Bangitout speaks with actresses Meg Ryan, Sanaa Lathan, Alfre Woodard, Eva Mendes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Taraji Henson, Debi Mazar, and director/writer Diane English about their new movies, what it means to be an independent working woman, and other things that I can't relate to in any way.

If Hollywood is a reflection of – or rather a reaction to – the condition of society, this weekend's box office seems right on target. While the headlines are on fire with verbal exchanges between an impressive new kind of African American leader and his sparkplug, independent, tough-talking female adversary, two movies being released couldn't be more representative of the times. First we have The Family That Preys, the latest from an impressive new kind of African American voice and filmmaker, the phenomenon known as Tyler Perry, followed up by Diane (Murphy Brown) English's long in the making film The Women, based on a classic, and with the first all female cast in nearly seventy years. Both films deal primarily with females bonding and betraying one another in the context of family and friendship. Many of the actresses involved found slipping into their roles rather effortless as they were well familiar with the relevant dynamic. Alfre (Passion Fish) Woodard plays the matriarch for Tyler Perry's troubled brood. "I didn't have to prepare to play a mom. I am a mom and I had a mom. You kind of just let it roll," she said. "When I can't express myself anymore as a mom, that's when I work. When I think there is something that someone else can do, I let them do it. If I can bring something new to a character, I'll work. I'd much rather see a great play than be in one. Being a mom comes first."

Brilliant up-and-comer, Taraji (Smokin' Aces) Henson plays Woodard's one decent daughter, and like the veteran actress, she used personal experiences to enrich her interactions on film. "I'm close to my mom, loyal to family," Henson said. "I have a son who is fourteen. He is starting high school this year."  Playing opposite Sanaa (Love&Basketball) Lathan, who portrays her selfish, troublemaker sister, Henson found the role familiar as well.  "I have a younger sister who is spoiled. Listen, I love her dearly, but she is spoiled! So I know about sibling rivalry. I constantly wanted to slap her. What person doesn't have dysfunction growing up? Each and every one of us has something that was done to them in childhood." Lathan's character takes things one step further than ordinary dysfunction in Perry's movie, as she is not only cheating on her husband with her mother's best friend's son, but the boy is white. "I read the blogs," Lathan, a beautiful, young black actress commented half-jokingly. She has been paired with a white love interest a few times in the past. "Sanaa's with another white man!" she mimicked her distressed fans. "There is this sense of ownership in the black community. Sanaa's our girl!"  Despite the curious trend of casting, Lathan, who has been romantically linked to Omar Epps and Terrell Owens, said there is no need to worry. "The world knows – I love black men."

Though the women in The Women confront infidelity as well, no man is viewed on camera from beginning to end. "There has not been an all female cast since 1939. That screamed to me that we needed to do it," Diane English said. She decided an update was needed over a decade ago (with Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan originally in the leads), but Hollywood apparently wasn't ready. Now, with Sex and the City succeeding over the summer, the time seems right. "Women have changed in seventy years. Women are not these jungle cats anymore, though once in a while of course you meet one. Now, we rally around each other."

Meg Ryan, who certainly can attest to the difficulties of maintaining a career and happy family, agreed with her director. "It's an update. A symptom of how women are right now. I liked the subtext [of this script] and was interested in how much women need each other. It shows just how traumatic it is when your friends break up." The actresses involved also seemed to – or at least suggested – that they found something special in working with each other in an all x-chromosome experience.

"It was a beautiful experience with an all female cast," said Jada Pinkett Smith, who truly does seem to juggle her career and family with incredible skill. "To sit with such a group, and collaborate with all these women, there was such a great sense of comradery. Most of us have families and we shared war stories. It was great to meet Meg's daughter and Annette [Bening's] kids. We really got to know each other intimately. It was like being with people you feel like you know without really knowing them."

Not entirely sharing this sentiment was Debi Mazar, an actress typically stuck in the tough chick role, and she reacted true to form. "I mean, there were crew guys on the set. We talked about men. We didn't, like, clink glasses and do all this girly stuff. It was work. It wasn't so much about female bonding. The thing was, without men, you could relax. I was coming off this very testosterone driven set on Entourage and there was a very calm atmosphere there."

Pal Eva Mendes evened out the two perspectives. "When it came to business we were all men." (For the gentlemen reading this who may be interested, I'll tell you that Mendes is an attractive actress, but she had nothing on Pinkett Smith.) "Men have taken great care of me on sets," Mendes continued. "Denzel, Joaquin, Will Smith. Here, these women took care of me. If there ever was a piece of spinach hanging out of your teeth, they would get right in there."

"Honestly, I love working with men," Meg Ryan said, summing up the issue. "This film was not so much about working with all women, but these are great women."

The conversation then turned to family and the difficulties trying to balance a career while raising kids. Ryan, who was once a superstar, can arguably be said to have lost her luster on screen, but she is unfazed. Being a mother, to her, is completely satisfying. "Being a working mom is definitely something to deal with. It's like Annette Bening's character says in the movie, "Do we really want to have it all?" Women need each other in order to do that. The opportunity is there now, thank G-d, but really," Ryan reflected, "we can't have it all. We can have some. It was great to be around other actresses with families to see how they do it."

Taraji Henson echoed Ryan. She also uses outside forces to keep her career going while being a parent. "First of all, you can't do anything without faith and believing in something higher than you," she said. "And my son – trying to set a great example. I had him in college. I could have been a drop out. My son is what drives me."

Other actresses present did not speak about family per se as being their inspiration. Some were more motivated by the struggle to simply be an independent woman following her own course.
"An independent woman is free in her mind," Mazar said. "It's not about money, independence. It's about being yourself. Thinking from the heart instead of the brain. Happiness is being free of fear, not about bringing home the bacon."

Mendes had her own take. "An independent woman marches to her own beat and she doesn't judge other women who march to their own beat. I'm not a feminist but I believe in individuality. You want to do Playboy or be the Vice President, I support both. I support women being what they want to become. Women have been suppressed long enough."