i couldn’t help but wonder 30 May 2008

It is past 3:00 a.m., and with the weekend I have ahead of me (bachelorette weekend! wine! friends! catching up!) I should be asleep.  But for good reason I’m not tired.

Just saw The Sex and The City Movie, and it is perfect.  It is all that I hoped it would be, and I can’t wait to see it again with any and all friends who would like to.

Leaving the theater, chattering with 2 girlfriends of mine, I was caught up in the buzz of excited voices, 100 other friendships blending together in the hallway.  The EXPERIENCE of this movie is every bit as enjoyable as the movie itself.  The moments of spontaneous applause.  Collective shock.  Full House soundtrack-like “ooooh”s.  Delicious.

 

At a scene near the very end (which I can’t reveal, for fear of spoiling)  I was crying, for reasons bigger than the movie…and that’s when I realized a bunch of different things at once.

This movie IS bigger than the movie.  For me, what makes this whole thing meaningful is so much more than shoes and romantic plots and snappy dialogue.  

I feel like these characters are friends, in a way, in that I can see bits of myself in each of them.  In their flaws, their failures, their friendships, their f*ing things up, their figuring things out. 

Sitting there, tearing up in the theater, I realized this moment and this show are about friendship. Hokey as it sounds.  Not the friendships in the show, though they are fun to watch, but my friends.  The episodes we’ve watched over glasses of wine, the trivia games, the ex-boyfriend comparisons, the “that reminds me of the episode…” moments.  It’s all silly, I know, but it’s also REAL.  This show is something I’ve shared with many of my friends, and thousands of strangers.

The show is about so much more than shoes. 

It’s about how men can do terrible, unforgiveable things in relationships. 
It’s about how women can absolutely do the same.
It’s about how sometimes two people can seem to have it all together, but inside be falling apart.
It’s about how sometimes two people have every reason to fall apart, but find a way to stick together.
It’s about making the same mistake until you finally learn from it.
It’s about second chances.
It’s about PUNS. Glorious, snarky, eye-rolling puns.
It’s about WRITING.
And yes, it’s also quite a bit about shoes.

So I cried, feeling all those things in one split second, and realizing also for all the 100s of reasons that are more complicated, this is perhaps the most easy to explain:  Jason and I will never work because this is a moment (this movie, these feelings) he wouldn’t understand.

I recall a fight we had A LONG time ago (long enough ago that I would’ve been defending Spongebob Squarepants.  Oh, 19-year-old me…) when we weren’t getting along, and I was making friends with a boy who got along with me quite well. I liked Spongebob, as did this friend, and Jason did not. I don’t remember any details really except for him saying, “you would break up with me over Spongebob F*cking Squarepants?!”

And I didn’t then.
But I would now.  

Coulda Woulda Shoulda.

 

 

 

 

BLOGUMBO 28 April 2008

I thought of this title a while ago, and you know I’ve been excited to use it ever since.

I feel like my entries lately are quite sundry and varied, like my thoughts. I don’t post very often, but I do collect snippets on sticky notes and envelopes, e-mails to myself, just waiting for the day I put it together. Like today. 

So here we go.

BLOGUMBO. You know, like the soup.

 

FIRST a movie:

Saw Baby Mama with one of my bffs last night.  I can now confirm what many people have no doubt suspected for quite some time:  I would go gay for Tina Fey.  OR at the very least (as she is married with a baby, after all, and I am pretty sure I still like boys) wish very deeply that she was my older, hilarious mentor / friend.  I don’t think I’ve enjoyed myself so much in a movie in a long time, just because I’m like the little kid who dresses up like Spiderman over it.  She’s so great! I literally want to be her. And let’s not even talk about the cute outfits and having Greg Kinnear as your late-thirties love interest.  It does NOT get better.

 

Lately I find myself loving when old things feel new again:

• Driving to The Wallflowers with the windows down (try not to sing.  you can’t.)
• Catching a rerun of Wayne’s World on a Sunday afternoon
• Running into high school friends I haven’t seen in—oh god—six years
• Seeing little dressed up prom kids downtown last weekend…

 

Other random thoughts:

• I really can’t wait for the sex and the city movie.
• I am falling back in love with Cole Porter songs.
• There may be nothing cuter than making a cat listen to an iPod.

 

AND I’m running again!

I’m discovering I get tired of some songs on my iPod, but arcade fire and ben folds can sing to me any day.  My unspoken goal for myself was to feel comfortable in some nike outlet shorts, which I bought way back in December, by May 1.  Well I tried ‘em out over the weekend, and I’m only slightly self-conscious over the shorty shortness. 

As I’m walking home, I get a little nod from a creepy dude with his window rolled down, and for once I am not offended. Thanks guy with the afro driving the old Honda!  And you’re welcome.

 

AND finally a moment of opinion:

A couple weeks ago Colbert and John Stewart both made a lot of to-do over the absurdity of the media asking, “is Obama an elitist?”, and I agree. I WANT a president who thinks he’s better than me.  Please. Know more about foreign policy than I do. It’d be a welcome change. Har har har.

I have been accused myself—only a handful of times, I assure you—of being smug (mostly by opponents during trivia games when I get particularly carried away) or just the teensiest bit pretentious about my book/music/movie taste…and I do place high value on being humble and grateful, but I also value being intellectual, and am always trying to improve myself.

Well, I feel a little more justified after I read an article from NY Times about women and booksnobbery. (okay okay before I sound too pretentious, I have to admit that I linked to this article from stuff white people like, which I suppose is in its own way pretentious—oh we’re so funny and ironic! Link to us and buy our book at urban outfitters! (there’s not a book, but there will be. Learned it on wordpress. Again, listen to me and my obscure facts.)  BUT I still love it. and wish I’d thought of it first. So there.)  I guess I’ve been in the university system so long that I take it for granted that people want to be smart and learn and improve.  But I also know it’s not true.  I heard some statistic that 80% of Americans didn’t read a book last year.  I don’t think I’m an intellectual elitist for thinking that’s effing insane, but maybe I am.  And so be it.  

It is kind of deal-breaker. I’m not saying I wouldn’t date a guy if he didn’t read, but I’m sorry, if your facebook wall doesn’t list favorite books I’m going to get a little nervous.  If the ratio of books-read to Judd-Apatow-movies-watched in the last year is skewed in the wrong direction, I will think twice. 

No, I guess I am saying I wouldn’t date a guy who doesn’t read.  I was an English major. I want to be a writer.  Books are kind of what I do.

Not that it matters.  There are no boys who would’ve read this far by now anyway.  Good one.

Movies / Books 11 April 2008

Finally updated the “movies” and “books” pages. So…now you know a little bit of what I’ve been up to. Maybe I’ll write commentary…someday…

Trying to read 25 books in year #25.

Movies have disappointed me lately, comedies at least. Looked forward to Be Kind Rewind and Run Fat Boy Run, but then laughed for only the wrong reasons. On the other hand, I had a surprisingly fabulous time seeing Step Up 2 The Streets. (And I just admitted that. In public.) Looking forward to the summer season…though with 3 weeks at MSA and 2 weeks in Italy I’m not sure when I’ll find time…

Drumroll please… 10 February 2008

MY TOP MOVIES OF THE YEAR

I’ve never made a list like this before. It’s exciting to revisit every movie I saw in 2007 (well, to be accurate, in the last Oscar-cycle) and pick my favorites. My top ten is unlike others because I pick the movies that gave me the best movie-going experiences of the year. The ones that changed me the most for the better. Not necessarily the best technically, or the best reviewed.
For example, There Will Be Blood, some say, is a work of cinematic genius, but it made me feel like dying inside…so, it’s not on the list.

7 honorable mentions:
Becoming Jane
Bee Movie
Charlie Wilson’s War
Helvetica
I am Legend
Jane Austen Book Club
Waitress

And now, The Best:

10) Superbad–Rounding out the top 10 with a comedy, because I was disappointed by recent hyped-up comedies: Borat, Knocked Up. But this one was 10x funnier than I expected, and also had some heart. And Michael Cera is cute as a little awkward ol’ button. What’s not to like?
9) I’m Not There–already gushed about this one. Art / Identity / Hmm…
8 ) Atonement–not “the epic movie of the decade” as ads had raved, but my opinion of it has improved with time, especially after reading Ian McEwan’s book. Many images have stuck with me. Typewriter keys, the library, the minutes-long one-shot war scene. And I love James McEvoy.
7) Once–Hairspray, who? Without a doubt the best musical of the year. I admit I almost didn’t like it at first. “It’s so sad…” and it is. Not at all a Meg Ryan romance (though I enjoy those as well…), but it’s real and it’s hopeful…once you stop wanting it to be a fairy tale.
6) The Darjeeling Limited–Wes Anderson + India = I was super-excited to see this one.
5) The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford–fascinating story of obsession and betrayal. Brad Pitt perfect for the role with its implications about American celebrity. Casey Affleck: He’s not just for Oceans movie sidekicking anymore!
4) Lars and the Real Girl–Happy tears, sad tears, isn’t-life-wonderful tears.
3) Black Snake Moan–The feminist in me wanted nothing to do with this movie for a long time (she’s in underwear and chains? are you kidding me?!), but I broke down and saw it at the palace and love love loved it. Justin Timberlake, a redemption story-line, and hot-blues-dance-hall soundtrack. And learned from the commentary that I’ve been to some of the Memphis locations where they filmed. Pretty cool.
2) Ratatouille–Animation never ceases to amaze me. The visual experience of this movie alone had it at #1 on my list for a long, long time. Add to it a story of the journey of the artist, and the life-saving power of creation. I love it! That moment where he’s leaning back watching the Eiffel Tower after his big night in the kitchen, when everyone deserted him but he pulled through anyway, and you can just feel his little creative mouse fulfillment…my heart explodes every time. This might be my favorite Pixar movie yet.
1) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly–So excited this just opened at The Moxie and can’t wait to see it again. I can’t do it justice in just a few lines, so I may do a full entry about it later. Inspiring, hilarious, beautiful. As is the book.
1.0) To and From–Obviously this was the best best movie of the year, and the experience of (making and) watching it (and watching again) better than any other of 2007.

PS 7 February 2008

Oh and I updated my movies and books. Did a lot of the watching and the reading over winter break. I’ll try to be better with the commentary in the future…

I welcome discussion, of course! That is, if I have any readers left after my long vacation from blogging…

Last night I saw I’m Not There at the Moxie. It’s been playing there since before Christmas it feels like, and I finally got around to it. I was concerned, because I’d been told by 2 friends, whose movie opinions I often trust, that I was going to hate it. I’m happy to report that I disagree with them.
First of all, I’ve come to enjoy the feeling of seeing a movie alone on a weeknight. There’s something comforting about it. But this movie in particular was fun to take in by myself, and let myself be confused and fascinated at the same time. I kept thinking how confusion and fascination in just the right combination can be a sign of really good art. I couldn’t stop thinking about this movie while I was watching it, and to me that’s a very good sign.
It’s an odd movie. I’m sure there’s a lot I didn’t get because I don’t know a whole lot about Bob Dylan. But it was 100% worth my Moxie card stamp.
I’d say I recommend it, but I saw the very last showing.
So rent it sometime.

PS–The Diving Bell and the Butterfly just opened at the Moxie today. I already saw it in Kansas City, and it may or may not be my favorite movie of the year. That’s a list I’ve yet to commit to. But go see it. And then buy the book. If you’re a nerd like I am.