember a woman who tried to buy a plane when her granddaughter moved out.
01:58I tried to timeshare a plane.
02:00It is in no way even close to the same thing.
02:02Among other characters in a wealthy on-screen family,
02:05the rich dame stands out for a few simple reasons.
02:08For better or for worse,
02:09her status awards her social privilege to get away with more,
02:12whether it's an outlandish outfit or a fierce clapback.
02:15Why are you doing this?
02:16You live in a mansion.
02:17You have a chauffeured limousine, a closet full of fat suits.
02:21Why are you so obsessed with her?
02:22She bad-mouthed me, and it got into the press.
02:25She is comfortable making herself stand out
02:27and taking up space in the world
02:29because she feels she deserves that this
02:31gives her an air of poise, elegance, and confidence that draws the viewer in.
02:35Let me give you some advice.
02:37If you need to talk about power, you don't have it.
02:41Take Emily Gilmore of Gilmore Girls fame.
02:43She lives quite comfortably in a mansion in Hartford, Connecticut,
02:46where her hired help takes care of all the cooking and cleaning.
02:49For years, I've been listening to you and your father and everyone else
02:52go on and on about how demanding I am,
02:54how I have to have things a certain way.
02:56Well, guess what?
02:57I pay to have them that way.
02:58I pay more than anyone else pays their maids,
03:00and when things are not the way I want,
03:02that means I'm not getting what I paid for.
03:03Why is that so hard to understand?
03:04This leaves Emily free to focus her time and energy on social responsibilities,
03:09allowing her to take on roles like president of the DAR.
03:12As a result of years of honing her social skills
03:14in the cutthroat world of Connecticut's upper crust,
03:17Emily is one of the most self-assured composed women in television.
03:20And what made Mitchum decide to choose you to marry
03:23amongst the pack of women he was betting at the time,
03:25I'll never know.
03:25But hats off to you for bagging him.
03:27He's still a playboy, you know.
03:28Well, of course you know that would explain
03:30why your weight goes up and down 30 pounds every other month.
03:33But that's your cross to bear.
03:34But these are ugly realities.
03:36No one needs to talk about them.
03:38The White Lotus's Victoria Ratliff
03:40is another character we obsessed over.
03:42It's not just implied that she thinks she's better
03:44than certain people due to her wealth and status.
03:46She straight up says it.
03:47Who did you meet with a boat?
03:50Are they decent people?
03:52Yeah, they own their own yacht.
03:54They're rich.
03:54Just because people are rich doesn't mean they're not trashy.
03:59Most rich people are trashy.
04:01I wouldn't go that far.
04:03Though her lorazepam habit might be slightly to blame
04:06for her blunt nature,
04:07it's clear that she has believed this her whole life.
04:10While certainly not a character designed to be emulated,
04:13Victoria was captivatingly cool and unshakably confident.
04:16The least we can do is enjoy it.
04:19If we don't, it's offensive.
04:26It's an offense to all the billions of people
04:28who can only dream
04:30that one day they could live like we do.
04:34Morality has little to do with the popularity
04:36of this specific character trope.
04:38Just look at Cruella de Vil,
04:39whose name literally means cruel devil.
04:42Yes, she wants to make coats
04:51out of adorable Dalmatian puppies.
04:53That is absolutely unforgivable.
04:55I live for furs.
04:57I worship furs.
05:01After all, is there a woman
05:02in all this wretched world who doesn't?
05:05Even so, her eccentric glamour
05:07makes her an incredibly entertaining villain.
05:09In both the animated film
05:11and the 1996 live-action adaptation with Glenn Close,
05:14Cruella is a fashion icon
05:15who will stop at nothing
05:16to get what she feels entitled to.
05:18I'm beginning to see spots.
05:22What would it cost us to start again
05:23on next year's line?
05:25Millions.
05:26Can we afford it?
05:27Well, yeah.
05:27Hey, you golly, now go away.
05:29Another key element of the rich dame is her age,
05:31which adds to the complexity of her character.
05:34Older women are criminally underrepresented in the media
05:37and typically relegated to limited roles
05:39like the aging grandmother,
05:41members of society characterized
05:42as dependent and vulnerable.
05:44You and I are going to play a game
05:45and the name of the game is
05:48Don't Call Me Grandma.
05:51What kind of game is that?
05:53It's a fun game, honey.
05:54It only has one rule.
05:56You have to call me Evelyn.
05:58Okay.
05:59Try it.
06:01Evelyn.
06:02See?
06:02We're having fun already.
06:03Seeing an older woman portrayed on screen
06:06as confident, self-assured,
06:07and powerful due to her status
06:09is unique, compelling, and fun.
06:11These characters are also often played
06:13by incredibly beloved, experienced actresses
06:16whose careers we've been following for decades.
06:18I don't think a woman's place
06:20is eventually in the home,
06:23but I see no harm in her having some fun
06:25before she gets there.
06:27Lucille Bluth, played by the late, great Jessica Walter,
06:30is an on-screen grandmother
06:31who follows none of the typical kind grandmother tropes.
06:34She is brutally honest,
06:36but protected from pushback
06:37due to her status as the matriarch
06:39of a powerful family.
06:40Oh, please.
06:41I've been drinking since before you were born.
06:44So if alcohol's the reason I'm here,
06:46I got news for you, bub.
06:47It's the only reason you're here, too.
06:49Hey, you're mean sober, too.
06:51Though she places herself high on a pedestal,
06:53she also cares deeply about her family,
06:55putting in a significant amount of work
06:57to maintain the success of the family business.
06:59She is human, after all,
07:01and not as clueless as some might think.
07:03Don't you judge me.
07:05You're the selfish one.
07:06You're the one who charged his own brother
07:08for a Bluth frozen banana.
07:10I mean, it's one banana, Michael.
07:12What could it cost?
07:13$10?
07:15Then there's Catherine O'Hara,
07:16who enjoyed a career renaissance
07:18due to her role as Moira Rose on Schitt's Creek.
07:21We loved her since the days of Beetlejuice
07:23and Home Alone,
07:23but her brilliant acting choices as Moira Rose
07:26made us appreciate her talent even more.
07:28Alexis, mommy's home now.
07:30I'll take it from here.
07:32Ladies and gentlemen,
07:34it is my great pleasure to welcome you
07:37to a North American screening
07:39of the psychological thriller.
07:41Move it along.
07:43The Crows Have Eyes 3, The Croning.
07:46Moira's iconic voice,
07:48along with her diverse collection of wigs,
07:50transformed O'Hara into an endearing diva
07:52making the most out of her new small-town life.
07:54The eccentric rich dame doesn't have to be
08:02a traditional matriarch either.
08:04Tanya McQuad is a prime example.
08:06My mother told me I would never be a ballerina,
08:12and that was when I was skinny.
08:14My poor mother,
08:16she just couldn't handle her jealousy.
08:20She had to take me down.
08:23Played by the eternally likable Jennifer Poolage,
08:26Tanya is always dressed to the nines in expensive clothes.
08:29She's happy to make a splash in a daring outfit
08:31despite being admittedly insecure.
08:33You have impeccable style.
08:35The moment I saw you last night,
08:36I said to Matteo,
08:37finally a glamorous woman in Tamina.
08:41It's just the color.
08:43All the women here dress like they're going to a funeral
08:45on the beach,
08:46but you, thank God you're here.
08:49Tanya's doomed romance with Greg
08:51is the kind of storyline rarely given to mature women,
08:53but Coolidge unsurprisingly played it perfectly.
08:56Though it ultimately didn't work out for Tanya,
08:58her character still showed us
08:59that you're never too old for a little romance.
09:03Every kind of treatment over the years.
09:08Death is the last immersive experience I haven't tried.
09:13These characters are complex,
09:22opinionated,
09:23and compelling to watch across the board,
09:25but this trope isn't limited to just fiction.
09:27The Real Housewives franchise proves
09:29that there are eccentric rich dames everywhere
09:31for those with eyes to see.
09:33Their enduring popularity
09:34and multiple successful spin-offs
09:36prove there is still a huge demand
09:38for these rich women
09:39and their drama-fueled catfights.
09:52Before we continue,
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10:08When all is said and done,
10:09we like the characters we like
10:11because they're fun to watch,
10:12not necessarily because we agree
10:14with everything they stand for.
10:15What makes these women so entertaining
10:17isn't their wealth,
10:18but everything their wealth
10:19and status can grant them.
10:21I just don't think
10:22at this age,
10:25I'm meant to live an uncomfortable life.
10:30I don't have the will.
10:31A sense of confidence
10:32and self-assurance,
10:34a killer wardrobe,
10:35and the power to speak her mind
10:36are all the ingredients
10:37for a character fans will adore.
10:39Add that to an empowered older woman,
10:41a group traditionally underrepresented
10:43and otherwise negatively stereotyped,
10:45and you have a character
10:46the internet will go crazy for.
10:48Break a leg, sweetheart.
10:50I'll be right here,
10:5110 feet behind you.
10:53Now, John,
10:53tonight is special
10:54and I'd like my hand candy
10:56by my side.
10:58Which beloved
10:59or despised character trope
11:01should we dissect next?
11:02Let us know in the comments.
11:03Now, now.
11:05Not some blood.
11:07Ah, yes, dear brother.
11:09Oh, you needn't call me that.
11:12Madam will do.
11:15You needn't call me that.
11:18Aw, you needn't call me that.
11:18I'll be who I call andra,
11:20I'll be who I tell you,
11:24you needn't call me that.
11:26Lori and
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