tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88138415806359856692024-03-13T22:40:09.345-04:00365BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-10845209309962149382012-08-23T22:56:00.003-04:002012-08-23T22:56:39.405-04:00A Tribute to Gene Kelly<br />
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Today,
I am posting something a little different.
Still counting movies for the countdown, but today is a tribute to a man
who has had a profound influence on my life: Gene Kelly.</div>
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Gene
and I began our relationship when I was around 2 or 3, when I first watched <i>Singin’
in the Rain</i>. At the time, it was
just a flash of Technicolor fun, but as I grew older, I developed an
appreciation for the film, and for Gene’s brilliance. </div>
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For
a while, I would only watch musicals from the Arthur Freed Unit with Gene Kelly
or Judy Garland. I adored the three
movies they made together. I only wish
they’d made more.</div>
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I
remember clearly the day Gene Kelly died.
I was getting out of rehearsal for the winter play at <st1:place><st1:placename>Hanover</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>High School</st1:placetype></st1:place>. I had the ACT exam the next day. As I got in the car, my sister informed me of
Gene Kelly’s passing. Tears filled my
eyes. </div>
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After the ACT the next day, my
sister and I talked about his movies, and in his honor, we watched <i>An
American in Paris</i>. I spent the next
week watching all of the movies we owned starring him. The following is a list of some of my favorites,
in no particular order (aside from <i>Singin’</i>, because I already did an
<a href="http://filmgeek365.blogspot.com/2012/06/singin-in-rain.html" target="_blank">entire post</a> about that one):<o:p></o:p></div>
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#326:
<i>For Me and my Gal </i>(1942). This
was Gene’s first movie, and he starred alongside film veteran Judy
Garland. She held his hand and guided
him through the film making process, a favor he would later return to her. Gene and Judy <i>always</i> had insane
chemistry together, apparent from the get-go.
The movie was made right around the time WWII was in full swing, but is
about WWI. Gene plays a Vaudeville actor
who partners up with Judy, with big dreams of playing The Palace. He also freaks out about being drafted and
purposefully ruins his hand to avoid going to war. This movie has a lot of heart and fun, but
also has a darker side to it. Gene’s
performance is a wee rough around the edges, but still great to watch.</div>
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#325:
<i>Take me out to the Ballgame</i> (1949).
This was the second time Kelly was paired with Frank Sinatra (the first
being <i>Anchors Aweigh</i>, which is ok, and famous for the dance sequence
with the animated mouse, Jerry, but I like this one better). Kelly plays a hotshot baseball player, who is
a Vaudeville performer in the off season.
Sinatra is one of his teammates, along with Jules Munshin. Kelly is a serious playboy, complete with a
little black book. The boys find out
that the club owner has died and left the club to his relative, K.C. Higgins,
who they assume, is a little know-nothing dude.
Turns out, K.C. is a know-<i>everything</i> chick, played by the
amazingly sexy Esther Williams. Of
course, they fall in love. This is a fun
little flick, which was actually Kelly’s idea to begin with. Well done, Gene.</div>
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#324:
<i>Thousands Cheer</i> (1943). One of
the lesser known movies, also an early Kelly film. This movie teams Kelly up with Kathryn
Grayson. Kelly plays an aerialist (read:
trapeze artist) who has been grounded via the draft. He wants to be a pilot, but is forced to be a
foot soldier. Grayson is the head
Officer’s daughter, and love interest.
There’s this weird thing in the middle of the movie in which MGM hauls
out its current array of stars to put on a USO-type show, which while
entertaining, completely screws with the flow of the film. I tend to fast-forward through a lot of it,
but it’s worth watching if you’ve never seen it. Aside from that, it is actually quite
charming.</div>
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#323:
<i>On the Town</i> (1949). The third,
and final, teaming of Kelly and Sinatra, plus Munshin. An adaptation of the Comden and Green
Broadway musical, it follows three sailors in <st1:city>New York
City</st1:city> on 24-hour leave.
Hijinks and romance! Also
featuring the ever witty Betty Garrett, the always lovely Vera-Ellen, and the
always spectacularly saucy Ann Miller.
At Kelly’s request, they shot much of this film on location, virtually
unheard of for any movies, let alone musicals.
It was a smart move, though – the city itself plays a nice role in the
film. </div>
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#322:
<i>An American in </i><st1:city><st1:place><i>Paris</i></st1:place></st1:city>
(1951). Most people think of tap or
modern dance when they think of Gene Kelly.
But what a lot of people don’t know is that Gene’s true dance love was
ballet. This movie was his love letter
to ballet. There is only one Featuring the music of the
Gershwin Brothers, stunning choreography, and a lot of beautiful artwork, this
is a must-see for any and all musical lovers. </div>
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#321:
<i>Marjorie Morningstar</i> (1958). This
is one of the rare non-musical, dramatic films Gene Kelly starred in. Also starring Natalie Wood as his love
interest (just go with it) and Ed Wynn. He
plays a guy who is a big fish in a small performing arts camp pond, who does
not have the chops to make it as a serious, professional
playwrite/composer. It’s a decent movie,
but the acting is, at times, very over the top – not just Gene’s, but Natalie’s
as well. The book is a great read, as
well, check it out!</div>
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#320:
<i>Inherit the Wind</i> (1960). Gene
plays the cynical journalist E.K. Hornbeck, based on journalist H.L.
Menkin. This is where he shines in a
more dramatic role. The movie is
stunning and relevant today, and beautifully acted. </div>
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#319:
<i>The Pirate </i>(1948). This was the
second paring with Judy Garland, and is often overlooked, but stunning and
smart. Kelly performs with the Nicholas
Brothers at the end of the movie to the Cole Porter song “Be a Clown”, showing
off his tumbling skills. This really is
a unique movie, so you should check it out at least once.</div>
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#318:
<i>Summer Stock</i> (1950). This was not
only his final film with Judy Garland, but it was her last film at MGM, and who
better to work with than Gene? Just as
she took his hand and guided and supported him through his first movie, he did
the same for her. The two of them are
insanely magnetic together, and the movie is a lot of fun. It’s like the old “Let’s put on a show!”
movies that Judy used to do with Mickey Rooney back in the day. Definitely a must-see.</div>
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Gene
Kelly was my first crush, an artist to look up to and emulate, and the reason I
moved to <st1:place><st1:city>Pittsburgh</st1:city>, <st1:state>PA</st1:state></st1:place>,
where I had the most amazing 3 ½ years of my young adulthood. The influence he had on dance and the
perception of male dancers is profound.
He was a tremendous talent, fiercely loyal, and stood by his convictions
until his last days. Happy 100<sup>th</sup>
Birthday, Gene Kelly. You are my lucky
star. <o:p></o:p></div>
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BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-31632126056878681902012-08-06T11:50:00.001-04:002012-08-06T11:51:38.121-04:00Strange Brew<br />
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#327:
<i>Strange Brew</i> (1983). A couple of
days ago, I went out for a drive and randomly wound up in <st1:country -region="-region">Canada</st1:country>. You can read about it <a href="http://bethiejean33.blogspot.com/2012/08/take-off.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Anyhoo, after enjoying some coffee and a
donut at Tim Horton’s (but sadly, no beer while I was up there – it was late and
I had a long drive), I felt the urge to watch this little classic starring <s>my
boyfriend </s>actor/comedian Rick Moranis and fellow Canadian SCTV comedian
Dave Thomas. Now, I was totally in the
wrong region of <st1:country -region="-region">Canada</st1:country>,
but whatever. </div>
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Doug
Mackenzie: Played by Dave Thomas. He
likes beer, hockey, donuts and back bacon. Not
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Bob
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likes beer, hockey, donuts, and back bacon. Not
too bright.<br />
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Bewmaster
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Claude
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Pam
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OK,
y’all, really? This is such a bizarre
little movie. It’s pretty much an
extended SCTV Mackenzie Brothers skit, with some fantasy thrown in. Some consider it to be the prelude to <i>Wayne’s
World</i>, which I totally see. Instead
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OK,
the story is basically that Bob and Doug drink/break the last of their dad’s
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and
fail. They’re told to go to the
brewery. So, they go, wind up getting
jobs there, and discover that something’s not quite right. The brewery is haunted, there’s a random
hockey team dressed like storm troopers, and the beer has some sort of mind
control substance in it. So, the
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The
end. Really. There’s a lot of random shit in this movie,
but it’s also slightly intelligent, in that it borrows from <i>Hamlet</i> in
various ways. But mostly, it’s just Bob
and Doug being… Bob and Doug. I
recommend you check out some of the videos from the SCTV skits, they are a hoot! You should also check out this movie if you
like movies like <i>Wayne’s World</i> or <i>Super Troopers</i>. This is the Grandaddy of them all, and
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That’s
a Wrap! Up next: Some more baseball!</div>
<br />BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-23570210475282379492012-08-04T13:12:00.002-04:002012-08-04T13:12:43.671-04:00Field of Dreams<br />
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I’M BACK! After a
month off, I finally got a chance to relax my brain a little, and got my movie
groove back. So, here goes! </div>
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#328: <i>Field of Dreams</i> (1989). Back in the late 1990s/early 2000s, I worked
at a “music, movies and more” store called Coconuts. One day, I was talking about this movie with
a co-worker, and he commented that Kevin Costner should only make
baseball-themed movies, because they truly are his best. <i>Tin Cup</i> was ok, too, which was about
golf. So, Kevin Costner should only make
leisure-sports movies. It is a
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<i>Field of Dreams</i> is probably the best thing he’s done,
in my opinion. I do believe that Costner
is an actor of somewhat limited range, and in this movie he’s mostly just along
for the crazy cosmic ride that the baseball gods are taking him on. And what a ride. Being a casual baseball fan, I like this
movie. Being a fan of fantastical, supernatural-themed
stories with a little schmaltz and a lot of heart, I <i>love</i> this
movie. Also, the book, <i>“Shoeless” Joe</i>,
by W.P. Kinsella is wonderful. Read
it. Go.
Now. Buy it or download it or
something, I can wait…</div>
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Back? OK. Here goes.</div>
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Ray Kinsella: Played by Kevin Costner. Ray is a guy who has lived a little, but
never done anything crazy in his whole life.
Like I said, he’s just along for the ride, and finds a little of
himself, and what he’s been looking for, along the way. He loves his wife, daughter, and baseball.<br />
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Annie Kinsella: Played by Amy Madigan. Loyal readers may remember her from <i>Streets
of Fire</i>. She is much, <i>much</i>
better here. She knows that what Ray is
doing is absolutely nuts, and is from time to time the voice of financial
reason, but she is completely supportive of Ray.<br />
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Karen Kinsella: Played by a little Gaby Hoffman. One of the few times I didn’t find her
annoying as a kid. Karen is, for the
most part, “there”, but is important at the end of the movie.<br />
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“Shoeless” Joe Jackson: Played by Ray Liotta. The baseball field that Ray builds is, he
thinks, for “Shoeless” Joe. “Shoeless”
Joe was a real baseball player who was a member of the Chicago “Black Sox”, a
group of White Sox players who took money to throw the 1919 World Series. Whether or not “Shoeless” Joe was really in
on the deal, or just signed because everyone else did is still up for debate,
but he was permanently suspended from playing professional baseball. <br />
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Mark: Played by Timothy Busfield. Mark is Annie’s brother, and is pushing Ray
to sell his farm, especially after he plows up half of it and builds his
baseball field. He can’t see the magical
baseball players on the field.</div>
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Terence Mann: Played by James Earl Jones. In the book, this character is J.D.
Sallinger, but was changed for the film.
Still a recluse writer, he was also an activist in the 1960s. He gets sort of hijacked into Ray’s journey,
but enjoys the ride.</div>
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Dr. Archibald “Moonlight” Graham: Played by the great Burt
Lancaster. He is a straight-up ghost
that Ray encounters in <st1:state>Minnesota</st1:state>. A former baseball player who only got to play
one game, and never got to bat. He went
to school and became a small-town Doctor.
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Archie Graham: Played by Frank Whaley. He is the younger self of Doc. Graham, who
finally gets to live out his dream of going up against a major league pitcher.</div>
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So, if you are not a big baseball fan, it doesn’t
matter. Watch this movie. Seriously.
This is not a movie about baseball, but rather about dreams, the
father/son relationship, second chances, all played out in front of the
backdrop of baseball. You don’t have to
know who the players are (but you might recognize some of the names if you are
a baseball fan, or a history buff, or both), all you have to know is they have
found a haven for baseball. OK, I’m
getting a little ahead of myself…</div>
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Ray is a farmer in <st1:state>Iowa</st1:state>,
albeit a slightly reluctant one. He’s
never really done anything out of the realm of normalcy, until one day when
he’s in his corn field. He hears the
words “If you build it, he will come” whispered on the wind. An image flashes before him of a baseball
field where is corn currently resides.
He sees “Shoeless” Joe Jackson.
Not entirely sure what this means, he talks about it with his wife. Afraid he’s going to turn into his father,
who never did anything of interest, and died kind of pitiful (in Ray’s eyes),
Ray decides to build the baseball field.
After it’s built, it just sort of sits there. While discussing their dwindling finances,
Karen calls to her dad – there’s a man in their baseball field.</div>
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Why, it’s “Shoeless” Joe Jackson! They talk baseball, the field, and whatnot. Suddenly, a group of players (the Chicago
“Black Sox”) are playing on his field. There’s
trouble with the bank, but otherwise, things are good. Until he hears the words “ease his pain”
whispered. Ease whose pain?</div>
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Thanks to a censorship meeting in which a book by author Terence
Mann is being discussed, Ray gets the crazy idea that he is supposed to ease Terence
Mann’s pain. Oooookaaaay… after a little
research, he finds a story in which Mann used Ray’s father’s name in a story,
and he once gave an interview about baseball.
Annie and Ray had the same dream about Ray and Terence at a baseball
game at <st1:place><st1:placename>Fenway</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Park</st1:placetype></st1:place>. So, money be damned, it’s off to <st1:city>Boston</st1:city>!</div>
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Enter the awesomeness that is James Earl Jones. There is a lot of humor in the following
scene where Ray convinces Terence to go to the baseball game with him. While there, Ray hears “go the distance”, and
sees some stats about a rookie named Archie “Moonlight” Graham. He has to go to <st1:state>Minnesota</st1:state>. Terence hears the same thing, and decides to
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They get to <st1:state>Minnesota</st1:state>
and discover that Archie Graham became a Doctor, and died a while ago. He was a beloved figure in his community,
making sure that children got the milk and care they needed, giving them
tickets to baseball games, etc. Not sure
what to do with this information, Terence and Ray head back to the hotel.</div>
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Terence has to call his father, because his father thinks
he’s been kidnapped or is dead or something.
Ray leaves him for privacy, and he winds up on <st1:street>Main
Street</st1:street>. It
is the early 1970s. An old man walks by,
and Ray knows exactly who he is. He
takes a walk at night with “Moonlight” Graham, and hears about his short-lived
baseball career. They wind up at his
office, and Ray offers to take Doc. Graham with him to <st1:state>Iowa</st1:state>. He declines, saying it’s past his time; his
life is in <st1:place><st1:city>Chisholm</st1:city>, <st1:state>Minnesota</st1:state></st1:place>. Ray pleads with him, telling him that most
men would consider getting so close to their dream for only five minutes would
be a tragedy. Doc. Graham? “Son, if I'd
only gotten to be a doctor for five minutes... now that would have been a
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So, it’s back to Iowa Ray goes, with Terence in tow. On the way, they come across a young man
looking for a ride. Ah, the days when it
was safe to pick up hitch-hikers. He
says he’s a baseball player, and is looking for a team to play with. Upon entering the van, he introduces
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They get to the farm, and Archie gets invited to play. At this point, there are baseball players
everywhere, playing real games. Archie
goes up against the pitcher, gets two strikes, and then nails it. What’s that?
Am I tearing up? Must be
allergies…</div>
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The next day, the family is chillin’ out, watching the
game. Mark (Annie’s brother) shows up,
telling Ray he needs to sell the farm.
They are completely broke. Karen
tells them they don’t have to sell the farm, because people will come and pay
to hang out at the field. Grabbing onto
this idea, Terence delivers an incredible speech about baseball:</div>
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Damn allergies, acting up again…</div>
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So, Mark still thinks everyone is crazy, and he knocks Karen
off the bleachers. Her lips are blue,
and she’s unconscious. Seeing this,
Archie makes his way through the players on the field, and crosses the
baseline, transforming into his older self.
He sees that Karen is choking on the hot dog she was eating, dislodges
it, and saves her. But he can’t go
back! He thanks Ray for the opportunity,
makes his way back through the players, and heads back to the corn field. “Shoeless” Joe stops him, and tells him he
was good. A little smile plays on Doc.
Graham’s face, he nods and fades into the corn.
Fuck you, allergies, I’m getting some Benadryl…</div>
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At this point, Mark can see the players, and the dollar
signs. He goes into the house, visions
of tourists dancing in his head. Joe
invites Terence to go into the corn, and Ray’s a little peeved. “That’s my corn! You are guests in my corn!” I am so gonna use that next time I have
people over and they are being assholes.</div>
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But, see, Terence had given up on writing. This is his chance to start writing again,
because he has to write about this whole experience, and about what lies beyond
the corn. So, he goes. Joe just stands there, staring at Ray as he
heads to the house with his family. Finally,
he tells him that “If you build it, he will come” had little to do with
“Shoeless” Joe, but rather was about reuniting Ray with his father John, who
has been playing catcher all this time.
That Benadryl is doing nothing for me…</div>
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So, Ray introduces his wife and daughter to a young version
of his father, who slowly realizes that Ray is his son. As Annie and Karen head into the house, and
Joe heads into the corn, Ray and his father are left on the field. As John packs up his gear, Ray calls to him,
“Dad? Wanna have a catch?” Oh, fuck it,
I’m crying.</div>
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Annie turns on the lights, and as father and son are
reunited by tossing the baseball around, cards from nowhere are suddenly lining
the roads, headed to the field of dreams.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVDojLuPiHLe638zD8grf22Lj9PEgTnt4rARcUEPE9ei9iyTIMb0P9pz2QrnEOgAWaCGPn9q1aPSDaCWZ2zduirGrOgugaFQVNsfKDE5y8D7KysuDJ4ylJ0BoKpPd1jz97G6Nq_xeBZn0Q/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVDojLuPiHLe638zD8grf22Lj9PEgTnt4rARcUEPE9ei9iyTIMb0P9pz2QrnEOgAWaCGPn9q1aPSDaCWZ2zduirGrOgugaFQVNsfKDE5y8D7KysuDJ4ylJ0BoKpPd1jz97G6Nq_xeBZn0Q/s320/images.jpg" width="216" /></a>This movie is not about baseball. It is about dreams. And family.
And second chances. There is a
reason why it resonates so strongly with so many people. And not only men, or baseball fans. I am a female who casually likes
baseball. And this is one of my all-time
favourite movies. I strongly recommend
that you not only check out this movie, but read the book it is based on, <i>Shoeless
Joe</i>. Also, check out the movie <i>Eight
Men Out</i>, starring John Cusak. It’s
about the “Black Sox” Scandal. It’s fun
to compare the interpretations of “Shoeless” Joe – D.B. Sweeney in <i>Eight Men
Out</i> plays him pretty stupid, Ray Liotta plays him pretty intelligent, my
guess is he’s somewhere in between. </div>
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Also, did you know you can visit the Field of Dreams? Yup.
It’s in <st1:state>Iowa</st1:state>, and still in
existence. There is no entry fee, but
bring money to spend on souvenirs!
Someday, I will make a pilgrimage out there and sit in the bleachers,
and maybe bring someone I can toss the ball with. Check it out <a href="http://www.fieldofdreamsmoviesite.com/" target="_blank">here</a>!</div>
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And that’s a wrap!
Tomorrow (I promise!) a little taste of <st1:country -region="-region">Canada</st1:country>,
eh? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-12632349896410642712012-07-09T13:12:00.002-04:002012-07-09T13:12:35.148-04:00Please Excuse My Dust..."Please Excuse my Dust as I Refurbish this Area for your Future Enjoyment"<br />
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So, I know I've been a shitty-ass blogger, but I got behind, and then overwhelmed by how behind I was, which kind of made my brain say "fuck it" and shut down. I am trying to reformat how I do this, and may just write about movies I am familiar with to make it a little easier on myself. I will hopefully be up and running again soon! In the meantime, here is a video from one of my favourite actors ever, on his birthday no less! Happy Birthday, Tom Hanks, I love you man! :)<br />
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<br />BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-47552708060707882452012-06-25T09:12:00.000-04:002012-06-25T09:12:38.284-04:00The Little Mermaid<br />
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Happy
June! Since it is my birth month, I am
being self-indulgent and writing about all of my favourite movies. For some of the more well-known movies out
there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it is one of my
favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a wee little
bit of reflection. Not all of my
favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category –
but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin...</div>
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#329:
<i>The Little Mermaid</i>. I saw this
movie five times in the theatre when it first came out. I sang “Part of Your World” at my eighth
grade talent show. I <i>love</i> this
movie. It was Disney’s return to
greatness, and paved the way for <i>Beauty and the Beast</i>. </div>
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The
Players:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioE5n52Z7byWE5q8_vwOi6XCgryCq63PJlErkBTgwPjjH4NDEiKvspb1Mo_b-8MENGonF7jDZgLPTMQM29zkGUcIUdZdNhgHEbbq4rUHUq2QobiopqekGfysWTej19NLwWmHw3HPZkR_Hf/s1600/Ariel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioE5n52Z7byWE5q8_vwOi6XCgryCq63PJlErkBTgwPjjH4NDEiKvspb1Mo_b-8MENGonF7jDZgLPTMQM29zkGUcIUdZdNhgHEbbq4rUHUq2QobiopqekGfysWTej19NLwWmHw3HPZkR_Hf/s200/Ariel.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Voiced by Jodi Benson. Ariel is pretty
much a spoiled mer-brat, who is obsessed with humans and falls in love with
one. OK, she’s got a good heart and
isn’t really too bad, but let’s be real.
She’s a little bit of a brat.</div>
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Eric:
Voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes.
Eric isn’t too bright. But he’s
cute, and falls in love with Ariel (or, rather, her voice) after she saves him
from drowning. But really, he can’t put
two and two together? Oh, well, he’s
cute and owns a castle. That’s all you
need, right?</div>
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Sebastian:
Voiced by Samuel E. Wright. Sebastian is
a crab, and he is King Triton’s right hand man.
He is also the Mer-Kingdom’s official music director. He usually tries to be the voice of reason,
but no one really listens to him.<br />
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Flounder:
Voiced by Jason Marin. Flounder is Ariel’s
best friend. He’s kind of a whiner, but
he means well most of the time.<br />
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Scuttle:
Voiced by Buddy Hackett. Scuttle is
Ariel’s link to the surface world. He
can tell her about all of the things she finds in the ocean from the surface,
but he’s usually wrong. <br />
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King
Triton: Voiced by Kenneth Mars. King
Triton is the ruler of the sea, and a very frustrated father. He loves his daughter, and wants nothing more
than to protect her, but has a hard time keeping her safe. Like most fathers.<br />
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Ursula:
Voiced by Pat Carroll. Ursula is the sea
witch, and the villain. She’s part
squid, and fabulous. She was banished
from the Kingdom, and wants control over the sea. So she uses Ariel as leverage. <br />
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So,
I am assuming you’ve seen this or at least heard of it, and since I had to work
insane amounts of hours the past two days, I am in no mood for a full-on
rundown. Ariel is obsessed with the
human world, saves Prince Eric from a shipwreck, makes a deal with Ursula to
become human (in exchange for her voice), gets Eric to fall in love with her,
Ursula deceives Eric and almost marries him, big battle at sea, Eric kills
Ursula, King Triton learns to let go of his daughter, and Ariel and Eric live
happily ever after.</div>
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So,
why do I love this? I remember getting
beyond excited for this before it came out – Ariel was unlike any Disney
Princess I’d seen before (I think it was the red hair), Eric was a fine Prince,
and the music sounded great. I was in
fifth/sixth grade, so everyone thought I was totally lame for being excited about
this movie, but I was raised on old musicals and Disney movies, so this was
right up my alley. It was the beginning
of the Renaissance Period for Disney, the first animated feature to feel like a
Broadway musical, and a major reason for that is it was the first collaboration
between Allen & Menkin and Disney. </div>
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The
music for this is fantastic. There is
not one bad song here, from the opener “Fathoms Below” to the recurring “Part
of Your World”, even the little “throw-away” song “Les Poisson” is
delightful. The score also feels magical
and fits with the under water theme perfectly.
Now, if you listen close to “Part of Your World” and “Somewhere That’s
Green” from <i>Little Shop of Horrors</i>, you will find a lot of similarities,
but really who cares? They are both
fantastic songs. “Under the Sea” won the
Oscar for Best Original Song that year, and it was well-deserved. It is fun, it describes the beauty and
excitement of sea life, and the visuals to go with it are stunning.</div>
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This
whole movie is beautiful to look at, especially the under water stuff. Ever since I was a little kid, I have been
obsessed with the ocean, and marine life.
At one point I wanted to be a Marine Biologist and study whales. I attribute the water obsession in part to my
parents, who are from <st1:state>Rhode Island</st1:state>,
and especially my dad who is also water-obsessed, and the fact that I am a
Cancer, which is a water sign. At any
rate, I fell in love with the under water Kingdom, and wondered why Ariel couldn’t
just ask her father to make Eric a merman so they could live together under the
sea, because Sebastian was right- life is just better under the sea.</div>
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I
also have to give serious credit to the animators. Animating scenes under water is a major
challenge, since there is constant movement. Utilizing a the time new computer technology
combined with the artistry and skill of the animators, they were able to create
a believable under water world. Hats off
to you guys!</div>
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Ursula
is a delightful villain, although not nearly as badass as Maleficent, but she’s
still sufficiently creepy. </div>
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The
only downside to this movie, I think, is Ariel’s depth. She is kind of one-note, but then again, so
are most of the Princesses. We didn’t
really see a lot of character development until <i>Beauty and the Beast</i>. So, it’s par for the course. Although, I have to give a mad shout-out to
Jodi Benson. I adore her in everything
she does, and she really nailed everything about Ariel. She made her more sympathetic, because she
really could have been a true brat if not voiced just right.</div>
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If
you haven’t seen this, what is wrong with you?! If you have, check it out again. It’s amazing!</div>
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That’s
a Wrap! Up Next: get out your dancing
shoes! <o:p></o:p></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-43637502713316557792012-06-23T07:38:00.001-04:002012-06-23T07:38:55.688-04:00Sleeping Beauty<br />
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Happy
June! Since it is my birth month, I am
being self-indulgent and writing about all of my favourite movies. For some of the more well-known movies out
there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it is one of my
favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a wee little
bit of reflection. Not all of my
favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category –
but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
<br />
<br />
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#330:
<i>Sleeping Beauty</i> (1959). Oh, hey,
it’s my birthday! WOOOO! So, I am writing about my favourite Disney
movie of all time (<i>Beauty and the Beast </i>is a very close 2<sup>nd</sup>). So, let’s get to it!</div>
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The
Players:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWWIu9F0kKCBnGf6EJBJha8PZqlSO3nknV3C875_cPlFeabVdUYLtf7jREXkz3sjVP6hCJGlplAzCj4r6a0EF_zpfRP0HnYzajbNn6JOZE01EU5BlyiBLjdm3rHpM3EaenNzSs_FAgPzgs/s1600/aurora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWWIu9F0kKCBnGf6EJBJha8PZqlSO3nknV3C875_cPlFeabVdUYLtf7jREXkz3sjVP6hCJGlplAzCj4r6a0EF_zpfRP0HnYzajbNn6JOZE01EU5BlyiBLjdm3rHpM3EaenNzSs_FAgPzgs/s200/aurora.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Princess
Aurora: Voiced by Mary Costa.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">Aurora (also
known as Briar Rose when she is being hidden by the three fairies) has a little
more personality than most Disney Princesses from this era, but not </span><i style="background-color: white;">much</i><span style="background-color: white;">.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">She is fairly spirited and whatnot, but
mostly is just pleasant and dreams about finding true love.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7votK6WD_44LiUGgqIY22WEsw4TF8IAk9whgqy7WMI1u01FXHN2PYjysC3nn1ZHBrIkw7s1zkoI2LuEja89jpbgRqFOwUpoCH6XO8ZmmzFolZtfeMWK9OECAyhfTN82aS8SXcJSwS2_Hg/s1600/prince+phillip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7votK6WD_44LiUGgqIY22WEsw4TF8IAk9whgqy7WMI1u01FXHN2PYjysC3nn1ZHBrIkw7s1zkoI2LuEja89jpbgRqFOwUpoCH6XO8ZmmzFolZtfeMWK9OECAyhfTN82aS8SXcJSwS2_Hg/s200/prince+phillip.jpg" width="200" /></a><o:p> </o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvshLbegxLh-6ccfeoMvevitP34_4ntVXmmu41_M1guo2fcDk2MPTf1f9k9Mjtpp1phn9YnLcz_645g83CAOmFPy4UacdCsbOnYZHBL-A6rCwBLSIPe0ILcsLCSFfyeJEIhZtGUfhck2WJ/s1600/3+fairies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvshLbegxLh-6ccfeoMvevitP34_4ntVXmmu41_M1guo2fcDk2MPTf1f9k9Mjtpp1phn9YnLcz_645g83CAOmFPy4UacdCsbOnYZHBL-A6rCwBLSIPe0ILcsLCSFfyeJEIhZtGUfhck2WJ/s200/3+fairies.jpg" width="200" /></a>Prince
Phillip: Voiced by Bill Shirley. Prince
Phillip has <i>loads</i> of personality.
In fact, he’s the first Disney Prince to not only have an actual name,
but a personality at all. He’s funny,
strong-willed, romantic… *sigh*. He’s
also drawn very nicely. I would like to
make him real. </div>
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The
Three Fairies: Flora, Fauna and Merryweather: Voiced by Verna Felton, Barbara
Jo Allen and Barbara Luddy, respectively.
They are the guardians of Princess Aurora. They give her the gift of beauty and song,
and… sleep? Trust me, it makes
sense. Flora and Merryweather fight like
woah, and Fauna is just in her own little world. Love.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJrA_5M_HkVnX6Gocjdxqm785w_ZBC9PVhEK2uYSeLKPfVmGiKobqrxd8iuIY5f0XSsOFea4x4w3Jh9xsISjcjQPTmtPLbX2uoljTYeYV_9_3_NeAfPQAmA5I2472FnBjKQIEITKC8ItU5/s1600/maleficent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJrA_5M_HkVnX6Gocjdxqm785w_ZBC9PVhEK2uYSeLKPfVmGiKobqrxd8iuIY5f0XSsOFea4x4w3Jh9xsISjcjQPTmtPLbX2uoljTYeYV_9_3_NeAfPQAmA5I2472FnBjKQIEITKC8ItU5/s200/maleficent.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
Maleficent:
Voiced by Eleanor Audley. Maleficent is
the villain, and what a villain she is.
She’s elegant, well-spoken, and scary as hell. Plus?
She turns into a fucking dragon at the end. We never know what her motivation is, and we
don’t care, because she is <i>awesome</i>.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">The
Rundown:</span></div>
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Seriously,
y’all, if you don’t know what <i>Sleeping Beauty </i>is about… yeesh. </div>
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OK,
so we start with the celebration of the much-anticipated birth of King Stephan
and the Queen’s (Leah?) daughter, Aurora.
The three fairies show up to bestow gifts upon her: Flora gives her the
gift of beauty, Fauna the gift of song, and Merryweather…. gets interrupted by
the entrance of one pissed off Maleficent.
</div>
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Turns
out Maleficent wasn’t invited to the shindig.
So, she curses <st1:city>Aurora</st1:city> with
the prophecy that before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, she will prick
her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. That’s a bit harsh for not being invited to a
birth celebration. There’s probably more
to it, but it’s never explained. Again,
we don’t really care because Maleficent is crazy awesome.</div>
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After
she curses the Princess, she peaces out in true villain fashion, leaving the
King and Queen quite distraught. They
ask the fairies if there’s anything they can do, but their magic isn’t strong
enough to counteract Maleficent’s. But
they can make an adjustment.
Merryweather still have one gift left.
She changes the curse so that instead of death, she will fall into a
deep sleep until true love’s kiss awakens her.
</div>
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King
Stephan wastes no time in having all of the spinning wheels in the kingdom
burned, but even that isn’t enough. The
fairies deliberate, and decide the best thing to do is to take baby Aurora and hide
her in a cottage in the woods until her sixteenth birthday. They sneak her out in the dead of night.</div>
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Cut
to sixteen years later. Maleficent is
still searching for <st1:city>Aurora</st1:city>, but her
minions have been looking for a baby for sixteen years. Stupid minions. Maleficent decides to send her raven to do
the job. </div>
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Meanwhile,
Briar Rose has grown up to be a beautiful young woman, with a beautiful
voice. When those fairies give gifts,
they don’t mess around! She is all
pleasant and dreamy as she wonders if she will ever meet a man. </div>
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The
fairies, disguised as peasant women, are planning a surprise party for Briar
Rose, so they send her out to pick berries.
While she’s gone, Flora decides that she’s going to make a dress, Fauna
will make a cake, and Merryweather will be the dress dummy. And they have to do it all without
magic. This should be good…</div>
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Prince
Phillip is out for a ride in the woods and hears <st1:city>Aurora</st1:city>
singing to herself. He in enchanted by her
voice, and sets out to find her. He gets
knocked off of his hose, Samson. His
interactions with his horse are pretty funny.</div>
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So, <st1:city>Aurora</st1:city>
is singing “Once Upon a Dream” to the forest animals (of course she is) and
Prince Phillip winds up cutting in. They
fall in love on sight, but she’s not allowed to talk to strangers or reveal any
information about herself, so she runs off.
</div>
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Meanwhile,
the fairies are not doing so well with their non-magical birthday prep. The cake is a disaster, and the dress… well…
Yeah.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSI_gXaGJS30fd_aizm6V3idgbs79QBdd2553Zmza1fgpajSVDr1MSl3yd2MazuGL1Cs1l6PgubQ2FOcu007wSZzljOsdDi5s2eFGTtk0dlY2rl5IYO_3RM2-JMbOwnshMJ02ma0SIa3z/s1600/3+fairies+dress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSI_gXaGJS30fd_aizm6V3idgbs79QBdd2553Zmza1fgpajSVDr1MSl3yd2MazuGL1Cs1l6PgubQ2FOcu007wSZzljOsdDi5s2eFGTtk0dlY2rl5IYO_3RM2-JMbOwnshMJ02ma0SIa3z/s320/3+fairies+dress.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Fed
up with this nonsense, Merryweather gets the wands and they go to work. Flora gets to the dress, Fauna makes the
cake, and this time Merryweather is on clean up duty. Poor Merryweather. She always gets the short end of the stick…</div>
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All’s
well, until Merryweather and Flora fight over the color of the dress. Their magic colour streams shoot up through
the chimney and are spotted by the raven.
Uh-oh…</div>
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<st1:city>Aurora</st1:city>
arrives home, and is told that she’s a Princess, betrothed to a Prince (who is
actually Prince Phillip, but she doesn’t know that, and they don’t know that
she met him). She doesn’t take the news
well, and goes to cry in her room.
Typical teenager.</div>
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Prince
Phillip goes to his father and tells him all about the beautiful peasant girl
he’s fallen in love with, but the King is none to happy about that. He goes to <st1:city>Aurora</st1:city>’s
father and they wind up having it out over stupid Kingdom negotiations stuff,
but the scene is great, and they wind up being cool and all.</div>
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Back
to the actual story… <st1:city>Aurora</st1:city> is
taken to the castle, but Phillip shows up to the cottage after they left to be
kidnapped by Maleficent. </div>
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The
fairies sneak <st1:city>Aurora</st1:city> into the
castle just before sunset so they can get her ready to be presented. She’s all moody teenager on them, so they
leave her alone for a minute. Stupid
fairies! <i>It’s not sunset yet!</i> </div>
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Maleficent
lures <st1:city>Aurora</st1:city> to some tower in the
castle and she pricks the spindle. Ah,
the best-laid plans. As the sun sets,
the fairies find <st1:city>Aurora</st1:city> in a deep
sleep. They put her in her bed, and
decide to put the entire Kingdom to sleep.
Makes sense.</div>
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Maleficent
decides to pay Prince Phillip a little visit.
She tells him that she is going to keep him there for a hundred years
before she lets him go awaken <st1:city>Aurora</st1:city>
with his kiss. Seriously, woman. I don’t understand your motive here. But again, it really doesn’t matter, because
you are awesome.</div>
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The
fairies show up to help Prince Phillip break out of the castle, and what
follows is the best climax Disney has ever done. The fairies turn the raven to stone, help him
escape, Maleficent raises thorns around King Stephan’s castle, and when he
breaks through those, she transforms into this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5nnmPClWDd34knK-id3L06_mCU3YgyWfc9mH3vGGKaGmmmYRg5JHE3ZdZenhIjZWWOWpchezw0XJ8b4lmrp36mYzOug-19Bw9aNivw4NyRAh6l-eJDSB4WxVbZ8-cMJJyJpPQmW1slq6/s1600/dragon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5nnmPClWDd34knK-id3L06_mCU3YgyWfc9mH3vGGKaGmmmYRg5JHE3ZdZenhIjZWWOWpchezw0XJ8b4lmrp36mYzOug-19Bw9aNivw4NyRAh6l-eJDSB4WxVbZ8-cMJJyJpPQmW1slq6/s320/dragon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Just
before the transformation, she says “Now you shall deal with me, oh
Prince! And all the powers of
Hell!” I had a story book of this when I
was a kid, and they changed the line from “powers to Hell” to “Powers of
evil”. Totally not as effective.</div>
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The
Prince slays the dragon, kisses the girl, and they all live happily ever after.</div>
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So,
why do I love this movie so much? It was
the last of the great fairy tales until <i>The Little Mermaid</i>, and it took
them almost ten years to get it from idea to screen. It is such a unique and special movie. </div>
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The
art direction is amazing. It is based on
classical artists. The only film that comes
close stylistically is <i>Pocahontas</i>.
The colours are vibrant, the characters drawn perfectly. <st1:city>Aurora</st1:city>
is stunning, but believable as a sixteen year old, Prince Phillip not only has
a personality, but he is <i>gorgeous</i>.
The fairies all have their own unique looks to go with their
personalities, as well as colours – Flora is red/pink, Fauna is green, and
Merryweather is blue.</div>
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The
music. Of course. The music is almost entirely taken from Tchaikovsky’s
<i>Sleeping Beauty Ballet</i>, albeit rearranged. Some is taken from other classical pieces,
and anything original to the film fits right in. It is beautiful, and used well here. </div>
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Maleficent. Best villain ever. Eleanor Audley also voiced the evil
stepmother from <i>Cinderella</i>, and is Madame Leona on the <st1:place><st1:placename>Disneyland</st1:placename>
<st1:placename>Haunted</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Mansion</st1:placetype></st1:place>
ride. She is terrific. Her motives aren’t really stated, and her
revenge does seem to be a bit much for not being invited to a party, but she is
just so amazing, it doesn’t matter.
Also? <i>FREAKING DRAGON</i>.</div>
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This
movie is a reminder that animated does not have to be silly. It does not have to be directed strictly to
children. It is an art form, and can
appeal to people of all ages. This movie
captivated me as a child, and there is only a small amount of slapsticky humor
when the fairies are trying to make <st1:city>Aurora</st1:city>’s
party without magic. It is a smart,
beautiful film. </div>
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That’s
a wrap! Tomorrow: another Princess…<o:p></o:p></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-86136253305414605532012-06-22T09:53:00.000-04:002012-06-22T09:53:05.690-04:00Chaplin<br />
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Happy
June! Since it is my birth month, I am
being self-indulgent and writing about all of my favourite movies. For some of the more well-known movies out
there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it is one of my
favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a wee little
bit of reflection. Not all of my
favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category –
but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
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#331:
<i>Chaplin</i> (1992). This is a biopic,
and really, I don’t want to give you a history lesson here, so this will be a
slightly different style of posting.
Let’s get down to it:</div>
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Charlie
Chaplin: Played by Robert Downey, Jr. He’s Charlie Fucking Chaplin. *Sigh* ok, I get that some of you are all “<i>who</i>?”,
since there were a couple of teenagers I work with who didn’t know who <i>Judy
Garland</i> was, so quickly: Charlie Chaplin was a silent movie star who pretty
much invented slapstick style comedy and political satire in film. He was also extremely complex, had issues
galore, and was a bit of a man-whore. <br />
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Hetty
Kelly/Oona O’Neill: Played by Moira Kelly.
Hetty Kelly was Charlie’s first love, and an inspiration for many of his
leading ladies. In the film, she is
nicely bookended with Oona, who was Charlie’s final wife (he had a few) and had
her played by the same actress. Well
done.<br />
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Hannah
Chaplin: Played by Geraldine Chaplin.
Yes, Charlie Chaplin’s mother was played by his daughter. Awesome.
Hannah was batshit crazy, and Charlie spent the better part of his life
trying to help her, even though he didn't know how to deal with her most of the time.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Sydney
Chaplin: Played by Paul Rhys.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">Sydney is
Charlie’s half brother, is half Jewish (which explains the support Charlie had for
the Jews and why he was so against the Nazis before most Americans realized
Hitler was truly evil) and is his manager/business partner.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">He is a grounding presence throughout the
film.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Douglas
Fairbanks: Played by Kevin Klein.</span><span style="background-color: white;">
</span><span style="background-color: white;">Again, a lot of you are probably all “</span><i style="background-color: white;">who</i><span style="background-color: white;">?!” so, ok… </span><st1:city style="background-color: white;">Fairbanks</st1:city><span style="background-color: white;">
was the biggest action star of early </span><st1:city style="background-color: white;">Hollywood</st1:city><span style="background-color: white;">.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">He was married to </span><st1:country-region style="background-color: white;">America</st1:country-region><span style="background-color: white;">’s
sweetheart Mary Pickford, and along with Chaplin and a couple of others helped
to form United Artists.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">I am not
explaining anymore.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">Google it or
something… anyway, </span><st1:city style="background-color: white;">Fairbanks</st1:city><span style="background-color: white;"> was
Chaplin’s best friend, and had a profound influence on him.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">George
Hayden: Played by Anthony Hopkins.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">He is
a completely fictional character.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">He’s
the editor working with Chaplin on his autobiography, so he’s probably not so
much fiction as an amalgam of various editors he worked with.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">He is the person to whom Charlie is telling
his story throughout the film, so he’s kind of important.</span></div>
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There
are a bunch of other people (Dan Aykroyd, Marisa Thomei, and others) who pop up
as important people to Chaplin and to the film industry as well. Including all his wives. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">So,
this is a really well-done movie.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">There
are theatrical/fictional elements to it, but then again the same could be said
for Chaplin’s life.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">Even the main book
it is based on, </span><i style="background-color: white;">My Autobiography</i><span style="background-color: white;"> by Chaplin himself has been proven to
contain a lot of exaggerated truths and outright fiction.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">So, it works.</span><span style="background-color: white;">
</span><span style="background-color: white;">Because no matter how much of an expert on the man anyone claims to be,
no one, not even his closest friends and lovers, really knew who the hell
Chaplin was.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></div>
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The
best thing truly about this movie is Robert Downey, Jr. So many comedic actors were considered for
the role, but thankfully the powers that be realized that this was not a movie
about being funny, it was looking at the man behind the tramp. The opening scene is of a grown Chaplin
washing away his famous Little Tramp makeup, revealing the man underneath it,
stating that this movie is not about his hilarious on-screen persona, but the
complex man behind him. </div>
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Now,
obviously <st1:city>Downey</st1:city> can handle the
comedy as witnessed here:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/zg7m9NdoOxo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4ZYxoTYUyw" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">orhere</span></a></div>
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But
he truly excels at playing him as a real person, and the cinematic innovator he
was. Chaplin understood so much about
his persona, that he pushed his brother to find a different way to use sound
without the Tramp talking. <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://youtu.be/D9kUzxCY1XI" target="_blank"> Great scene:</a></span></div>
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Chaplin
was a workhorse, and it was what killed his otherwise solid relationship with
third wife Paulette Goddard. Again,
portrayed brilliantly by <st1:city>Downey</st1:city>. He was totally robbed of an Oscar that year,
but then again he was up against Pacino, was in the middle of his drug-addict
years, and apparently pissed off the Academy with some choice words that
year. </div>
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There
are a few little moments that he does so well, one of them being when he first
falls in love with movies. He wanders
into a little tent in <st1:place><st1:city>Butte</st1:city>, <st1:state>Montana</st1:state></st1:place>,
which is where the Vaudeville show he works for was playing. There’s a silly little slapstick comedy
playing, and he stops and looks at the projector with wonder. Then he sits down, and it cuts to him being
the only one there, asking the projeciotnist to play the movies over and
over. I know that feeling. And it is played very understated and with
joy by <st1:city>Downey</st1:city> here. </div>
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This
is a well-done biopic. It’s long, but
you hardly notice it, as it goes along at a pretty good pace. All of the performances are great, and it
really makes you appreciate all of the hard work and effort that Chaplin put
into his movies. He really did set a lot
of <st1:place>Hollywood</st1:place> standards, and even some of his work today
holds up beautifully. Seriously, there
is so much on YouTube, you really need to check it out!</div>
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It
is beautifully shot, and the score is stunning.
Truly. John Barry did an
outstanding job here. </div>
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This
is a nice little history lesson, but don’t believe everything you see,
especially about Chaplin’s personal life.
But it is a wonderful glimpse into early <st1:city>Hollywood</st1:city>,
so if that interests you, check it out!</div>
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<o:p> And as an added treat, I give you Robert Downey, jr. singing that famous song written by Chaplin, "Smile":</o:p></div>
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That’s
a Wrap! Tomorrow: It’s my birthday! So, a little Disney is in order!<o:p></o:p></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-64753204398251550262012-06-21T09:58:00.002-04:002012-06-21T09:58:22.463-04:00Parenthood<br />
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Happy
June! Since it is my birth month, I am
being self-indulgent and writing about all of my favourite movies. For some of the more well-known movies out
there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it is one of my
favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a wee little
bit of reflection. Not all of my
favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category –
but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
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#332:
<i>Parenthood</i> (1989). When I first
started this blog, I started with the Ron Howard movie <i>The Paper</i>,
stating that Ron Howard really does his best with ensemble, character driven
stories. This is no exception, and in
fact may be the best example of this. I
love this movie, and am psyched to be writing about it for this, but damn there
are a lot of people and a lot going on here.
So, let’s get started, shall we?<o:p></o:p></div>
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The
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Gil
Buckman: Played by Steve Martin. He’s
sort of the main character. He has a
wonderful wife, a gaggle of kids (one of whom is a neurotic mess) and is always
twitching around, hoping that his life will just get easier for him.<br />
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Buckman: Played by the lovely Mary Steenburgen.
Karen is married to Gil, and is the heart of the film. She is the seemingly perfect mom, but she has
her bad days, too. She just keeps on
pushing through them with grace and poise.</div>
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Buckman: Played by Dianne Wiest. Helen
is Gil’s sister. She’s a single mom
having to deal with a surly teenage daughter, a monosyllabic son, and a less
than desirable son in law. She is
stressed to the hilt, but loves her children a lot, and it shows.</div>
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Buckman: Played by Martha Plimpton.
Julie is Helen’s surly teenager.
She has a lot of angst, and is “deeply in looooove” with her boyfriend,
so much so that they get married. She
eventually starts to come around a little, but can be very overbearing and
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Buckman-Lampkin: Played by Juaquin Phoenex (at the time, he went by Leaf). At first, he just kind of lurks around, has a
padlock on his bedroom door, and an ever-present brown paper bag with him. Is he into drugs? Turns out no, but he also just really needs a
man around the house. He misses his dad.</div>
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Tod Higgins:
Played by Keanu Reeves. Tod is, at first
glance, Ted from <i>Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure</i>. But there is more to him than that, and
actually Keanu plays him very nice and subtle at times. He is married to Julie, and manages to make
her mom like him by the end. He also
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Nathan
Huffner: Played by Rick Moranis. Yeah,
him again. Nathan is one of those
assholes that were mostly prominent in the ‘80s and ‘90s – obsessed with
intellect, pushing his preschool daughter to be a mini-Mensa. Yeah, that kind. He’s Gil’s brother in law, and passes
judgment every where he goes, even with his wife sometimes. He redeems himself in the end, but throughout
he’s just a big meanie. And as stated
before, Rick Moranis being an asshole is always a rare treat!<br />
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Huffner: Played by Harley Jane Kozac.
Susan is Gil’s sister, and Nathan’s wife. She goes along with all of Nathan’s crazy,
but is starting to get more and more frustrated. She’s a tough cookie, and a smart one,
too. She also has a fun side to her, and
is a pretty decent human being. Harley
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Buckman: Played by Tom Hulce. Larry is
the baby of the Buckman family. He’s all
about making it big quickly, and always gets a pass from his dad. He shows up with a son named Cool, the
product of a one-night fling with a showgirl in Vegas. His dad tries to teach him a few important
life lessons, but poor Larry never learns.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHt4rj1jD2CfGETvckJgmHP7guKCfAgnlTWimm52EHmoFfclP8GPGzyuFhwYVNKBBcPuaECHcP3E-hxbqzGdWDlm5opPioRIvdX93Mk2ZWWDylcooDxUdijqw8k0OVxkLxDNWjKD1q3Yfv/s1600/eileen+ryan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHt4rj1jD2CfGETvckJgmHP7guKCfAgnlTWimm52EHmoFfclP8GPGzyuFhwYVNKBBcPuaECHcP3E-hxbqzGdWDlm5opPioRIvdX93Mk2ZWWDylcooDxUdijqw8k0OVxkLxDNWjKD1q3Yfv/s200/eileen+ryan.jpg" width="122" /></a>Frank
Buckman: Played by Jason Robards. He is
the Patriarch of the Buckman clan, and he’s an old-school tough guy. Jason Robards is just so freaking brilliant,
I can’t even… Anyway, he’s tough on all
of his kids (except for Larry) and interferes the most with Gil and his parenting
skills. He means well, he loves his
family, but he realizes by the end that he never did Larry any favors by
cutting him yards of slack, and that maybe he should lighten up a little with
Gil.</div>
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Marilyn
Buckman: Played by Eileen Ryan. A pretty
thankless role, here. She’s married to
Frank, and pretty much just looks after Cool and keeps pretty quiet. But there is some affection between her and
Frank – just not a whole heck of a lot.</div>
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Grandma:
Played by Helen Shaw. Grandma is the
slightly crazy old lady I think we all want to become. She gets moved around from family to family
(remember when families actually gave a shit about their elders and didn’t just
toss them in a sub-par nursing home?) and along the way gives out little bits
of wisdom, the most famous of which is the roller coaster scene, which I will
share later. Most people kind of write
her off as a loon, but they also really love her. She’s awesome.<br />
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Wow. OK.
Ummm… time for a stretch, because this is gonna be a doozy. </div>
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I
have been trying to keep up with this movie, but it moves pretty fast, and
there is so much going on. So, here is a
slightly condensed rundown:</div>
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The
movie’s main focus is on Gil and Karen’s family. Their oldest, Kevin, has some issues. He’s neurotic and high-stressed. Wonder where he gets it from? Gil is so obsessed with having happy,
confident, well-adjusted kids that he feels like a major failure as a parent
because he passed all his crazy genes down to one kid. The other kids are pretty normal, even the
youngest (who is <i>adorable</i>) who likes to butt things with his head and
put random stuff in his mouth. You say
weird, I say normal 4 year old. </div>
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Karen
puts up with a <i>lot</i>, and keeps her cool most of the time. Mary Steenburgen just knocks it out of the
park with this performance. She exudes
warmth and love and light, and is just beautiful and radiant. Anyway, she just wants her family to be happy
and together, and likes being a stay at home mom. A rare thing these days, and refreshing, to
be honest. She has a lot on her plate
throughout, what with her crazed husband and son. She finds out towards the end that she is
pregnant again, and wants to keep the baby, despite the insanity of their
family already. Gil isn’t so sure, but
finally decides to enjoy the ride on the roller coaster of life. His family is not perfect, but they are a
lovable chaos.</div>
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Over
at the casa de dysfunction, we have Helen and her family. There’s Garry, who just walks through scenes
with his brown paper bag, Julie who is kind of a bitch, but then again she’s
17, so ok, and Tod, Julie’s boyfriend-turned-husband. Poor Helen has a jerk of an ex who won’t
spend any time with the kids, leaving her to do all the heavy lifting. She has no life of her own, and works hard to
keep the peace. When Garry goes crazy
and vandalizes his dad’s office after being shut down <i>again</i> for more
time with him, Helen breaks into his room, and finds the paper bag. Convinced her son is on drugs, she opens the
bag to reveal a bunch of video tapes.
Sighing with relief, she picks one up, and when the tape falls out, she
discovers that her son is not a drug addict, but rather a <i>porn</i>
addict. Or, ya know, a normal teenage
boy. Ah, the days before the internet,
when boys had to sneak porn in the house…</div>
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So,
Helen realizes that Garry needs someone to talk to about sex, and asks if Tod
will do it. Afterwards, Tod speaks open
and honestly with Helen about Garry, saying that he is “one messed up little
dude”. See, he got his first boner, and
freaked, and didn’t know how to handle it, and was masturbating a whole lot,
and thought there was something wrong with him.
Tod: “I said, that’s what little dudes do”. Preach it, Tod! We also learn a little about Tod’s
background: abusive father, etc. But he
just keeps on being Tod, and for that we love him. As does Helen. </div>
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Tod and Julie fight constantly, mostly
because Tod drag races and really, there’s enough brain damage going on there,
why add potential for more? I side with
Julie here. Oh, and Helen is dating
Garry’s biology teacher, and Julie is pregnant.
Three-ringed circus over here! </div>
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At
the <st1:place><st1:placename>Mensa</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Mansion</st1:placetype></st1:place>,
we have Nathan and Susan. Nathan is trying
to mold his daughter into being the perfect little brainiac. He is an intellectual snob. Susan goes along with all of his bullshit,
but slowly is getting frustrated. When
she tells him they can afford to go on vacation in <st1:country-region>Mexico</st1:country-region>,
he balks at sending Patti to Gil’s house (because <i>obviously </i>Gil is an
idiot, as are his children) and suggests they bring her along! Susan tells him she thought it would be nice
if it was just the two of them (someone wants her sexytime!) and instead of
jumping all over that, Nathan says it’ll be ok – they’ll get two rooms! Susan: “Which one will I be in?” Valid question, Susan, valid question. She retaliates by digging into her closet and
pulling out a shoebox of junkfood. You
go, girl.</div>
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Later,
we discover that Susan has been poking holes in her diaphragm. She wants more kids, but Nathan says there
needs to be “five years between sibs”.
Ha! She freaks out on him about
it, and they fight. Harley Jane Kozac
looks gorgeous in this scene, by the way.
She’s wearing this dark blue satin and lace thing that is tasteful yet
sexy as hell. Damn, Nathan, get on that!</div>
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Fed
up, eventually Susan leaves Nathan.
Woo-hoo! Oh, but then he goes and
does this:</div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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I love Susan's reactions and little comments throughout. Also, I love how all the guys are like "WTF?!" and the girls get all dreamy over it. </div>
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We
also see him being all cute and playful with Patti at the end, so he gets a
nice little redemptive storyline. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And
then there’s the storyline I always tend to forget about: Frank and Larry. Basically, Larry is a little shit, Frank
realizes the error of his ways, and agrees to take Cool while Larry runs away
to South America for some stupid deal that will most likely get him
killed. Frank finally understands that
the macho bullshit he forces on his family may not have been the best route to
go. </div>
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At
the end of the movie, we are treated to Grandma (who is now at Gil and Karen’s)
who gives a wonderful little speech about roller coasters as a metaphor for
life:</div>
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Can
I also just reiterate how radiant and in the moment Mary Steenburgen is
here? She is such an underrated
actress! This scene also is a good
sample of life over at Gil and Karen’s house.
Dude, you need to lighten up!</div>
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So,
we end with every generation and family member at the hospital as babies are
born. It is a very touching end
scene. </div>
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Wow. That was the condensed version. </div>
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So,
why do I love this movie? I’m not a
parent, and there isn’t really a character I identify with here. But, there are some I aspire to be like (a
combo of Helen and Karen is kinda who I want to be) and some I know I would
avoid (Nathan – I <i>hate</i> people like him!). But it is compelling and heartwarming and
frustrating and hilarious and heartbreaking throughout. The movie is a rollercoaster, and a
satisfying one at that. Ron did a
wonderful job here, and really needs to make another movie like this. Is it any wonder that he returned to the
material <i>twice</i> to adapt it for TV.
The first attempt bombed, the second one is going into its third season
this fall. It all comes down to family
dynamics, and that is what is universal about this. We may not have exactly the same as this
family, but we all have some kind of weird dynamic in our families. </div>
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The
cast is a dream team of brilliant actors.
I mean, holy crap, you’ve got Jason Robards, Steve Martin, Mary
Steenburgen, Tom Hulce (fresh off of <i>Amadeus</i>, no less!). And I really do have to give a shout-out to
my man Rick Moranis for not being afraid to be the asshole here. He does it brilliantly, and it is probably my
favourite of all his roles. Steve Martin
is so great as a dad here, it amazes me that he has never had any kids of his
own! He really is a tremendously
talented actor. Please stop with the <i>Pink
Panther</i> bullshit, Steve, and go back to dramedy stuff. <i>A Simple Twist of Fate</i> was glorious,
this was brilliant! You are an amazing
actor!</div>
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Harley
Jane Kozac is also worth mentioning here, as she is also a very underrated
actress. She also has books out, and
they are hilarious, and you should all read them. </div>
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I
adore this movie, I love the TV show… Ron Howard, you are so great at this
stuff, can you please make more like this?
Pretty please?</div>
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And
that’s a wrap for today! Tomorrow: some
Hollywood History for y’all!<o:p></o:p></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-57778942962223124872012-06-20T22:26:00.001-04:002012-06-20T22:26:37.850-04:00That Thing You Do!<br />
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Happy
June! Since it is my birth month, I am
being self-indulgent and writing about all of my favourite movies. For some of the more well-known movies out
there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it is one of my
favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a wee little
bit of reflection. Not all of my
favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category –
but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
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#333:
<i>That Thing You Do! </i>(1996). Tom
Hanks made the leap from actor to writer-director with this, and he did one
hell of a job. So, let’s get to it, eh?</div>
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The
Players:</div>
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Guy
Patterson: Played by Tom Everett Scott.
Guy is a hipster (uber hipster, really, because he was one <i>before</i>
they were cool) drummer who just wants to play with a band. He loves jazz, and is obsessed with the
fictional jazz artist Del Paxton. He
also refers to himself as “Sparticus”.
He’s a little odd, but endearing.<br />
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Mr.
White: Played by Tom Hanks. Not only did
Hanks write and direct this baby, he gave himself a supporting role as
well. Mr. White is the manager for the
band when they sign with Play-Tone records.
He’s slick and pretty much full of shit, but knows his stuff.<br />
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Jimmy
Mattingly: Played by Jonathan Schaech.
Jimmy is the leader of the Wonders in every way. He’s the lead singer, the main writer, and
basically in charge. Until Guy joins the
band… he’s really smart, and all about being an artist, which in turn makes him
kind of a dick.<br />
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Faye
Dolan: Liv Tyler. Faye is Jimmy’s
girlfriend, but you <i>totally</i> know she’s going to wind up with Guy. She’s sweet and adorable, and a typical early
1960s girlfriend. </div>
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The
Bass Player: Played by Ethan Embry. He’s
not too bright, but enthusiastic like a puppy and just as adorable.<br />
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Lenny
Haise: Played by Steve Zahn. Lenny plays
guitar in the band, and occasionally has a lead vocal. He’s silly and goofy. I love him.<br />
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All
of the supporting people: A.K.A. Tom Hanks’ friends. There are people from <i>Apollo 13</i>, <i>A
League of their Own</i>, and other various Tom Hanks flicks. They are what have now come to be known as
the Hanks regulars. Not to be confused
with the Ron Howard regulars. There’s
some venn action going on there…</div>
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The
Rundown:</div>
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OK,
there really isn’t a whole heck of a lot going on here. The film follows the rise of a garage band
from <st1:place><st1:city>Erie</st1:city>, <st1:state>PA</st1:state></st1:place>
called The Wonders (as in “One Hit”). The
main focus is on Guy. When the band’s
drummer breaks his arm by jumping parking meters, the band turns to Guy. He helps them come up with their band name
(initially spelled “The Oneders”, leading to a lot of funny mispronunciation
gags) and takes their ballad, “That Thing You Do” to a new tempo, helping them
win the Mercyherst college talent show.
Woah. Wait. I just realized today that <i>none</i> of the
guys in the band attend this college.
They are all slightly older than college aged. Why are they competing in a college talent
‘60s thing? Oh, right, don’t overthink
this movie…</div>
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So,
at the talent show, we meet Tina, played by none other than Charlize Theron,
who is Guy’s girlfriend. She couldn’t be
less interested, until they win and land a gig at the pizza place down by the
airport…</div>
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The
guys have a little fan – it’s a “Hey, it’s that guy!” who looks like Steve
Buscemi’s slightly less creepy little brother.
He asks about a record, and they get the brilliant idea to record their
now signature song.</div>
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I
should stop here and warn you that if you have not seen this movie, be prepared
to hear every possible rendition of “That Thing You Do!” possible performed
throughout the movie. There are other
songs, but you will hear this again. And again. And <i>again</i>. <i>AND YOU WILL LIKE IT!</i> More about the music later…</div>
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So,
they make a record and sell it for a dollar at the pizza place. Some old dude buys the record (hey! It’s Deke Slayton from <i>Apollo 13</i>!). Turns out this guy is a local band manager
who works out of “a really nice camper!” (so says Lenny). He gets them to sign a contract with them,
and promises to get their song played on the radio within a week. Just when you think they might be taken for a
ride in that really nice camper…</div>
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I
love this so much. Look at how happy
they are! </div>
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So,
this results in getting a gig in <st1:city>Pittsburgh</st1:city>
(HOLLA!!) which is where Mr. White enters the scene. Mr. Really Nice Camper bows out gracefully,
and sells his contract to Play-Tone Records.
The boys are going on the road!</div>
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They
head off on a State Fair tour, and meet other stars from the Play-Tone Galaxy,
including Diane Dane. She has one song,
is jaded, and might have something fishy going on with Jimmy. Uh-Oh…</div>
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“That
Thing You Do” takes off like a rocket, and the Wonders (re-named by Mr. White)
take off for <st1:state>California</st1:state>. They appear as Captain Geech and the Shrimp
Shack Shooters in a hilariously bad beach monster movie (Hey! Betty Spaghetti!) and give a couple of radio interviews (CLINT
HOWARD! Your brother loaned you out?!)
and meet the head of Play-Tone, who is a total dick. Jimmy is very disenfranchised.</div>
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There
is dissention in the ranks as poor Faye is all but forgotten about (she’s been
traveling with them as their “costume mistress”). She tries to defend Jimmy, saying that he’s a
genius or some crap, and having a cold, heads off to bed. Lenny hit it off with the receptionist at Play-Tone,
so he heads out on a date with her, and The Bass Player meets some Marines, who
take him under their wing. Leaving poor
Guy all by himself.</div>
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He
heads off to a jazz club, where a waitress (<i>aaaand, it’s RITA WILSON, LADIES
AND GENTLEMEN!</i> I wondered how long
that was going to take) named Marguerite is all hitting on him, but he’s all
about the music, man.</div>
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Turns
out that Del Paxton frequents the club, so Marguerite introduces them. Resulting in the best drunken fanboy word
vomit ever (I tried to find a video, but no luck. Here’s the transcript off of IMDb.com):</div>
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I'm
Guy Patterson, I'm from Erie, Pennsylvania, I'm in a band called The Wonders
and we just cut a record, we're out here on the coast and I play the drums and
I have all your records well not all of them but a lot of them but ah at least
I did until some of them got swiped when I was stationed in Germany and you
were playing in Germany at the time that I was stationed there, but you know
what I couldn't see you because you were playing in Hamburg and I was stationed
in Munich but I listen to your records and I think you're great. </div>
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[takes
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You
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You
really need to see how he does it, it is wonderful, and I think we all have
said something similar. Lord knows if I
ever met my boyfriend Rick Moranis, I’d do the same thing. Moving along…</div>
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<st1:state>Del</st1:state>
gives Guy some tips, reminding him that bands come and go, but always remember
that it’s all about the music, man…</div>
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The
next day, Guy gets a phone call from a very excited/angry Mr. White. He’s pumped because The Wonders are going to
be on “The Hollywood Showcase”! Yay!
But… their bass player is missing.
Oops! Turns out he’s off living
it up with the Marines at <st1:place>Disneyland</st1:place>. He was going to be leaving at the end of the
summer to join up, anyway, so they get a studio bass player to fill in named
“Wolf Man”. I do not make this shit
up. </div>
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The
show is hosted by another buddy of Tom Hanks, one Peter Scolari from their
“Bosom Buddies” days. Nice of Tom to
give you some much needed work, dude!</div>
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Faye
has been treated to a day of pampering, and looks stunning for the show. She sits in the audience, proud as can be of
her boyfriend and his band. When they
play, the audience is going nuts, and during the music bridge, the production
crew goes in for close-ups with the guys’ names, complete with “Careful girls,
he’s engaged!” under Jimmy’s. Jimmy is
shocked, Faye is genuinely happy, and the band is totally about to break up.</div>
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They
have it out in the dressing room, Faye dumps Jimmy’s sorry genius ass, and
Lenny and his date head out for a big road trip to Vegas. </div>
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The
next day, they are supposed to be recording new stuff, but see Jimmy doesn’t
understand how the whole record label thing works, so he quits. Lenny is still in Vegas, having married his
secretary on a whim, and Wolf Man heads out to collect his social security
check. Yeah, he’s kinda old, by the
way. This leaves Guy and Mr. White.</div>
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Mr.
White assures Guy they aren’t in any sort of legal trouble, that the whole “One
hit Wonder” thing is nothing new, and wishes him the best. He lets him stay in the recording studio for
the day if he wants, but they gotta be out of the hotel (Oh, The
Ambassador! Fuck you, <st1:state>California</st1:state>,
for letting it be torn down!) tonight.</div>
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While
he’s playing his drums, who walks in but Del Paxton! They jam together, and it’s super cool and
sweet.</div>
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Guy
runs to the hotel, ready to get his stuff and find some new digs, ‘cause he’s
staying in LA. He runs into Faye in the
coffee shop, and she tells him she’s going back to <st1:city>Erie</st1:city>,
and that he should call her if he’s ever in town. Of course, he can’t let her leave without
giving her one hell of a kiss, and of <i>course</i> they wind up together. The end.</div>
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Wow. That was a lot. OK, so why do I love this movie? Let’s begin with the obvious: The music.</div>
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I
love the soundtrack. It’s so dead-on
with the early 1960s sound, it is just so much fun to listen to. The title song. OK.
So, I remember when this movie came out, and somewhere in an interview
Tom Hanks said that the title song had to be something he could hear over and
over and not get sick of it. Guess
what? He got it. I have yet to be sick of this song. It’s peppy, “snappy” as Mr. White says, and
catchy as hell. The rest of The Wonders
songs are good, as is Diane Dane’s one song, and the other Play-Tone Galaxy of
Stars songs are good. It’s just happy
music, and perfect for the movie. Well
done, music director.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I
adore Tom Hanks in this. It’s a
character we’d never really seen before.
Sure, in <i>A League of their Own</i>, he played an ass, but this is
suave and slick. He is absolutely what
you would expect of a 1960s record label band manager. He’s not a total jerk, either. He is a pretty cool guy, just a tough nut to
crack.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Tom
Everett Scott. The movie kind of depends
on whether or not Guy is likable. By
making him kind of a dork at times, he is very likable. Yes, he does tend to act all
beatnicky-hipster at times, but underneath it all, he’s just a big music lovin’
nerd. It also helps that he is easy on
the eyes…</div>
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<br /></div>
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This
is not a perfect movie by any means. Guy
and Tina break up, it is implied that she left him for her dentist, but there’s
no closure to that relationship. And
they were so obviously not meant for each other, it was <i>too</i>
obvious. Same with the chemistry between
Guy and Faye. It was slightly
rushed. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Jimmy
is too much of a dick at times. So,
overall, you could say a lot of the character stuff is a little
heavy-handed. But it works.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Overall,
this is a really fun movie. There is an extended
“Director’s Cut” version, but really it doesn’t add much. It does go into Tina and Guy’s relationship a
little more, and there’s a few missing pieces that are filled in, but nothing
so major that the film feels more complete with the added scenes. But hey, if you’re a film geek like me,
you’ll check it out anyway! But I
recommend watching the theatrical version first.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I
love this movie, and you will too. Now,
try to get that song out of your head. I
dare you…</div>
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And
that’s a wrap! Tomorrow: some family
drama!<o:p></o:p></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-40475880048262444642012-06-20T09:49:00.000-04:002012-06-20T09:49:24.395-04:00Another Round of Catch-up!<br />
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Y’all,
this is hard. I have fallen too far
behind to do full-on entries at this point, so another game of catch up. Here are some of my favourite movies:</div>
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<br /></div>
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#339:
<i>Finding Neverland</i> (2004). </div>
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Who’s
in it? Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, and
a whole cast of awesome supporting characters.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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What’s
it about? J.M. Barrie, the man who wrote
<i>Peter Pan</i>, and his relationship with Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and her
family, who were the inspiration for <i>Peter Pan</i>. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Why
do I love it? Most people swoon all over
Johnny Depp, or coo over the kids, but me?
I love this for a myriad of reasons.
One, the story and the setting. I
love hearing about how great works were created, and turn of the century <st1:city>London</st1:city>
is gorgeous. Also, Kate Winslet. I have a <i>huge</i> lady crush on Kate Winslet. She is beautiful, talented, and dead-on in
this role. She plays Sylvia with a great
amount of joy and strength, and playfulness and love. The portrayal of Sylvia is crucial – if she
wasn’t played just right, she would have come off as either pitiful or a
homewrecker, and she is neither. </div>
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This
is definitely a teer-jerker movie, so have your tissues handy!</div>
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<br /></div>
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#338:
<i>The Day After Tomorrow</i> (2004).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Who’s
in it? Lord, who <i>isn’t</i> in it?
You’ve got Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhall, my Emmy Rossum (so much hotness
in one sentence…) and a whole bunch of “Hey! It’s that guy!” and people we
know, like Ian freaking Holm. </div>
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<br /></div>
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What’s
it about? The end of the world, this
time with frost! Yep, the climate is
changing, and the world is about meet its cold, cold demise.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Why
do I love it? I have no freaking
clue. I have these movies that I call
“Sunday afternoon movies”. They are the
ones that I pop in when I just want to chill out on a lazy Sunday
afternoon. This is one of them. As a rule, I think disaster movies are a
hoot, and this one is especially fun. They
have to <i>out run frost</i>. And
wolves. So much win. The plot isn’t anything really new, the
effects are pretty damn impressive, and the characters are likable enough that
you’re ok with them surviving. Go into
it with low expectations, and you enjoy it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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#337:
<i>Snakes on a Plane</i> (2006).</div>
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Who’s
in it? Samuel L. Jackson. A bunch of other people, too, but mostly just
Samuel L. Jackson.</div>
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<br /></div>
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What’s
it about? Ummm… see, there are
snakes. They’re on this plane. They wreak havoc. The end.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Why
do I love it? Like most people, my
interest was piqued by the title. And
the fact that Samuel L. Jackson was not only starring in it, but he himself was
sold on the title. It’s so absurd, you
can’t <i>not</i> love it. The movie tries
to give us a viable explanation for why the snakes are on the plane, but really
nobody cares. It is a roller coaster
ride, it doesn’t really take itself too seriously, and you’ve got the now
infamous line “I am tired of these motherfuckin’ snakes on these motherfuckin’
plane!” The best part about that
line? There was a fan video made with
that line before the movie came out.
They went back and added that line to appease the fans. <i>Motherfuckin’ awesome</i>. If you don’t mind horror or snakes, watch it. Just don’t expect too much!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="background-color: white;">#336:
</span><i style="background-color: white;">Calamity Jane</i><span style="background-color: white;"> (1953).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Who’s
in it? Doris Day, Howard Keel, and a
bunch of other people.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
What’s
it about? Calamity Jane and her life in the wild west. Set to music.
Mostly, it’s about Doris Day being awesome.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Why
do I love it? Doris Day. Doris Day.
Oh, and Doris Day. OK, no
seriously. The music is great, the
production value is on the low side, but it still looks good, and it is an
overall fun movie. This was one of my
favourite movies growing up, the first I ever saw Doris Day in, and is the film
that I most associate her with. It
really is weird seeing her all dolled up in a dress sometimes… Don’t expect an
accurate history lesson here, folks, just go with the fun!</div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
#335:
<i>Annie</i> (1982). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Who’s
in it? Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney, Ann Reinking, Bernadette Peters, Tim Curry
and Carol Burnett. Like, wow. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
What’s
it about? Based on the Broadway musical
which is based on Depression-era comic books about a little red haired orphan
who gets adopted by a billionaire. That’s
really all you need to know.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Why
do I love it? Well, for starters, look
at the freaking cast. This movie is what
started my life-long adoration of Carol Burnett, and every time I see Ann
Reinking I see her as Grace. This is
also one of the movies I watched non-stop when I was a kid. I had the little red dress Annie wears at the
end. It is why I wanted to be a
redhead. I insisted that people call me
Annie at one point. The music is great,
the performances amazing, and on its own it is a great movie. Just don’t compare it to the stage play,
because then you’re in for a world of hurt, because truly the stage play is
kind of superior, inserting more about the Depression and whatnot. But still, watch and enjoy.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
#334:
<i>Eurotrip</i> (2004). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Who’s
in it? A bunch of people I’d never heard of, or from since, and Michelle
Trachtenberg. Looking ridiculously hot.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
What’s
it about? Scotty gets dumped (awesomely,
I might add), he goes on a wild trip through <st1:place>Europe</st1:place> to
hook up with his German pen-pal. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Why
do I love it? It is hilarious and pretty
harmless. It’s another one of those
“Sunday afternoon movies” that I can just pop in and relax the brain for a
little while. The humor is crude, but
not to the point that it feels like it’s crude just for the sake of it. Also, did I mention that Michelle
Trachtenberg is really hot in this movie?
Little Dawn Summers, all grown up!
</div>
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Aaaaand,
we’re caught up! There will be another
full post tonight, and I will hopefully be able to get a little ahead over the
next day or two that I have off. These
long hours are killin’ my bloggin’, y’all.
That’s a wrap for now!<o:p></o:p></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-70415571371166150922012-06-17T08:38:00.001-04:002012-06-17T08:38:25.168-04:00National Treasure<br />
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Happy
June! Since it is my birth month, I am
being self-indulgent and writing about all of my favourite movies. For some of the more well-known movies out
there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it is one of my
favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a wee little
bit of reflection. Not all of my
favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category –
but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
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#340:
<i>National Treasure</i> (2004). If you
know me, you knew this was coming… Yay, CRAPPY HISTORY!</div>
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The
Players:</div>
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Benjamin
Gates: Played by Nicholas Cage. Ben is
an historian/treasure hunter. He’s a wee
bit obsessive, and more than a wee bit nuts sometimes, so really it’s Nic Cage
being Nic Cage. And being <i>awesome at
it</i>. Ben is also a little pretentious
and arrogant when it comes to his history knowledge. Which makes him kinda sexy, too…</div>
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Riley
Poole: Played by Justin Bartha. Riley is
Ben’s assistant/wise-cracking sidekick.
He is every nerdy girl’s dreamboat.
He’s not so much into the historical end of things, but the technical
side. He trusts Ben implicitly, and is
snarky to boot. Love.<br />
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Chase: Played by Diane Kruger. So many
pretty people in this movie… anyway, Abigail is a curator at the National
Archives and gets sucked into the treasure hunt while she tries to protect the
Declaration of Independence. She is the
romantic interest for Ben.</div>
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Gates: Played by Jon Voight. He’s Ben’s
father who is the family grump. He is
totally against hunting for the treasure, but gets sucked into it by
association with his crazed son. He’s
often the voice of reason, but since reason has no place in this movie, he gets
shut down a lot.</div>
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Ian
Howe: Played by Sean Bean. Ian starts
out ok, (funding the treasure hunt and all), but he really wants his piece of
the treasure pie, so when he suggests they “borrow” the Declaration of
Independence because there’s a map on the back, and Ben won’t let him, he takes
his toys and goes on his own treasure hunt.
Because you can’t have a treasure hunt without some asshole competing
with you.<br />
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<st1:city>Sandusky</st1:city>:
Played by Harvey Keitel. <st1:city>Sandusky</st1:city>
is the FBI agent who is assigned to getting the Declaration of Independence
back after it’s been “borrowed”. There
seems to be more to him than initially thought, and he turns out to be a pretty
groovy dude.</div>
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John
Gates: Played by Christopher Plummer.
He’s Ben’s grandfather, and tells him the story of the treasure, leading
him on his lifelong quest. A small but
important role, played by Captain Von Trapp himself.<br />
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OK,
so the rundown? There’s this treasure to
end all treasures, Knights Templar, too big for just one man, blah, blah,
blah. Somehow, it wound up in the North
American colonies, and the founders hid it and devised a series of clues. The last clue (really, the first clue if you
think about it) wound up in the hands of a stable boy named Thomas Gates. This is the big family heritage, and
apparently a lot of people lost a lot of money and good name searching for this
treasure. </div>
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Ben
wants to find the treasure. Not for
monetary value, but to prove his family isn’t crazy. Also, for the historical significance, which,
again: <i>sexy</i>. So, the clue is “The
secret lies with <st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city>”, and
after a lifetime of searching, Ben discovers that “<st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city>”
is actually a ship. They find the ship
(buried in ice in the arctic) and on the ship is a pipe that leads them to the
next big clue: there is a map on the back of the Declaration of Independence.</div>
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OK,
see how many times I have typed out Declaration of Independence so far? That is <i>nothing</i> compared to how often
they say it in this movie. There’s a
drinking game. You will die.</div>
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So,
Ian decides he will steal the Declaration of Independence (drink!) because
obviously no one will let them look at it because they’re all nuts. Ben can’t allow that, so Ian winds up <i>blowing
up the ship</i>. My little historian
heart wept a little.</div>
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So,
Ben realizes that Ian will steal the document with or without him, so he
decides to try and stop him. When
alerting everyone in <st1:place><st1:city>Washington</st1:city> <st1:state>DC</st1:state></st1:place>
doesn’t help, he goes to the National Archives, figuring someone’s passion for
historical documents will be an asset. </div>
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There
he meets Abigail, who is gorgeous, loves history (she has <st1:state>Washington</st1:state>’s
campaign buttons, save for one. <i>WANT!</i>) and is a little snarky. I not
only have a huge girl-crush on her, but I kinda want to <i>be</i>
her when I grow up…<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, there’s this gala for the National
Archives, and Ben explains his elaborate plot to steal the document during the
gala. It’s pretty badass, and smart, and
I love it. But Ian’s there, too, and
he’s more of a “smash and grab” thief.
Oh, Ian, these things are always won with brains. You already lost, dude. Also, after you blew up The Charlotte, I
would not trust you within fifty feet of any historical artifact. Asshole.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And we’re off to the races! They follow the clues they find (with a
little help from Ben’s dad), while being followed by Ian and his band of
history-haters and the FBI. They wind up
momentarily working <i>with </i>Ian when all hell breaks loose in Philly,
and wind up in NYC.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ian has taken Patrick hostage, and they all
go down under <st1:place><st1:placename>Trinity</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>Church</st1:placetype></st1:place> to hopefully, finally find this damn
treasure. But once they get to the bottom
of this insane hole, all that’s there is an empty room with a lantern. Ben and Patrick, being all smart, give Ian a
fake clue sending him off to <st1:city>Boston</st1:city>, and Ian falls for it because he is stupid.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of course, they eventually find the treasure
(the pipe they found waaayyy back on the dearly departed <st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city> comes into play, which I actually love) and
it is <i>damn impressive</i>. Ben
strikes a deal with the FBI and gives them Ian to toss in jail so he doesn’t
have to go. Ben and Abigail get
together, Riley gets a fancy new car he doesn’t know how to drive, and we all
anxiously await the sequel.
Unfortunately, we get one…<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, I majored in US History. I should really hate this movie, because
while some of the history is well-done, so much of it is inaccurate or just
plain made up. But… it’s so much
fun! And it shows how exciting and fun
history can be! Which is important. And treasure hunt movies are always fun. Unless it’s <i>The Treasure of the Sierra Madre</i>, which is just depressing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPbWg3DJHsEYOBSCQ8j0QF-sBxso3OdY71fDg3PQZqa68npe3DdzxEXX6Bn0wjK9U_SW_QClliJHThwlRxK7n9vIVHt0HLnvBovY4PXwEmpSOnK6tmKRvegT7dCijVlKUz4aLEmaIZ6JuE/s1600/DSCI0079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPbWg3DJHsEYOBSCQ8j0QF-sBxso3OdY71fDg3PQZqa68npe3DdzxEXX6Bn0wjK9U_SW_QClliJHThwlRxK7n9vIVHt0HLnvBovY4PXwEmpSOnK6tmKRvegT7dCijVlKUz4aLEmaIZ6JuE/s200/DSCI0079.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in what they refer to as "The Signing Room" in Liberty Hall. I was so.excited!</td></tr>
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<o:p> </o:p>When I was in college, I was an active
member in the History Club on campus.
This movie somehow became our unofficial History Club movie. When we went on a trip to <st1:city>Philadelphia</st1:city>, we referenced the hell out of it. When we got back, we watched this at a
meeting, and I turned to everyone and said “Oh my God, I am <i>so sorry</i>!” They looked at me funny, and
I went on to say “I am <i>so Nic Cage
in this movie</i>!” This was met with a bunch of head nods and a
collective “yup!” So, I know why I love his character. He is just <i>so into</i> the history of
everything, and gets excited and shares that, which comes off a little
“know-it-all”. So, I relate to him a
lot.</div>
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This movie is actually what piqued my
interest in American Revolution-era history, which resulted in me taking a
course on The American Revolution in college, which resulted in <i>awesomeness</i>. It is my favourite time period
in American History (aside from film history), and this movie played a part in
discovering that.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you are a “serious historian”, A: why are
you reading this blog? and B: avoid this movie at all costs. If you just have a passion for the field,
treasure hunts, and intellectual pretty people, check it out. It’s a harmless and educational way to spend
two hours. Just make sure you look up
some of the stuff before you buy into everything – like I said, some stuff is
just not real. But it makes for a great
story, so who cares?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/by2yMNLmCDs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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That’s a wrap! Up next: get out the hankies.<o:p></o:p></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-85501628220675593522012-06-16T09:34:00.001-04:002012-06-16T09:34:33.148-04:00Keeping the Faith<br />
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Happy
June! Since it is my birth month, I am
being self-indulgent and writing about all of my favourite movies. For some of the more well-known movies out
there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it is one of my
favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a wee little
bit of reflection. Not all of my
favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category –
but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
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<br />
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#341:
<i>Keeping the Faith</i> (2000). A
Rabbi, a Priest, and a Blonde… This is another movie that my friend Val and I
love, and randomly quote to each other all the time. It’s not one that a lot of people have heard
of, which is a damn shame. So, here
goes! </div>
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Jake
Schram: Played by Ben Stiller. Jake is a
Rabbi. He’s also single, which at his
age, is apparently some sort of major sin at his Synagogue. He’s constantly being set up by the biddies
in his community. His best friend is a
Priest.<br />
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Brian
Finn: Played by Edward Norton. Brian is
a Priest whose faith is solid as a rock, until he falls in love with his
childhood friend, Anna. He loves his
work, but when his crisis of faith hits, he questions his life choices. His best friend is Jake, a Rabbi. <br />
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Anna
Riley: Played by Jenna Elfman. She is
Jake and Brian’s old friend from childhood, back in <st1:state>New
York</st1:state> for work and to visit. She causes a little bit of trouble when both
men start to fall for her. She’s a
workaholic, and that kind of sexy cool we all wish we could be.<br />
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Ruth
Schram: Played by Anne Bancroft. She’s
Jake’s mother, and is basically your typical “Jewish mom”. She has issues of her own – seems her oldest
son married outside of their faith, so she has pretty much disowned him. She adores Jake, though, and keeps on pushing
him to find a nice, Jewish girl.<br />
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Paulie:
Played by Brian George. He is the
bartender that Father Brian narrates his story to. He’s pretty funny, and offers some decent
advice.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Milos Foreman</td></tr>
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The
elders: In both places of worship, there are elders. For Father Brian, his mentor and I guess the
“head Priest” (?) is Father Havel, played awesomely by Milos Foreman. In Jake’s life, he has Rabbi Ben Lewis played
by Eli Wallach and Larry Friedman, played by Ron Rifkin. Some serious heavy-hitters here!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4sf7X-jtRmxXzgBx-dzkwKqyGUO5-ESgLy9QlvRmqC9S9pAKA5P_zp0bwdrg-1wAhYJGM4MrdSuarPAlwR8OO5RyS73m5tIDTpfKGGkGCKifuL0DbCeUiyjZHmYuNlXOvyBQFv-gsDDL/s1600/ron+rifkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4sf7X-jtRmxXzgBx-dzkwKqyGUO5-ESgLy9QlvRmqC9S9pAKA5P_zp0bwdrg-1wAhYJGM4MrdSuarPAlwR8OO5RyS73m5tIDTpfKGGkGCKifuL0DbCeUiyjZHmYuNlXOvyBQFv-gsDDL/s200/ron+rifkin.jpg" width="134" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ron Rifkin</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eli Wallach</td></tr>
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<br /></div>
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OK,
the rundown:</div>
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<br /></div>
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We
open with a very drunk Edward Norton stumbling on the streets of <st1:state>New
York</st1:state> and into Paulie’s bar. After he tries to hit on a woman, and fails,
he tells Paulie his story, revealing that he is a Priest. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The
story begins with seventh grade, when Brian and Jake meet Anna. The three of them become inseperable best
friends (“Two micks and a yid”, ha!).
Then, Anna moved away to <st1:state>California</st1:state>. Sad. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Father
Brian takes us through Jake and his friendship and how they were each called to
serve God. They are young, idealistic,
and energetic. They start out a little
rough, but wind up filling the churches with their funny, stand-up style
sermons that have a really good message to them. I should probably note that I am slightly
biased towards this movie because it’s about faith and friendship, and what it
means to have faith, and my dad is a minister.
So, I love the scenes in the Church and Synagogue that show the sense of
community and how much these guys are not only good at their jobs, but love
their jobs.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
So,
Anna Riley is coming to town! They pick
her up at the airport, and discover that she is not only just as they
remembered her, but she is insanely hot.
Hell, <i>I</i> am crushing on Jenna Elfman in this movie. Damn.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So,
Jake is being set up by the women in his congregation. The head Rabbi is retiring, and he wants the
position, but there hasn’t been a single Rabbi in the Synagogue since its
inception, so he has to go on these dates in the hopes that he can find someone
to settle down with. Jake! Over here!
I have a thing for sexy Jewish men!
He goes on a date with the Jewess from <i>HELL</i>, which is
hilarious. But after, he lingers at a
payphone, debating calling Anna… hm…</div>
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<br /></div>
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We
see a little bit of Anna in action at work, and some flirty-flirty over the
phone with Jake, who has just finished a session with some poor kid preparing
for his Bar Mitzvah. I love watching
these guys interact with their congregation, it really adds some weight to what
they do – it’s not a plot contrivance, it’s <i>who they are</i>. So good.
Anyway…</div>
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<br /></div>
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There’s
some trouble at the Synagogue, when Jake brings in a Gospel choir to try and
stir some things up. He gets a talking
to about being too aggressive with his ideas.
And he gets introduced to Rachel Rose, a correspondent on ABC News. She is <i>gorgeous</i>, intelligent, and
classy. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Scene
of Jake, Anna and Jake’s mom Ruth bonding.
Ruth and Anna are a lot alike and get along really well. Too bad she’s not Jewish…</div>
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<br /></div>
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Jake
is preparing for his big date with Rachel Rose, but he’s nervous. So, he asks Brian and Anna to join him posing
as a couple. The date isn’t going so
well – Anna and Jake’s chemistry is showing.
After the date, Jake finds himself at Anna’s door, and the chemistry
causes an explosion! </div>
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<br /></div>
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Jake
and Anna decide to keep this new-found “thing” to themselves, starting off as
just sex, but eventually evolving into more.
Things get really heated when Ruth figures out what’s going on, and Anna
reveals her feelings for Jake at a company party. Eventually, things blow up in a huge fight
between the two, and Anna calls Brian over for consoling. This whole time, Brian has been slowly
falling for Anna himself, and thinks that she is upset because she’s in love
with him. When he discovers that this whole
time Anna and Jake have been together, he is heartbroken. Not just because Anna is not in love with
him, but because he was lied to by his best friend. So, he goes on a tear, gets hammered and…
crashes the Bar Mitzvah. Ooops.</div>
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<br /></div>
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This
is where we began, with Brian drunk and sad in the bar. He receives some words of wisdom from Paulie,
and then heads back to the Rectory for some real faith talk with his superior,
Father Havel. Father Havel tells him
that he himself falls in love from time to time, and that Priests (gasp!)
aren’t perfect, though they strive to be.
He does some soul-searching, and goes to see Jake, who is doing a little
soul-searching himself. The elders
aren’t too thrilled that he is in love with a non-Jew. </div>
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<br /></div>
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They
patch things up, and go to the opening of a project they’ve been working on
throughout the film, a community center that brings together the people of both
congregations. Earlier in the film,
there is this <i>hilarious</i> scene with a karaoke salesman:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/OVvUG3OLhS0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br /></div>
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Anyway,
it turns out that Jake has been given the position as Head Rabbi afterall. Yay!
And Anna shows up at the opening of the karaoke bar. Yay!
Throughout the movie, she talks about various classes she’s been taking,
and apparently one of those classes is a Jewish conversion class. Awwwww…
The three of them are back to being best friends, and Jake and Anna get
to be together, there’s karaoke and awesomeness. Oh, and Jake’s mom comes to her senses after
a trip to the hospital in which she forgives Jake’s brother for marrying a
non-Jew, and is totally cool with Jake and Anna.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
OK,
so why do I love this movie? It’s
well-acted, a good story, a nice twist on love triangles, and it is about
friendship, love, and faith. Those are
three things that are of extreme importance to me. My only beef is that there is way more focus
on Jake than Brian, and I would like there to be a little bit more balance
between the two. </div>
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<br />
This is also the first (and only) movie I have seen that makes Ben Stiller <i>damn
sexy</i>. Just sayin’. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The
supporting cast is damn impressive, as well.
I mean, Anne Bancroft, Milos Foreman, Ron Rifkin, etc? Holy crap.
The use of the <st1:state>New York</st1:state>
setting is well-done. The friendship
between the three main characters is believable and delightful, and I wish
there was some more of that, either in the beginning or the end, or somewhere
in between, but it would be a much longer movie, and there’s already a lot
going on, so I kind of understand why it was cut back a bit.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I
really recommend you check this movie out, it is really funny, touching, and
well-done. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/1V388ePOVtM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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That’s
a wrap! Up next: Historical Nerdiness!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-35244561045089424882012-06-16T07:54:00.002-04:002012-06-16T07:54:30.281-04:00The Emperor's New Groove<br />
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Happy
June! Since it is my birth month, I am
being self-indulgent and writing about all of my favourite movies. For some of the more well-known movies out
there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it is one of my
favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a wee little
bit of reflection. Not all of my
favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category –
but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9XQbmuOsDlrT_s9go2-pGIlf5CBkVaBj6LJ3lmOTYfJl-alBRFTq5QH4py7yyeZGxtL6k4I0KkbROzZB2c0mKzvzHEyt-m1-c-V75HDI71ibtI8Kmv0kywQhdJpdTdk4CGZzB6hPuIZT/s1600/poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9XQbmuOsDlrT_s9go2-pGIlf5CBkVaBj6LJ3lmOTYfJl-alBRFTq5QH4py7yyeZGxtL6k4I0KkbROzZB2c0mKzvzHEyt-m1-c-V75HDI71ibtI8Kmv0kywQhdJpdTdk4CGZzB6hPuIZT/s320/poster.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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#342:
<i>The Emperor’s New Groove</i> (2000).
I told y’all they aren’t all classics!
Actually, this is one of my favourite Disney’s, and I think it is
completely underrated and a classic in its own right. But that’s just me…</div>
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OK,
the players:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjETV_XlZF4EFeZwaRKMe0gQzg-UOhqGnUT8Hask5xGw9NB05kfpreZ_7KgiQ8KnPAxFWZViLlj1Vg3LI4Ha9nK8uukrCsaC3Qf0pNixm8UvhvqqNhDTg__2kJ9Aw2ZHR8d2JFk7WOuiTg/s1600/kuzco+llama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjETV_XlZF4EFeZwaRKMe0gQzg-UOhqGnUT8Hask5xGw9NB05kfpreZ_7KgiQ8KnPAxFWZViLlj1Vg3LI4Ha9nK8uukrCsaC3Qf0pNixm8UvhvqqNhDTg__2kJ9Aw2ZHR8d2JFk7WOuiTg/s200/kuzco+llama.jpg" width="168" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGgROaaMaok6JnTkjc3k0MZarOWmENHGalUzREJAl9hTd9R3FkIx6twbnnMq5tiXpTQLDEpu7dquishxTac8uHB8htp5BOqhqUe6tME83e8hGwTEYYB2ItYmkt9xffdpsO6NM8JIeTTDs/s1600/kuzco+human.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGgROaaMaok6JnTkjc3k0MZarOWmENHGalUzREJAl9hTd9R3FkIx6twbnnMq5tiXpTQLDEpu7dquishxTac8uHB8htp5BOqhqUe6tME83e8hGwTEYYB2ItYmkt9xffdpsO6NM8JIeTTDs/s200/kuzco+human.jpg" width="200" /></a><o:p> </o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUBLiQkgIwv9IWwbd5FL6MvB4W7irUPbub6iO8qUMZJ1JT4ylERYioimlWU2wct0JHxEHPEVNY9GlPI9EJpUDTjenAEZDsVwZNQ9rszsDJu3GXqZzbl9r8knYc8b70LUtivWYXH9nx0oz/s1600/pacha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUBLiQkgIwv9IWwbd5FL6MvB4W7irUPbub6iO8qUMZJ1JT4ylERYioimlWU2wct0JHxEHPEVNY9GlPI9EJpUDTjenAEZDsVwZNQ9rszsDJu3GXqZzbl9r8knYc8b70LUtivWYXH9nx0oz/s200/pacha.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyxxbgtm4u2YyQtEQ_Y6YVSSOs_41EXFk-NyF_aF2_3ij6FHnRpOrNQMe4Vy3plQ_t5gDknQmOQCsKb8ErP4ameh7P3E0fZSTf_GXDIApZukAacQvhfd8lkRSCD1rZxwTzjFi7xZLSaVrk/s1600/yzma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyxxbgtm4u2YyQtEQ_Y6YVSSOs_41EXFk-NyF_aF2_3ij6FHnRpOrNQMe4Vy3plQ_t5gDknQmOQCsKb8ErP4ameh7P3E0fZSTf_GXDIApZukAacQvhfd8lkRSCD1rZxwTzjFi7xZLSaVrk/s200/yzma.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Kuzco:
Voiced by David Spade. He’s a spoiled
ruler who wants to destroy a home to make way for his fancy vacation home and
gets turned into a llama. See? You love this movie already!</div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Pacha:
Voiced by John Goodman. He’s a farmer
whose house is in jeopardy of being destroyed and turned into Kuzco’s vacation
home. He has a snarky wife and a couple
of kids, with another on the way.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3piY2m9ZDGy8eyd_7FvYASmGsJcumTq7RwFKfLzOH1_JAiKF631PAPHky4dFAHXgK6XG8BArYhUFtnAwzVHcYu4CahVWNwUb1w182qbD9_MiUIL2bd15yj3-sYaipgOar2oKGnxTGWjBA/s1600/kronk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3piY2m9ZDGy8eyd_7FvYASmGsJcumTq7RwFKfLzOH1_JAiKF631PAPHky4dFAHXgK6XG8BArYhUFtnAwzVHcYu4CahVWNwUb1w182qbD9_MiUIL2bd15yj3-sYaipgOar2oKGnxTGWjBA/s200/kronk.jpg" width="171" /></a>Yzma:
Voiced by the delightful Eartha Kitt.
She’s a sorceress (?) and one of Kuzco’s advisors. Also eeeeeviiiil. She tries to kill Kuzco so she can be in
charge of the kingdom, but the potions got mixed up and she turns him into a
llama. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Kronk:
Voiced by Patrick Warburton. Kronk is
dumb as rocks, and probably the best thing about this movie. He is hilarious. He’s Yzma’s sidekick, but struggles with
doing the right thing. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
Rundown:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Kuzco
is a spoiled brat who rules a little South American kingdom. He treats his subjects with disdain, and only
cares about his best interests. Suffice
it to say, he is not what one would call a beloved ruler.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Pacha
comes to see him, and he tells him that he plans on demolishing his house to
make way for a vacation home. It’s the
prettiest spot in the kingdom, apparently.
Blah, blah, blah-you’re evicted, Kuzco is a jerk. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Yzma
plots to kill Kuzco and at dinner with him turns him into a llama because he fired her. Kronk messed up. So, she decides to throw him in the
river. But Kronk’s conscience and
stupidity get the better of him, and he winds up dumping Kuzco in Pacha’s wagon
as Pacha sadly makes his way home.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Upon
discovering that Kuzco is not a demon llama, but an enchanted one, he
determines that he needs to get him back to his palace. But not before begging him to reconsider the
vacation home. After some snark, Kuzco
heads out by himself. Inevitably, he
winds up cold, alone and miserable. He
has an incident with some creatures in the forest, and Pacha saves him! Cue the buddy pic! </div>
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<br /></div>
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Basically,
they have to get him back to the palace because Yzma is going to ruin the
kingdom if she rules it, and Yzma and Kronk are also out to get them. Their paths cross in a hilarious scene in a
diner, and then the race is really on.
There’s a “battle” of sorts, reminiscent of the wizard duel between Mad
Madam Mim and Merlin in <i>The Sword in the Stone</i>, where Kuzco and Yzma keep
drinking potions in the hopes to either turn human or destroy each other. Kuzco goes through a few animals, drinks the
llama potion, and says my favourite line ever: “Yay, I’m a llama again!”,
followed by his face falling. You really
have to see it to get it… Oh, <a href="http://2damnfunny.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Yay-Im-a-Llama-Again.gif" target="_blank">here</a>…</div>
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So,
eventually Kuzco turns human again, Yzma gets turned permanently into a
helpless kitten, Kronk runs the local chipmunks troop, and Pacha gets to keep
his house. Kuzco still gets his vacation
home, just on the hilltop <i>next</i> to Pacha’s house, and learns some very
important lessons. The end.</div>
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So,
this was a tough one for me to recap for y’all for some reason, probably
because there really isn’t much too it.
It’s a road trip buddy picture which is, plot wise, thoroughly
predictable. There’s no songs, save for
the opening and closing number, and it moves along at a pretty good clip. I also usually have the movie on while I
write, at least for inspiration, but for some reason, I couldn’t find the time
to do so this week, so… yeah, not my finest work here. Apologies to all!</div>
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So,
why is <i>this</i> movie listed as my one of my all-time faves? It is “experimental” Disney that <i>worked</i>. Not a lot of people appreciate this movie,
but I think it is a great step out of the box for them. At this point, Pixar was starting to rule the
animation department, and the fairy tale style was starting to slip. Then there was this weird little movie that
helped pave the way for something like <i>Lilo and Stitch</i>. For that, I am ever thankful. </div>
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It’s
funny – it has a lot of great one-liners that my friend Val and I randomly
quote to each other all the time. Out of
context, they make no sense whatsoever, but we think they’re <i>hilarious</i>. </div>
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I
also do have a bit of a personal attachment to this one – it was one of the
first movies I saw when I moved to <st1:place><st1:city>Pittsburgh</st1:city>, <st1:state>PA</st1:state></st1:place>,
and it’s one of the movies I bonded with my friend Val over. So, there is that, too.</div>
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But
overall, it’s just a fun movie that moves along at a great pace. David Spade and John Goodman play off of each
other beautifully, Eartha Kitt is brilliant, and Patrick Warburton is
perfection as Kronk. Who, by the way,
was the one who got the spin-off. </div>
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Stylistically,
it’s unique and interesting to look at, the uses of colour and shape are really
great. And musically? Well, like I said, there’s only one song at
the beginning and then reprised at the end.
But it’s sung by Tom Jones. Yeah,
<i>that</i> Tom Jones. Awesome.</div>
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I
say, if you haven’t seen this one, check it out. It’s a harmless movie, and a lot of fun.</div>
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That’s
a wrap! Up next: another “Val and
Bethie” movie! <o:p></o:p></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-54334398385300609182012-06-14T10:32:00.002-04:002012-06-14T10:32:53.368-04:00Mr. Holland's Opus<br />
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Happy
June! Since it is my birth month, I am
being self-indulgent and writing about all of my favourite movies. For some of the more well-known movies out
there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it is one of my
favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a wee little
bit of reflection. Not all of my
favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category –
but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
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#343:
<i>Mr. Holland’s Opus</i> (1995). Oh my,
I’ve been slacking! It was an “eventful”
weekend at work, which was exhausting.
So, I have a <i>lot</i> of catching up to do. Wheee!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Today’s
movie is <i>Mr. Holland’s Opus</i>. This
is essentially a love letter to music teachers everywhere. And since my most memorable (in a good way)
teachers have been, for the most part, music teachers, I love this movie. Every time I watch it, I want to be a teacher,
but then I remember how it ends and decide that I don’t want to put up with
that crap. And I am constantly grateful
for those who are willing to in order to help mold the minds of today’s youth.</div>
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OK,
so here are the main players:</div>
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Glenn
Holland: Played by Richard Dreyfuss. Mr.
Holland is a musician who, like all writers have a novel in their desk, has a
symphony on his piano. He takes a job as
a high school music teacher as a “fall-back”, and grows to love it.<br />
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Iris
Holland: Played by Glenne Headly. She is
Mr. Holland’s rock. She’s a
photographer, and supports her husband. She
is also a very dedicated mom.</div>
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Bill
Meister: Played by Jay Thomas. Bill is
the P.E. teacher/coach at the high school Mr. Holland teaches at. They become best friends, and he sticks by
Mr. Holland for thirty years. He loves
being a coach and teacher and truly cares about his students.<br />
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Principal
Jacobs: Played by <st1:city>Olympia</st1:city>
Dukakis. Principal Jacobs is a bit of a
hard-ass on Mr. Holland, but she genuinely cares about her students and pushes
Mr. Holland to be the best teacher he can be.
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Vice
Principal Wolters: Played by William H. Macy.
VP Wolters is kind of a jerk. He is
a stick in the mud old school administrator who fights Mr. Holland on
everything. He <i>sort of</i> comes
around at the end, but really, he’s a jerk.</div>
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The
Rundown:<o:p> </o:p></div>
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This
movie basically follows the career of a high school music teacher in <st1:place><st1:city>Portland</st1:city>,
<st1:state>Oregon</st1:state></st1:place> over thirty years, beginning in
1965. Glenn Holland does not want to be
a teacher, and it takes about half the school year before he hits his stride
and finds his footing, but then he becomes a dedicated, caring and successful
teacher. The movie goes along, stopping
at various points in his career to show the different relationships with
various students. There’s the shy
clarinet player who is terrible, but yearns to be good; the not-so-bright
wrestler who needs the grade to stay on the team that he teaches to play the
bass drum; the stoner that he convinces to get straight. There’s also the young high school senior
who, when he feels trapped in his life, serves as his muse and his last chance
to get out of his small town teaching life and do what he’s always wanted –
compose a great symphony. Of course, he
chooses the life he has over the life he <i>could</i> have.</div>
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The
film ends with the tragic cutting of the arts (everything – performing arts,
visual arts, you name it) to save the budget.
UGH, this is all too real. There
is a reason why Save the Music is around, people! Feeling that his whole career has been
meaningless, that he can just be tossed aside so casually, Mr. Holland moves
out of the music classroom he has occupied for thirty years. On his way out the door, he hears noise
coming from the auditorium. It is a
going away shindig in his honor. Former
students are there, faculty friends are there, current students are there. If you are prone to crying like I am, this is
where you bust out all the tissues you own.
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His
first student, the clarinet player, is now the Governor of the state, and makes
a speech about how much he influenced her, stating that the students that have
walked the halls of their high school are his symphony. I’m getting a little choked up just writing
this, y’all…</div>
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Then
a whole bunch of students past and present are revealed from behind the
curtain, and Mr. Holland leads them in the first-ever performance of the opus
he had been working on for the past thirty years. *SOOOOOOB!*</div>
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The
film also follows his personal life – the birth of his son, the discovery that
his son is def, and his decades-long depression over the fact that he thinks he
can’t share what he loves the most (music) with his son. They find a common ground, and develop a
relationship, and he finds a way to connect with his son.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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I
love this movie. I damn near cry several
times throughout, and always lose it at the end. More education administrators need to watch
this. And they need to stop cutting arts
budgets… OK, rant time:</div>
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I
was a horrendous student when I was in high school. I always thought I was stupid, because once
upon a time, I had a teacher that pretty much told me I was. But that’s a different story for a different
blog. Anyway, I grew up in a house of
music and movies and theatre. I wanted
to be an actress and a singer from a young age.
If there hadn’t been an arts program at my school, I would have been
completely lost. It was the only place I
excelled. It was the only area in which
I put in serious effort. All of my
closest friends were artists in some way or another. Even though I wasn’t a visual artist, I spent
most of my free time in the art room with them, attempting to create
something. And the art teachers
supported that. But my true love was
performing. As I got older, my
confidence in my performing skills waned, but I still love the arts, support
the arts, and see the need for them in school.
Is it any wonder our society is so culturally lacking? There is no appreciation for art in school,
why should it be appreciated outside of school?
Seriously. Students need creative
outlets and artistic expression. Stop
cutting our damn arts! Start taking
education seriously! OK, end of rant…</div>
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are a few lines that always stand out to me in this movie:</div>
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“A
teacher has two jobs; fill young minds with knowledge, yes, but more
important, give those minds a compass so that that knowledge doesn't go to
waste.” – Principal Jacobs to Mr. Holland while he is still trying to find his
footing as a teacher.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Well,
I guess you can cut the arts as much as you want, Gene. Sooner or later, these
kids aren't going to have anything to read or write about.” – Mr. Holland to VP
Wolters (who is now the Principal) about the budget cuts. Also? SO.FREAKING.TRUE.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Playing
music is supposed to be fun. It's about heart, it's about feelings, moving
people, and something beautiful, and it's not about notes on a page. I can
teach you notes on a page, I can't teach you that other stuff.” – Mr. Holland
to Gertrude Lang, the struggling clarinet player.</div>
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If
you love music, want to be a teacher, or both, then why exactly haven’t you
seen this movie? Even if you aren’t a
teacher or as passionate about music as some, this is still a feel-good movie,
and Richard Dreyfuss is spectacular in this role. After you watch this, make sure to track down
a teacher who meant something to you and thank them. Trust me: they remember you, and appreciate
it. So, I would like to offer a
shout-out to two of my favourite teachers: Ms. Woods, Hanover Middle/High
School Chorus teacher and Mrs. Johnson, Hanover School District Strings
teacher. Both had a profound influence
on my life, and every time I listen to classical music or open my mouth to
sing, they are both in my heart.</div>
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That’s
a wrap! Up next: quirky Disney.<o:p></o:p></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-34996085617194632752012-06-09T10:16:00.000-04:002012-06-09T10:16:11.651-04:00Beauty and the Beast<br />
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Happy
June! Since it is my birth month, I am
being self-indulgent and writing about all of my favourite movies. For some of the more well-known movies out
there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it is one of my
favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a wee little
bit of reflection. Not all of my
favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category –
but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
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#344:
<i>Beauty and the Beast</i> (1991). In
the late 1980s/early 1990s, Disney experienced what is known as their
Renaissance Period. It began when Disney
decided to stop fussing around with “experimental” (for them) stuff, and do
what they do best: fairy tales. Thus was
born <i>The Little Mermaid</i>, which will be showing up here at some point
this month. But following the success
off <i>The Little Mermaid</i>, the masterpiece <i>Beauty and the Beast</i> was
created. And it was <i>decades</i> in
the making, dating back to Walt’s heyday.
The original French fairy tale was basically Beauty and the Beast eating
dinner over and over, so trying to flesh that out proved to be a challenge for
some reason. Well, in the late 80s, the
stars aligned, the right minds were all in the right place at the right time,
and we got this spectacular near-prefect piece of art. Can you tell I <i>love</i> this movie? So, let’s get to it.</div>
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The
Players:</div>
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Belle:
Voiced by Paige O’Hara. Belle is
“quirky”. She (<i>gasp!</i>) reads a
lot, is curious, smart, and wants more than her small-town life. She is the first true Disney role model for
modern girls, which is why I think so many women adore her.<br />
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The
Beast: Voiced by Robby Benson. <i>Ice
Castles</i> Robby Benson. Didn’t know he
had it in him… The Beast is cursed because he was a spoiled jerk and refused an
old lady entrance into his massive castle for one night. He needs to find someone to love, and to love
him back, but he doesn’t understand what that really means. Until he meets Belle…</div>
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Maurice:
Voiced by Rex Everhart. Maurice is
Belle’s father. He’s an inventor, and
the town nutjob. He and Belle are very
close, and being a Daddy’s Girl myself, I relate to, and love their
relationship.<br />
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Gaston:
Voiced by Richard White. Gaston is our
villain. He’s big, strong, handsome, and
he knows it. He’s vain as can be, and
wants to marry Belle. Why? Because she’s the most beautiful girl in
their village, and he thinks they’ll make beautiful babies. <br />
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Lefou:
Voiced by Jesse Corti. He’s Gaston’s
lacky. Fairly harmless, a mini-bully in
training. </div>
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Lumiere:
Voiced by Jerry Orbach. Lumiere is an
enchanted candlestick, most likely the head butler before the castle was
enchanted. He is oh-so-French: all about
<i>amour</i> and fun. He’s loud and
enthusiastic, and a joy to watch. <br />
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Cogsworth:
Voiced by David Ogden Stiers, who is in pretty much every Disney animated from
the 1990s. And I love him in all of
them, especially this one. Cogsworth is
an enchanted clock, but I’m not really sure what his job in the castle
was? Anyway, he’s British, so basically
the opposite of Lumiere. <br />
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Mrs.
Potts & Chip: Voiced by Angela Lansbury and Bradley Pierce. Mrs. Potts is the heart of the castle. She is warm and sweet, a tea pot, most likely
head housekeeper back in the day. Chip
is her son, and he’s the “cutesie” character, and the least obnoxious of all
the “cutesie” characters Disney put out.
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So,
those are our main people, but I’m not giving a rundown because, really? Like I’ve said before, if you haven’t seen
this, or are at least familiar with this movie, then you’ve been living under a
sad, sad rock. </div>
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This
movie is very special to me. I can’t
really explain why, but it is affiliated with a lot of firsts for me. I wrote my first movie review for this when
it came out for an English class. I had
one of my first solos in eighth grade singing “Something There” with my then
crush. It was the first “traditional”
Broadway show I saw (having seen <i>Rent </i>and <st1:city><st1:place><i>Chicago</i></st1:place></st1:city>
prior, both fantastic, but this was old-schoool). I saw the Broadways show in the Palace
Theatre, starring Deborah Gibson.
Between the history of the Palace, the nostalgia of Debbie Gibson, and
the absolute beauty of the show, I cried non-stop throughout the first act. No lie.
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The
team of people who made this movie happened knew they had something special
when it premiered, <i>unfinished</i>, at the New York Film Festival. The film was at varying levels of completion,
including rough animation, and people were crying. <i>Crying</i> at <i>pencil drawings</i>. Which just goes to show you that if you have
a good story, strong characters, and good music, you don’t need all of the
movie trickery <st1:city>Hollywood</st1:city> is so
obsessed with these days. </div>
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I
know there has been a lot of analysis and criticism of this movie – Belle has
“Stockholm Syndrome”, the Beast is abusive, but really it is a beautiful story
about a woman who is strong-willed and beautiful inside and out, who touches
the heart of a beast, and transforms him through love. Which sounds cheesy, but is done quite
elegantly.</div>
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So,
the specifics that I love?</div>
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Belle. She is a lot like me, with the reading, and
the close relationship to her dad, and longing for more. And I know there are others out there who
relate to at least one of her qualities, which makes her truly universal, but
not obnoxiously so. It is so hard to
create a truly relatable character without it being in your face, and the
filmmakers have done a fantastic job.</div>
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The
Enchanted Objects. Usually the secondary
characters in Disney films are there for comic relief, and little more. But they are slightly tragic, in that they
are innocents who are enchanted as well.
<i>They</i> didn’t turn the enchantress away – the Prince did. They each have their own personalities, and
the voicework is stunning. Most people
remember the late great Jerry Orbach from his work on “Law and Order”, but to
me, he will always be Dr. Houseman from <i>Dirty Dancing</i>. He also had a long career in the theatre,
including shows like the long-running off-Broadway <i>The Fantasticks</i> and
the 1984 original Broadway production of <st1:street><st1:address><i>42<sup>nd</sup>
Street</i></st1:address></st1:street>.
He truly shines here with “Be Our Guest”, and he is a presence that is
greatly missed. David Ogden Stiers began
his long-running relationship with Disney here, improvising a few of his lines,
including the favourite “flowers, chocolates, <i>promises you don’t intend to
keep</i>”. The last part was all
him. Love it. And Angela Lansbury. Just perfect as Mrs. Potts. As much as I <i>adore</i> the Broadway
recording, there will only ever be one Mrs. Potts to me, and that is Angela
Lansbury. Also known primarily by modern
audiences for a long running television show, Lansbury has had a glorious film
and stage career, and is still kickin’ it after all these years. I know I say this about a lot of people, but
she is one of my role models, heores, and who I want to be when I grow up. No one sings the title song to this movie
like her. </div>
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Phew. OK, what else can I gush about? Oh, yes, my usual favourite: the music. From the people that brought us <i>Little
Shop of Horrors </i>and <i>The Little Mermaid</i>, Ashman and Menken. Really, I am so sad that Howard Ashman died
when he did. He still had so much to
give, and as much as I respect Tim Rice, he is no Howard Ashman. (For those not in the know, after Howard Ashman
passed away, Tim Rice stepped in for a couple of projects to write lyrics with
Menken. He has also worked with Andrew
Lloyd Webber). This is the most
“Broadway” of their films, so is it any wonder that it is the first Disney to
go to Broadway? So, what is my favourite
song? I love, love, <i>love</i> the
title song. I like them all, truly, but <i>Beauty
and the Beast</i> is so simple, the melody so pure and beautiful, combined with
Lansbury’s performance, and you have perfection right.there. Also, as much as I crap all over computer
technology, the use of it here was amazing – they were able to pretty much
create a set to sweep through with the computer. See, I don’t mind it as a tool, it’s when
it’s <i>overused</i> that it bugs me.
I’m just an old crank, it’s ok…</div>
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So,
real quick, because I’ve mentioned it a few times: the Broadway show:</div>
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Oh, how I long for them to make this into a
live action movie. There is more depth
and character development, especially for The Beast. Mostly because there is more time in a show than
in a 90-minute animated feature. The
songs that were added to the show really enhance everything – from Belle and
Maurice singing “No Matter What”, to Gaston’s hilarious “Me”, to “If I Can’t
Love Her” sung by the Beast, it is all wonderful. There is not one song I don’t like, which is
rare for me. The song “Human Again” was
originally written for the film, but had to be taken out for time
purposes. It found its way back into the
stage show, and then back into the film.
And I’m really glad, because it’s a fantastic song. If you ever have a chance, see the stage
production. It’s amazing.</div>
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Like
I’ve said, this movie means a lot to me.
It still resonates, and is still beloved by many. It is the first animated feature to ever be
nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. It truly is the Crown Jewel in the Disney
Animated Features department, and what they need to keep looking to for
inspiration and guidance if they want to keep it up and running. </div>
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That’s
a Wrap for Today! Tomorrow: something
featuring music that is <i>not</i> a musical! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-21859530652549797472012-06-08T10:13:00.002-04:002012-06-08T10:13:41.124-04:00Mary Poppins<br />
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Happy
June! Since it is my birth month, I am
being self-indulgent and writing about all of my favourite movies. For some of the more well-known movies out
there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it is one of my
favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a wee little
bit of reflection. Not all of my
favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category –
but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
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#345:
<i>Mary Poppins</i> (1964). So, this is
right up there with <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> when it comes to “Did you spend
your childhood under a rock?!” if you haven’t seen it, so I am going to go easy
on the plot stuff. Also, because I got
sidetracked with fixing the internet at our house after I broke it yesterday,
and just did my <i>Princess and the Frog</i> entry this morning, so I am a
little worn out. OK, so a refresher for
y’all re: the players:</div>
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Mary
Poppins: Played by Julie Andrews. She’s
the best nanny ever. She is strict but
loves her charges (even if she won’t admit it) and she is all magical. She’s kind of weird at times, but you can’t
help but adore her, and wish you’d had her as your own nanny growing up.<br />
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Bert:
Played by Dick Van Dyke. Bert is sort of
the guide through all of this, as he knows Mary Poppins and has witnessed her
magic before. He’s also Mr. Odd-Jobs,
starting off as a one man band in the park.
He also works as a chalk artist, a chimney sweep, and who knows what
else. He is charming, funny, and
handsome. Yeah, I said it. </div>
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Mr.
Banks: Played by David Thomlinson.
Thomlinson was featured in a few 1960s Disney live actions. Mr. Banks is a workaholic, who works at the
bank. He is a hands-off parent, who is
sick of his kids scaring off the nannys, so he decides they need someone firm
to keep the kids in line. He eventually
realizes that he needs to be a little more involved, but it is a long journey
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Mrs.
Banks: Played by Glynis Johns. She’s not
much better with regards to being involved in her children. She is a Suffragette, fighting for the rights
of women to vote and be considered people and whatnot. Awesome.
But the cause gets in the way of her parenting.<br />
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Jane
and Michael: Played by Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber. They, too, were in a lot of Disney flicks
throughout the ‘60s. They are kind of
bratty, but not too much. They just want
some attention. They want to play and be
kids. But when Mary Poppins shows up and
expects them to clean their room, Michael especially wants none of it. They really are sweet kids, though.<br />
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The
Housekeepers: Played by Reta Shaw and Hermione Baddeley, a.k.a. the resident
Disney Movie Maids. They fight like
crazy, are in charge of the kids when the nannies inevitably quit, and provide
some nice comic relief. </div>
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So,
ok, the current nanny at the Banks household has quit, they are in need of a
new nanny, Mary Poppins shows up, magic and brilliance ensues, Mr. Banks
realizes that he should try being a <i>parent</i>, and all’s right with the world. Again, if you haven’t seen this, <i>what is
wrong with you?!</i></div>
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So,
things that I love about this movie:</div>
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The
music. I know this is something I always
touch on in my posts, but I was raised in a home filled with movies and music,
so I tend to notice music in movies. Anyway,
the score and songs are Sherman Brothers, and at their finest. The Sherman Brothers wrote most of the music
featured in the classic Disney films.
This is probably their best work.
A few of my faves from this movie:</div>
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The
Perfect Nanny. See, Jane and Michael
really aren’t little brats, they’re just kids who need a little TLC. It’s really sweet, and I love that Jane is
kind of off-key. It adds some realism.</div>
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Chim Chim
Cheree. This is one I grew into. I didn’t like it much when I was a kid, but
can appreciate it much better now. It is
the running theme, too, used a lot throughout the movie.</div>
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I
Love to Laugh. Ed Wynn. You can’t beat that. So.much.fun!</div>
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Step
in Time. I love this because I <i>adore</i> Dick Van Dyke, and it is so much fun! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Feed the Birds. This was Walt’s favourite song ever written
for one of his movies, and is it any wonder?
The Sherman Brothers outdid themselves with this song, and it still moves
me to this day. When you combine it with
the visuals of the Bird Lady on the Cathedral steps… just. Wow.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Julie Andrews. She is perfection in this role. This came out the same year as <i>My Fair Lady</i>, in which she was passed over for the lead role in favor of Audrey
Hepburn. Well, she showed them when she
took home the Oscar for <i>Mary
Poppins</i>. She truly captures the proper yet playful
nature of Mary Poppins. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Dick Van Dyke. I adore him.
He is so great in this movie, as he guides us through the story. He’s goofy, but makes some good points, especially
in the end when he has a man to man talk with Mr. Banks about what it means to
be a good father. Ultimately, it is Bert
who brings Mr. Banks around, not Mary Poppins, which is pretty cool.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The effects.
Peter Ellenshaw and Ub Iwerks threw every innovation in filmmaking they
had into this movie. It is widely
considered the culmination of everything Disney wanted to achieve up to that
point, and I agree. The beautiful matte
paintings are whimsical, yet realistic enough to keep you in the story. They used animation, animatronics, had people
floating on ceilings, jumping into chalk paintings, everything. And it all was done flawlessly. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The cinematography. Cinematographers have a pretty thankless
job. So, I want to give a shout-out to
cinematographers everywhere, because they are responsible for the overall look
of a film. This looks beautiful and
fanciful, but has enough realism to make it float. <o:p></o:p></div>
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What could be better? Honestly.
I have no clue. This is as damn
close to perfect as you get. Sure, some
of the effects (mostly the fireworks at the end) are a little off, but mostly
it works because it is a childhood fantasy story. </div>
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Oh, and because it should be addressed: Dick
Van Dyke’s, um, “accent”. It comes and
goes, and is sometimes Cockney when it’s there.
It’s ok, he knows it’s crappy, too, and in fact mocks himself on the DVD
commentary, so just go with it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, I guess it’s a little nit-picky, but
that’s all I got. Because this movie is
just that great!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Really, if you haven’t seen this movie, you
need to. It is delightful and pure
fantasy, but it has some really deep stuff, too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s a wrap for today! Tomorrow… wow, I really love me some Disney,
eh? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-31530198865373657522012-06-08T09:05:00.000-04:002012-06-08T09:05:49.830-04:00The Princess and the Frog<br />
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Happy
June! Since it is my birth month, I am
being self-indulgent and writing about all of my favourite movies. For some of the more well-known movies out
there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it is one of my
favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a wee little
bit of reflection. Not all of my
favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category –
but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
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#346:
<i>The Princess and the Frog</i> (2009).
I love this movie. So very, very
much. So, let’s get to it.</div>
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The
Players:</div>
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Tiana:
Voiced by Anika Noni Rose. Tiana is hard
working, to a fault. She has spent her
life working towards the dream her and her father shared of opening a
restaurant, forgoing all fun and games and any kind of a social life. She is a poor African American living in <st1:city>New
Orleans</st1:city>, but keeps positive and focused on her dream.<br />
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Prince
Naveen: Voiced by Bruno Campos. Prince
Naveen has just been cut off from his money, and is in <st1:city>New
Orleans</st1:city> to get married so he can be back in the
cash. He’s a playboy, who is more
interested in playing his ukulele and wooing the ladies than he is being a
Prince.</div>
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Charlotte
“Lottie” La Bouff: Voiced by Jennifer Cody.
<st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city> is a rich, blonde,
Prince-wantin’ white girl from the “fancy” side of <st1:city>New
Orleans</st1:city>. She is
also really sweet, and Tiana’s best friend since childhood.<br />
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Eudora:
Voiced by Oprah Winfrey. Eudora is
Tiana’s mother, who wants all of Tiana’s dreams to come true, but not at the
expense of her happiness. She doesn’t
want Tiana to miss out on love.</div>
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Dr.
Facilier, a.k.a. “The Shadow Man”: Voiced by Keith David. The Shadow Man is the villain. He practices some nasty Voodoo, and owes his
“friends on the other side”… something?
Power? The souls of <st1:city>New
Orleans</st1:city>?
They’re never quite clear on that.
But he is bad news, y’all. <br />
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Lawrence:
Voiced by Peter Bartlett. <st1:city>Lawrence</st1:city>
is Naveen’s manservant, and boy is he sick of it! He takes sides with The Shadow Man. <br />
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‘Big
Daddy’ La Bouff: Voiced by John Goodman.
Lottie’s father, also one of the richest men in <st1:city>New
Orleans</st1:city>. He
spoils his daughter, but has a good heart.
He appears to be the main target of Dr. Facilier, so he must be a big
deal.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_e-xPBxS23OQU1mcfkaNYoQ3inYy5KRzIkMj3l6Dl8AQ2UexGhQX-bthKCDNwu1AIsmIIr9n1yU9XPxamAin8xepuG-fC6uteqX9l1YtdxbL9o1UZtliMqzx9yo7O9ym_snwE-wakcTc1/s1600/louis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_e-xPBxS23OQU1mcfkaNYoQ3inYy5KRzIkMj3l6Dl8AQ2UexGhQX-bthKCDNwu1AIsmIIr9n1yU9XPxamAin8xepuG-fC6uteqX9l1YtdxbL9o1UZtliMqzx9yo7O9ym_snwE-wakcTc1/s200/louis.jpg" width="175" /></a><o:p> </o:p></div>
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Louis:
Voiced by Michael-Leon Wooley. Louis is
an alligator who lives in the Bayou. He
plays the trumpet, and longs to be a professional trumpet player. He’s also not so bright, but extremely
lovable.</div>
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Ray:
Voiced by Jim Cummings. Ray is a Cajun
firefly who lives in the Bayou, and he is made of <i>awesome</i>. He helps Tiana and Naveen find Mama Odie, the
Voodoo Priestess, and true love. <br />
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Mama
Odie: Voiced by Jennifer Lewis. Mama
Odie is a Voodoo Priestess living in the Bayou.
She’s quirky and has a very weird relationship with her pet snake, but
she knows her stuff. She also gets one
of the best songs, but I’ll get to those in a minute…<br />
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OK,
that’s pretty much everyone involved.
The story:</div>
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The
story is pretty simple, and yet not.
There is actually a lot going on, too much some would argue, which is
the main issue with this movie. But ya
know what? I don’t care. Again, I love this movie. So, let’s go!</div>
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It
opens with Eudora reading the story of the “Frog Prince” to adorable little
Charlotte and Tiana while she finishes making a princess dress for <st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city>. <st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city>
is completely enraptured by the story, while Tiana is a little interested. When it gets to the part about the princess
kissing the frog, <st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city> is all
mooney, and Tiana is grossed out. You
go, girl. </div>
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‘Big
Daddy’ gets home, and I guess he’s a widower, because he instantly starts in on
spoiling <st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city> by ordering <i>another</i>
princess dress from “<st1:city>New Orleans</st1:city>
finest seamstress”, Eudora. She is happy
to oblige because, hey, easy money! This
scene sets up nicely <i>why</i> Charlotte and Tiana are friends. No doubt Tiana and her mother come over,
like, every other day to make dresses.</div>
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So,
while <st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city> gets a puppy, Tiana
and Eudora head home. They hop on the
trolley car and ride from the fancy neighborhood (Garden District? That pretty area down by Tulane?) as the
scenery dissolves into a row of identical wooden shacks. This is where Tiana, her mom, and her dad
live. Tiana is super excited to see her
daddy, and to cook gumbo with him for her family. OMG, y’all.
Growing up, I loved to cook with my dad.
Still do. He’s pretty much the
only person I can tolerate in a kitchen with me. I am Tiana.</div>
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*Ahem*,
sorry. Off of me, back to the movie…
Anyway, Tiana’s gumbo is the best gumbo in the world, and her and her father
are going to open a restaurant someday. </div>
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Having
heard about wishing on stars from <st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city>,
Tiana decides to give it a try, wishing for her restaurant. A frog is on her windowsill, croaks loudly at
her, and she runs in fear. Fade to title
and about ten years later. A now-grown
Tiana has arrived home from a long, sad night of waitressing. She puts her tips in her restaurant fund, and
flops on the bed. For about ten seconds
before the alarm goes off. Up she gets,
changes out uniforms and heads to another restaurant for another long day of
waitressing. Damn, girl. </div>
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We <i>finally</i>
get our first song! “Down in <st1:city>New
Orleans</st1:city>”, which is so.<i>good</i>! I am one of the few people who actually feels
that one of the best things about this movie is the music. I love me some New Orleans Dixieland Jazz and
Cajun/Zydeco music. For reals. Anyway, the song lays out a few things. First, it gives us a feel for the setting – <st1:city>New
Orleans</st1:city>. More
about my love of NOLA later. But it
really captures the feel of the city. It
introduces the prince as he arrives, and shows us that <st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city>
is still around, and still on the hunt for a prince as she giddily clutches a
newspaper article about Prince Naveen. It
ends with Tiana at her job, being the waitress all waitresses both loathe and
aspire to be. She also makes kickin’
beignets. Do they rival Café Du
Monde? Because those are HEAVEN! Also, side note: if this movie is anyone’s
first/only experience with NOLA, they would assume that all anyone eats down
there is gumbo and beignets… which… *sigh* that’s fair, I guess. It’s all I ate when I was down there last…</div>
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So,
anyway, after some friends come in and invite Tiana to go dancing, she
declines. She’s gotta work. </div>
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In
blows Lottie and Big Daddy. She is
suuuper excited about something, and <i>hilarious</i>. She keeps cutting off Big Daddy, who finally
shuts her up by shoving a beignet in her mouth.
Ha! Looks like Prince Naveen of
Maldonia is not only visiting, but will be staying at her house for Mardi
Gras! She’s gonna marry herself a
prince! She asks Tiana if she could come
and make beignets at the party, since the way to a man’s heart is through his
stomach and all. She offers Tiana a
whole lotta cash, which will be just enough for the down payment on her restaurant. She’s in!</div>
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Tiana
goes to see the realty dudes, and they make arrangements to bring the paperwork
to the party that night. The place she’s
buying is an old sugar mill, and it has a ton of potential. Her mom comes down with her dad’s old gumbo
pot (aww!) to celebrate. Eudora stresses
that while this is all well and good, she needs to slow down a little and
remember that family, friends, a <i>life</i> is important, too. Tiana sings that she doesn’t have time for
all that – she’s “Almost There”, as in <i>thisclose</i> to her dream. I love this song, mostly for the
visuals. So. Cool.</div>
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Meanwhile…
Man, I am barely through this! OK, the
more complex stuff kinda out of the way, I’m gonna rip through this, otherwise
this will be the longest post <i>ever</i>.</div>
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So,
meanwhile, Prince Naveen is all about the fun, Lawrence is all about being a
stick in the mud, we learn that Naveen is broke because his parents cut him off
until he marries and/or learns some responsibility. The Shadow Man lurks and pounces. He knows the prince is staying with the La
Bouffs, so he manipulates them. He sings
about his “Friends on the Other Side” (awesome), and through Voodoo, turns the
prince into a frog, and Lawrence into the prince.</div>
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Party:
Beignets are kicking butt, <st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city>
is freaking out because the prince isn’t there yet, and Tiana gets put back in
her place by the realty assholes. They
tell her someone outbid her, and unless she can match their offer and pay <i>in
full</i> by Wednesday, she loses the restaurant. UGH.
They are real jerks about it, too, making comments that a woman of “her
standing” should be proud to have <i>almost</i> made her dreams come true. Assholes. </div>
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So,
somehow the beignet table flips on Tiana, and she has to change. <st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city>
gives her a princess costume (the party is a costume ball), and heads down to
dance with her prince, who has just shown up.
Sounding a lot of like <st1:city>Lawrence</st1:city>…</div>
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Tiana
is devastated about her restaurant, wishes on the star, and Naveen
appears. She makes a crack about having
to kiss a frog, he tells her “kissing would be nice”, she freaks out, he
promises if she kisses him, when he turns human, he’ll give her money for her
restaurant, she agrees. She kisses him,
and… Tiana turns into a frog, too.
Ooops! Naveen is confused. If she’s a princess, she should have broken
the spell. But no, she’s a
waitress. Which he points out all the
time as an insult. Side note: I once
read in a book that a survey was done and an overwhelming majority of men would
rather have their girlfriend be a stripper/exotic dancer than a waitress. Why is that such a bad thing? As a former waitress, this kind of bugs. Anyhoo!</div>
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They
wind up in the Bayou, and meet Louis. He
agrees to take them to Mama Odie, and in their <i>Wizard of Oz</i> “Off to see
the Wizard” moment, they sail on down the Bayou, singing about being human
again (also, very <i>Beauty and the
Beast</i>). Wacky highjinks with some Cajun redneck frog
catchers, and somehow Tiana and Naveen’s tongues get all wrapped up around each
other. Enter the best character in this
entire film: Ray, the firefly. He is so
Cajun, and I freaking love it. I could
listen to him talk all day. He gets them
untangled, and offers to show them the way to Mama Odie’s, since Louis had them
going the wrong way. He enlists his
firefly family to light the way (so pretty!) and sings “Gonna take you
There”. Love.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Some bonding between Naveen and Tiana, a
love song about Evangeline, Ray’s “firefly” star girlfriend (so sweet!), and
they finally arrive at Mama Odie’s.
After chiding Naveen for messin’ with the Shadow Man, she tells them
that they might <i>think</i> they know what they want or need, but they
gotta “Dig a Little Deeper”. Love, love,
love this song.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, they realize that since it’s Mardi Gras,
and Big Daddy is the Mardi Gras King, that makes Lottie a princess until <st1:time hour="0" minute="0">midnight</st1:time>! She
can break the spell! They hop a river
boat, and since it’s Mardi Gras, the people in the band on the boat assume
Louis is just in an awesome costume. He
gets to play with them. Aww! So, Naveen has realized that he loves Tiana,
he tries to propose, but fumbles it beautifully. Then, he gets kidnapped by the Shadow…
Dudes? They’ve been following them since
the Bayou, by the way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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They get to Mardi Gras, which… I call totall
bullshit. They would be squished as soon
as they landed. Even in the 1920s, when
this movie is set, Mardi Gras was <i>insane</i>.
But, it’s a Disney fairytale, so I’ll go with it. They find Big Daddy’s float, with… Lottie and
Naveen getting married! Oh no! But… how is that possible, asks Ray? Tiana has already hopped off to one of the
cemeteries and blows up at Ray, telling him that his girlfriend is just a star,
and he should stop believing in such silly things. Awww… poor Ray. He goes off to save the day again! <o:p></o:p></div>
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He finds Naveen in a box, gets him out,
ruining the wedding, and <st1:city>Lawrence</st1:city> goes to hide in St. Francis Cathedral, as he is turning back into
himself because the Voodoo’s wearing off.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Meanwhile, Dr. Facilier has caught up with
Tiana, and Ray tries to help fight him off, but he gets squished. <i>WHAT
THE HELL, DISNEY?!</i> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The Shadow Man tries to entice Tiana with
her dream restaurant, if she’ll just give back the amulet that holds the power
(read: Naveen’s blood). He’ll turn her
human again, and she can have her restaurant.
Tiana, having realized that she loves Naveen, decides that love is more
important, and smashes the amulet. This
pisses off the Friends from the Other Side, and they oh-so-creepily take Dr.
Facilier and drag him to the other side with them. Awesome.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So, Tiana catches up with Naveen and
Charlotte (who has discovered what’s actually going on) and <st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city> has agreed to kiss Naveen if it means
getting married. But Naveen tells her
that she has to give Tiana the money for her restaurant. Awww.
Tiana tells them to stop this nonsense, because her restaurant without
Naveen isn’t worth it. <st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city> realizes that Tiana has found true love,
and doesn’t want to get in True Love’s way, so she agrees to kiss Naveen, “no
marriage required!” Double awww! <st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city> is so cool.
But it’s too late, as the clock at St. Francis rings <st1:time hour="0" minute="0">midnight</st1:time>! She
frantically kisses Naveen, but to no avail… looks like Tiana and Naveen are
moving to the Bayou! But not before it
is discovered that Ray was, indeed, killed.
Did Joss Whedon have a hand in this script? Damn.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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There’s a funeral for Ray down at the Bayou,
and once his body is floated out on the river, a new star appears next to
Evangeline, one point touching hers.
Awwwww, Ray is with Evangeline!
Love!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZnTg80ymq8E1cP4tgVNeDiBO42amk6cu7cAiANUh0SlxR7bzaSXsdPtkdd_goS9qCVDWJj6d0gn1fXdglqNNjJN6bS5sJm7w55u9K_06mTw310T8H7Wne9XgXE6xdVyuXdY_tQPcKBuqh/s1600/Ray+and+Evangeline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZnTg80ymq8E1cP4tgVNeDiBO42amk6cu7cAiANUh0SlxR7bzaSXsdPtkdd_goS9qCVDWJj6d0gn1fXdglqNNjJN6bS5sJm7w55u9K_06mTw310T8H7Wne9XgXE6xdVyuXdY_tQPcKBuqh/s200/Ray+and+Evangeline.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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So, Naveen and Tiana are having a Bayou wedding,
with Mama Odie presiding. The scene is <i>beyond stunning</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So, of course, when they are pronounced frog
and wife (hee!), and he kisses her, magic happens a la <i>Beauty and the Beast</i>, and they are transformed back into
humans. Because once Naveen married
Tiana, she became a princess. I love
that, because I never really thought of it throughout the movie! Nice one, Disney! But I’m still mad that you killed off Ray,
even if he is in the sky with his beloved for all eternity…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So, Naveen and Tiana get married again (I
doubt the frog wedding was legal) in St. Francis Cathedral, and get to it
building the restaurant together. There
is a fantastic reprise of “Down in <st1:city>New Orleans</st1:city>” sung by Tiana, and we see her beautiful
restaurant just as she imagined it, Louis is playing with the band, and her and
Naveen are super happy and in love. <st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city> is happy for her best friend, but is still
on the hunt for a prince to marry. And…
The End.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Phew!
See? Lots going on here, and I
didn’t even hit all of it. So, real
quick: what could have been better:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
There really is so much going on, that
everything feels a little rushed. Tiana
and Naveen fall in love, but we don’t see enough of it to really buy it. Although, this is a Disney fairytale, and
usually it’s a love at first sight thing with them, anyway, so at least they
grew towards it a little. But still,
some more character development would have been nice. And could have happened if it weren’t for…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The freaking frog catchers. I get it.
They needed some comic relief for the kids who at this point are little
antsy, I’m sure. But the scene went on
way too long, wasn’t really that funny, and the time could have been better
spent on developing the relationship between Naveen and Tiana. and I realized that I put the scene in the wrong place in my recap, but can't be bothered to fix it. It's that unimportant...<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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What I love:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The fact that this is a modern fairytale set
in 1920s New <st1:city>Orleans</st1:city>.
This movie is what made me fall in love with the city, and the first
time I visited, I had the opening song stuck in my head the whole time. There are some geographical errors, and like
I said, Mardi Gras is <i>insane</i>, but the spirit of the city is
captured. I’ve been down there twice
now, and can’t wait to go back. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<st1:city>Charlotte</st1:city>. She
had so much potential to be completely stuck up and snotty, but she is really
sweet and just so bubbly and funny. She
is a great character, and the fact that she is still best friends with Tiana
when they grew up is really cool. She
could have totally grown up to be a major bitch, but she didn’t. Jennifer Cody really straddled the
line of adorable and annoying just right.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Ray. He’s just so much fun, and like I said, I
could listen to that Cajun accent all day long.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
literary references. There are the
obvious Tennessee Williams references (the La Bouff’s have a dog named Stella,
“Big Daddy”), but there is also a nod to Longfellow with Evangeline, and some
other subtle ones. Nicely done.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
visuals. This movie is <i>gorgeous</i>. The layout artists outdid themselves here,
especially in the Bayou. The colour
palette is spot on, and really this is just a beautiful film to look at. And I love, love, <i>love</i> that this was a
return to the 2D, traditional hand-drawn animation style. We need more of that, please!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
music. As I said, I really love the
music in this, even though some would argue that this is a weak spot. Not everyone likes this style, and while
there aren’t any “Broadway” style numbers, the music fits perfectly with the
time and place of the film. And the
actors nail every song. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
If
you haven’t seen this, you really should.
It isn’t perfect, but it’s still delightful.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/FXG-14H2m7A?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
That’s
a Wrap! Up next: a little more Disney
magic…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-64124310704357274252012-06-06T08:51:00.001-04:002012-06-06T08:51:36.215-04:00Bring It On<br />
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Happy
June! Since it is my birth month, I am
being self-indulgent and writing about all of my favourite movies. For some of the more well-known movies out
there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it is one of my
favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a wee little
bit of reflection. Not all of my
favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category –
but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
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Oh, and
from this post out, the movies are pretty much at random. The first three were my three all-time
absolute faves. After that, it’s just
movies I really, really love. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndo_QUaDroYKB-O-Np316nzuZj6Q3zZ62FkGN5SEALYx3cFzuDEAWRa4id69BlIg6-VoUfoFmNGDZbHHNnJLerNyGAPXKBkCmvci77jm3InF6l52NYokxh-rydCQl5en0i7L_bSlDJXq_/s1600/poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndo_QUaDroYKB-O-Np316nzuZj6Q3zZ62FkGN5SEALYx3cFzuDEAWRa4id69BlIg6-VoUfoFmNGDZbHHNnJLerNyGAPXKBkCmvci77jm3InF6l52NYokxh-rydCQl5en0i7L_bSlDJXq_/s320/poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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#347:
<i>Bring It On</i> (2000). OK, there is
not much plot-wise going on here, let’s be real. It’s the story about a cheerleading squad (the
Rancho Carne Toros) who always wins all of the competitions, but their world
comes crashing down when it is revealed to them that a team in <st1:city>Compton</st1:city>
is actually the source (stolen, of course) for their winning cheers. After a few embarrassing steps along the way
where they screw up royally, they decide it’s time to come up with something
new and exciting for the national competition.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
too-small counter story is that of the Clovers, the <st1:city>Compton</st1:city>
team. There were originally more scenes
with them, but then this would have been an epic, and few people want an epic
about cheerleaders. But they are proud,
and going to nationals for the first time, and want to kick the Toro’s
asses. Can you blame them?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
There’s
the love story between <st1:city>Torrance</st1:city>,
the captain of the Toros, and Cliff, their newest team member’s brother. He’s one of the best things in this movie,
truth be told. He’s sexy, into classic
punk, and wrote her a song. Sign me up!</div>
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<br /></div>
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They
go to nationals and compete against the Clovers, and the Clovers win, with the
Toros taking second place. But they came
by it honestly, and really, it’s still a hell of an achievement, so they’re
pretty psyched. Aww, they learned
something!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Wow,
I’m all kinds of backwards today, eh?
So, now that I’ve given you the rundown, here are some of the key
players:</div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGtv6B20zZRI1kkYCabLG3a5d9C6jeD5HKeSs7Iyjk1bkFSNoth6585VZjnyNDkDTcKP36rsXH1lcFyuYR9MmgxN7Qj8HJVVrcV0unpDxSH1FijoQbtWqGVqMXmWKyqSRm6dPvxzHbNOCV/s1600/kirsten+dunst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGtv6B20zZRI1kkYCabLG3a5d9C6jeD5HKeSs7Iyjk1bkFSNoth6585VZjnyNDkDTcKP36rsXH1lcFyuYR9MmgxN7Qj8HJVVrcV0unpDxSH1FijoQbtWqGVqMXmWKyqSRm6dPvxzHbNOCV/s200/kirsten+dunst.jpg" width="149" /></a><st1:city></st1:city></div>
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<st1:city><br /></st1:city></div>
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<st1:city><br /></st1:city></div>
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<st1:city><br /></st1:city></div>
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<st1:city><br /></st1:city></div>
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<st1:city><br /></st1:city></div>
Torrance:
Played by Kirsten Dunst. She’s a little
neurotic, and totally adorable.
Although, Kirsten Dunst overdoes it a little, and has a tendency to do
so in a lot of her movies (really, she peaked with <i>Interview with the
Vampire</i>, in my opinion). But you
still feel for her, she has a lot on her plate.<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9O41y2Vp-_lXkw5dbWVAisx9NhFKX3wNe_TD9o891qUv6qHVpeeki_vvHskgfZ9_26b_XPLlHBv81NvhrKRGtA8esoRjgblGhRoCKStFMr-scOJIugxlHjhBQzDtTbrKqfCCYHSltCmgV/s1600/eliza+dushku.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9O41y2Vp-_lXkw5dbWVAisx9NhFKX3wNe_TD9o891qUv6qHVpeeki_vvHskgfZ9_26b_XPLlHBv81NvhrKRGtA8esoRjgblGhRoCKStFMr-scOJIugxlHjhBQzDtTbrKqfCCYHSltCmgV/s200/eliza+dushku.jpg" width="153" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
Missy:
Played by Eliza Dushku. She’s the newest
team member on the squad (after <st1:city>Torrance</st1:city>
put someone in the hospital on her first day as captain). She’s a hardcore gymnast, and is looking for
an outlet, as there is no gymnastics team at the school. She’s the one who brings light to the fact
that the Toros have been using stolen cheers.<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnMAPDYKntSiarGgTA68UcBju31ukJ-59tK9hqSYBrlAv7WNzauU9_gXa4jGfvYXb6KuQFq3r3Bx9vleZVdy80plYD3_IHZJpOtsJJJd8e9ZCyjhx74vLTPV3y_c2aoa0m757itj0Fsrt/s1600/jesse+bradford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnMAPDYKntSiarGgTA68UcBju31ukJ-59tK9hqSYBrlAv7WNzauU9_gXa4jGfvYXb6KuQFq3r3Bx9vleZVdy80plYD3_IHZJpOtsJJJd8e9ZCyjhx74vLTPV3y_c2aoa0m757itj0Fsrt/s200/jesse+bradford.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
Cliff:
Played by Jesse Bradford. Missy’s
brother, <st1:city>Torrance</st1:city>’s love interest,
and my man-candy. YUM.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cIA7143XtQckAnGjLYZs0TAn7ucNZFJ9lmW5ds4tR6bmKj_76V_gcJOrd3pF-gwMWIx28pKahV8EfeDByrgBovv8knImIWkbZJ6803NKsTgERpnO2igb15WbzE87boPwasAsnvKErEGx/s1600/gabrielle+union.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cIA7143XtQckAnGjLYZs0TAn7ucNZFJ9lmW5ds4tR6bmKj_76V_gcJOrd3pF-gwMWIx28pKahV8EfeDByrgBovv8knImIWkbZJ6803NKsTgERpnO2igb15WbzE87boPwasAsnvKErEGx/s200/gabrielle+union.jpg" width="138" /></a><st1:place></st1:place></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<st1:place><br /></st1:place></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<st1:place><br /></st1:place></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<st1:place><br /></st1:place></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<st1:place><br /></st1:place></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<st1:place><br /></st1:place></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<st1:place><br /></st1:place></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<st1:place><br /></st1:place></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<st1:place><br /></st1:place></div>
Isis:
Played by Gabrielle Union. She’s the
captain of the Clovers, and honestly, even though she’s super classy and calm,
pretty sure I don’t want to run into her in a dark ally. She’s got that smile with a knife behind her
back look… But she’s a great leader, and is determined to show the world what
her team can do. <br />
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Sparky
Polastry: Played by Ian Roberts. When
the Toros turn desperate for a new routine, they hire this guy to
choreograph. And he is <i>hilarious</i>. He has one sequence, and it is the best in
the whole movie. True story: I was
watching this with a friend, and at one point, I laughed so hard, I choked on
the ice cream I was eating and puked. <i>He
makes me laugh so hard I vomited</i>.
Seriously. Awesome.</div>
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Then
there’s all the cheerleaders, many of whom have appeared on “Buffy the Vampire
Slayer” at one point or another. Most
featured are Whitney and Courtney (played by “Buffy”<i> </i>alums Nicole
Bilderback and Clare Kramer, respectively) and the dudes, Jan and Les (Nathan
West and Huntley Ritter, respectively).
Also featured on the Toros is newcomer Kasey (played by Rini Bell, who
went on to play the fantastic Lulu on “Gilmore girls”) and Darcy, who’s father
is apparently very rich and pays for a lot of stuff, and also likes to use her
SAT words a lot (played by Tsianina Joelson). </div>
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On
the Clovers team, there are only three featured cheerleaders: Lava, Jenelope,
and Lafred. They are played by singing
group Blaque (Shamari Fears, Natina Reed, and Brandi Williams,
respectively). They are kind of
annoying. I seriously
wish they had given a little more equal time to the Clovers, though. </div>
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OK,
so <i>why</i> is this one of my favourite movies? There are so many things wrong with it: the
timeline – both <st1:city>Torrance</st1:city>’s
soon-to-be-ex and the former captain are present on the first day of high
school, but shouldn’t they already be in college? College usually starts <i>before</i> high
school, unless they do things totally differently in <st1:state>California</st1:state>. And why didn’t they name the new captain at
the end of the prior school year, giving <st1:city>Torrance</st1:city>
some time to prepare? Oh, and <i>where
the hell is their coach/advisor?!</i>
Every high school cheering team, especially the ones who go to competitions,
have a coach and/or advisor. </div>
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And
yet… I can’t help it. This movie is
harmless, it makes me smile and laugh, there’s decent man-candy as well as
lady-sweets, and the cheer routines (save for Sparky’s routine from Hell) are
fucking amazing. It gives a fun look at
the world of competitive cheerleading, and I love that the Toros earn second
place at the end. It’s much more
satisfying than if they had taken first.
The two captains eventually understand each other, and you can totally
see them co-coaching someday. <i>That</i>
should have been one of the sequels!</div>
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This
is a slightly anemic post, but then again, so is this movie. It has its flaws, but it really is just so
much fun, if you haven’t seen it (and… again, really?) you really should. </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/1sAsa9PMicc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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That’s
a wrap for today! Tomorrow, something
animated!<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-22294344029261398912012-06-05T23:19:00.000-04:002012-06-05T23:22:08.989-04:00Seven Brides for Seven Brothers<br />
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Happy June! Since it
is my birth month, I am being self-indulgent and writing about all of my
favourite movies. For some of the more
well-known movies out there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it
is one of my favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a
wee little bit of reflection. Not all of
my favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category
– but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
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Oh, and from this post out, the movies are pretty much at
random. The first three were my three
all-time absolute faves. After that,
it’s just movies I really, really love. </div>
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<br />
<span style="text-align: justify;">#348:
</span><i style="text-align: justify;">Seven Brides for Seven Brothers </i><span style="text-align: justify;">(1954) Thank God for unapologetically
sexist movies. And I mean that
sincerely. If this movie had been made
today… wait, what am I saying? This
movie would </span><i style="text-align: justify;">never</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> be made today.
Feminist groups would kill it before it even began. But, I </span><i style="text-align: justify;">adore</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> this movie, and never
subscribed to the modern feminist ideology, so here we go!</span><br />
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The
players:</div>
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Adam
Pontipee: Played by Howard Keel. Adam is
the patriarchal role model for his six brothers. He lives in the mountains in a cabin with
them, and might be a little on the brutish side, but is secretly a romantic at
heart. Even if he won’t admit it.<br />
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Millie:
Played by Jane Powell. Millie falls in
love with Adam at first sight, and marries him.
She’s beautiful, but tough as nails, and doesn’t take crap from Adam or
his brothers. You go, girl.</div>
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Gideon
Pontipee: Played by Russ Tamblyn. Gideon
is the youngest of the brothers, and has the main subplot. He is truly a romantic and wears his heart on
his sleeve. He also hangs the moon on
Adam, but eventually learns to hold his own against him.</div>
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<st1:city><br /></st1:city></div>
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<st1:city><br /></st1:city></div>
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<st1:city><br /></st1:city></div>
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<st1:city><br /></st1:city></div>
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<st1:city><br /></st1:city></div>
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<st1:city><br /></st1:city></div>
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<st1:city>Alice</st1:city>:
Played by Nancy Kilgas. She is Millie’s
best friend, and falls in love with Gideon.
She’s sweet and romantic. And
yeah. That’s about it.</div>
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Really,
those are the main players. The rest are
the brothers (each have their own distinct personalities):</div>
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Benjamin,
played by Jeff Richards; Caleb, played by Mat Mattox; Daniel, played by Marc
Platt; Ephraim, played by Jacques d’Amboise; and Frank played by Tommy Rall.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9eTA3GkoHbOuCw_DIZ_AL_U-9sg6VB7IF7gNZfFwPXw1E_stt-U14kyvE2EHiJqOatYv-HTvvUNtHZlix2xZ2hMRS7LsAdSFb4xEHRocX0yXgmLbpcnvcaMPrmbZb0DoE3pvNth67kavb/s1600/Brides+and+Bros.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9eTA3GkoHbOuCw_DIZ_AL_U-9sg6VB7IF7gNZfFwPXw1E_stt-U14kyvE2EHiJqOatYv-HTvvUNtHZlix2xZ2hMRS7LsAdSFb4xEHRocX0yXgmLbpcnvcaMPrmbZb0DoE3pvNth67kavb/s1600/Brides+and+Bros.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Brothers and their Brides</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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And
then there are the Brides:</div>
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Dorcas,
played by the incomparable Julie Newmar; Sarah, played by Betty Carr; Liza,
played by Virginia Gibson; Ruth, played by the always entertaining Ruta Lee;
and Martha played by Norma Doggett. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Don’t
ask me who winds up with who beyond the main two couples, because I have no
clue. They’re all just… there. </div>
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<br /></div>
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OK,
so here’s the rundown:</div>
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<br /></div>
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It’s
the 1800s, <st1:state>Oregon</st1:state> territory. Adam Pontipee has ventured down from his
cabin in the mountains to town to trade for supplies. And a wife.
Yeah, you read that right. Just
go with it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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See,
Adam’s brothers are hooligans, and in desperate need of a woman to take care of
the household. So, he figured he’d just
go on down to the town and pick up a bride.
Without telling her about his six stinky brothers, of course. Honestly, he does say that if they lived in a
more civilized area (“back East”, no less) he’d take the time to court a woman,
but really, there’s no time. Gotta get a
wife before winter sets in!</div>
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<br /></div>
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So,
he wanders the streets checking out all the ladies of the town, singing “Bless
your Beautiful Hide”. Again, just go
with it. It’s Howard Keel, so for some
reason it totally works. Eventually, he
meets Millie. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Millie
works at the local inn, serving up tasty stew to a bunch of lowlives, but
manages to charm them with her blue, blue eyes and stern personality. Just what he needs! He sneaks up on her while she’s <i>milking a
fucking cow</i> and proposes. She
agrees, but says that she would “need to finish her chores first”. She fell in love at first sight, you see…</div>
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<br /></div>
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So,
on the way to the farm she prattles on and on about how she hated having to
deal with all the assholes at the inn, and is super excited to have just one
man to take care of. Even sings a song
about it. Oh, Millie, this is not going
to end well…</div>
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<br /></div>
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They
get to the farm, and Millie is introduced to her new family members. She’s pretty quick to see what the deal is,
and decides to make the best of it. She
makes dinner, and the guys behave like the animals they are, so she <i>flips
the fucking table on them.</i> Millie,
you are kinda my hero…</div>
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<br /></div>
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She
has a fight with Adam after he shows up in their room expecting a wedding
night. She tells him she’s not really a
wife, but essentially hired help, and thus entitled to a room of her own. “I’ll work alongside ya, Adam. But I’m not sleepin’ alongside ya.” He opts to sleep in the tree outside the
bedroom to save face (don’t want the brothers to know he’s got no game) But, he’s Howard Keel and <i>dreamy</i>, so
after a little talk about love at first sight, and all that jazz, she sings a
song “When you’re in Love”, and decides to let him come in afterall. *Sigh*.
Well, it’s the 50s. Go with it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The
next day, Millie is kicking ass and taking names. She cooks up a fantastic meal
for the boys, but won’t let them eat it until they strip… so she can get the
lice out of her clothes. Get your mind
out of the gutter! She also makes them
bathe and shave. Damn woman…</div>
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<br /></div>
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Breakfast. The boys are all wrapped in blankets, and
apparently clean up <i>good</i>. For
real – these are some handsome, handsome men.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Millie
goes into town for some supplies, and the boys tag along, hoping to see real,
live girls! Um, don’t they have a farm
to run? Anyway, while in town, the guys
try to be all suave, but obviously suck at it, because they offer women a “chew
of tobacco”, which is apparently a <i>huge insult</i>, so a fight breaks
out. Oh, those mountain men… can’t take
them anywhere.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So,
later that night, the guys get a lesson from Millie on how to be a proper
gentleman. OK, this song is just plain <i>fun</i>. It’s called “Goin' Courtin’”, and is one of
my favourites. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I
also like this song, because coming up shortly after this is the famous barn
raisin’ scene, and this shows how the guys learned how to dance.</div>
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So,
yeah, here we go. It’s the barn raisin’,
which Millie had mentioned in the previous scene, and it’s a few weeks
later. So again, at least we know the
dudes didn’t just suddenly learn how to dance.
A very nicely done set up. The
guys all meet their respective girls, but again, they kinda swap partners
around a lot, so I think they’re just pumped to be near women. Except for Gideon, who falls in love with <st1:city>Alice</st1:city>
right off. They are really adorable
together.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Ah, the
famous barn dance. It starts off with
your basic dance-off, and blasts into kickass really fast. The brothers, it should be noted, are mostly
played by professional dancers from the New York City Ballet Company (a couple
aren’t, and they just kinda stand around and cheer for the barn dance). Russ Tamblyn was a dancer, yes, but primarily
a tumbler. A-freaking-mazing. Is it any wonder he was always my favourite
brother? </div>
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<br /></div>
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This
number really shows that dancing is not for sissies. These guys are incredible. I just can’t say enough about it. So, I’ll shut up and let you see for
yourself:</div>
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There
are no stuntmen, no tricks, just athleticism and awesomeness. And perfection – seriously. If these guys fucked up even a little, they
would have been severely injured. You
have to admire that kind of talent.</div>
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<br /></div>
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OK,
ok, enough gushing… it’s time to raise the barn! It’s a competition to see who can raise their
side the fastest, so of course while the Pontipee brothers are seriously
working hard and trying to keep out of trouble, the suitors are trying to cause
trouble and provoke their tempers. The
guys hold out as long as they can for Millie’s sake, but eventually wind up
getting in a huge brawl that knocks what’s already been built of the barn to
the ground. Millie is heartbroken.</div>
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<br /></div>
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After
getting cleaned up and properly chastised by Millie, Adam and Gideon have a
nice little chat about love on the front porch, and Adam reprises “When you’re
in Love” to Gideon, who thinks he may be in love with <st1:city>Alice</st1:city>. See, he’s the only one I buy being in love
with one of the girls. It’s really
sweet.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Fast
forward a few weeks. The guys are missing
their girls <i>bad</i>. They mope
around, and sing a weird little ditty about being a “Lonesome Polecat”. (In the stage show, there’s a song called
“We’ll Never Make it Through the Winter”.
I actually prefer that one – it’s hilarious). So, Adam decides he’s gonna take them out of
their funk by telling them the story of the “Rape of the Sabine Women”, in
which a bunch of women in Roman times were captured against their will, but
went all <st1:city>Stockholm</st1:city> on their captors
and fell in love. Well, of course, the
guys think this would be a great idea, so they go out to kidnap the girls. </div>
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Quick
note: Howard Keel is one hell of a singer.
Yet, he only gets, like, 3 songs.
What the Hell, MGM?! So, this is
actually my favourite of the 3, because it’s funny as hell, got a catchy
melody, and he really rips into it. So,
enjoy. YAY, SEXISM!</div>
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So,
the guys go into town and grab their girls (hilariously, I might add!), and
before the angry townsmen can catch up to them, they cause an avalanche,
locking them up in the mountains until spring.
Oh, Millie is not gonna like this one bit!</div>
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Millie
kicks all the guys out of the house, including Adam, and makes them sleep in
the barn. Adam, not one to be told what
to do by his woman, heads up to some trapper cabin (?) to wait out the winter,
leaving Millie, his six brothers, and six very frightened girls.</div>
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First
the girls are hella mad, and throw snowballs with rocks in them at the guys,
dump snow from the windowsills on their heads, etc. But then, they start to come around a little,
and decide there are worse things in the world than being trapped on a farm
with six sexy mountain men and nothing really for entertainment…</div>
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<br /></div>
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Of
course, when the “I can’t be unsexy to save my life” Dorcas (Julie Newmar)
actually mentions that they are sleeping in the brothers beds, the girls get a
little shocked, which means catty, and they get in a fight. Millie tells them to knock that shit off –
she can’t deal with their drama, because she’s pregnant. The girls melt at this, and then… this
happens:</div>
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I’m
sorry, but that.is.awesome. So, yeah,
then they’re all counting down ‘til spring, and falling in love with the
brothers, and all is well on the farm.
Millie has her baby, the pass opens, and Gideon tries to get Adam to
come back, but Adam is all “I’m a man. I
don’t take no orders from women-folk”.
Gideon stands up to Adam, calls him a dumbass, and tells him to come
home.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Adam
comes home. To do the right thing and
bring the girls back. But see, the girls
don’t want to be brought back! They have
fully given into the Stockholm Syndrome, and want to stay in the mountains with
their men! But the guys from the town
are on their way! So, then we have a
quick game of hide and seek across the farm.
Someone hears Millie’s baby, and freaks out, assuming it belongs to one
of the other girls. </div>
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<br /></div>
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They
all wind up in the barn, and the parson asks who the baby belongs to. All the girls, smarter than previously
thought, smile, and say in unison “Mine!”
Cue the hilarious shot gun wedding.
The end.</div>
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Seriously,
this movie is so sexist, it’s laughable.
But at the same time, the women are in complete control the whole
time. So, it’s not as bad as one would
think? I mean, yes, the women eventually
give in to the men’s desires, but not without a whole lotta resistance
first. </div>
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So,
why do I love this movie? It is really
lovely to look at. They had a nothing
budget (MGM blew their cash wad on <i>Brigadoon</i> that year), but it is still
beautiful. The songs are kind of hit or
miss, but the good ones more than make up for the bad, and the actors really
sell them. This is one I grew up with,
and have learned to appreciate more and more over the years. I mean, it’s based on Roman history! That’s pretty intellectually awesome
considering this was sort of looked at as a “B” movie at the time. Also, the actors.</div>
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Jane
Powell has one of the most beautiful voices, and this is one of her finest
performances. Millie is sassy, strong,
and holds pretty much all the power in the Pontipee household, even though she
really didn’t want it. Howard Keel is
Howard Keel. Tall, lean, booming voice,
and sexy as hell. Funny, too. We don’t hate Adam because we know that he
just doesn’t know any better, and he is played with an undercurrent of humour
to go with the sexist ass he is on the surface.
I crushed hard on Gideon as a kid because Russ Tamblyn was adorable,
hella talented, and played Gideon so sincerely.
</div>
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You
really should check this one out – it’s just all kinds of fun. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">That’s
a Wrap tonight!</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Tomorrow, something from
this millennium!</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Wheeee!</span> </div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-67942611348205014052012-06-04T07:58:00.000-04:002012-06-04T08:14:52.417-04:00Little Shop of Horrors<br />
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Happy June! Since it
is my birth month, I am being self-indulgent and writing about all of my
favourite movies. For some of the more
well-known movies out there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it
is one of my favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a
wee little bit of reflection. Not all of
my favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category
– but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
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Oh, and from this post out, the movies are pretty much at
random. The first three were my three
all-time absolute faves. After that,
it’s just movies I really, really love. </div>
<br />
<br />
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#349: <i>Little Shop of Horrors</i> (1986). OK, if you follow my other blog, <a href="http://bethiejean33.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Next Step?</a>,
or know me personally, you know that I have a borderline inappropriate crush on
Rick Moranis. That is not why this is
here. This is here because it is made of
awesome. Besides, my <s>obsession </s>crush
is starting to wane a little, anyway… So, here we go!</div>
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The Players:</div>
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Seymour
Krelborn: Played by Rick Moranis. He’s clumsy, nerdy, an amateur botanist. He works in Mushnik’s Flower Shop, and is in
love with his co-worker Audrey, but he feels she is completely out of his
league. Sadly, his best friend seems to
be this little plant (The Audrey II.
Cute or creepy? I’m leaning
towards cute with a hint of creepy) and does things that he never thought he
would, all in the name of… love?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsGypNunVpVmiv2LeWELIMI9D1sWBd0oJSl0rWitBPp8GYg14eIuePJyFllh-Qd1bicUAEmATB9vKezIsYXal-z32a_jwZPHIDtcH037g3hQJHwkEoUK133r01A878mIROcVzd3sMTsIh/s1600/Vincent+Gardenia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTq80-dS5ULd5BZhSEHtMhVIA6vDHEQVYTmd7S1DZA8YZLii_atPrh_tYyqfxYXLOyF2MNW6npbDcrSyH8FI3PDJoJabJART1RHa1iyxZc61F9jmCIsDOq4wpnTi91olUsXJVRqGznd0R1/s1600/Ellen+Greene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTq80-dS5ULd5BZhSEHtMhVIA6vDHEQVYTmd7S1DZA8YZLii_atPrh_tYyqfxYXLOyF2MNW6npbDcrSyH8FI3PDJoJabJART1RHa1iyxZc61F9jmCIsDOq4wpnTi91olUsXJVRqGznd0R1/s200/Ellen+Greene.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
Audrey: Played by Ellen Greene. She’s beautiful, dresses kinda slutty, is in
an abusive relationship, but feels that she doesn’t deserve better. She has a
little crush on <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city>, but barely
admits it to herself, let alone anyone else.
Really, all she wants is to move to the suburbs and become a Betty
Crocker/Donna Reed hybrid. Which is
really all I ever wanted, so I really related to her in that respect growing
up.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsGypNunVpVmiv2LeWELIMI9D1sWBd0oJSl0rWitBPp8GYg14eIuePJyFllh-Qd1bicUAEmATB9vKezIsYXal-z32a_jwZPHIDtcH037g3hQJHwkEoUK133r01A878mIROcVzd3sMTsIh/s1600/Vincent+Gardenia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsGypNunVpVmiv2LeWELIMI9D1sWBd0oJSl0rWitBPp8GYg14eIuePJyFllh-Qd1bicUAEmATB9vKezIsYXal-z32a_jwZPHIDtcH037g3hQJHwkEoUK133r01A878mIROcVzd3sMTsIh/s200/Vincent+Gardenia.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>
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Mushnik: Played by Vincent Gardenia. Mr. Mushnick owns the flower shop, and is a
father figure to <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city>. He’s also a bit of a father figure to Audrey,
as he knows <i>exactly</i> what is going on with her, and worries
about/lectures her regularly. He also
gets real greedy real fast when the shop becomes suddenly successful. </div>
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Orin Scrivello – D.D.S.: Played by Steve Martin. He’s a sadistic dentist who loves inflicting
pain on everyone, from his patients to Audrey.
He’s also not very bright. What
did Audrey see in him?</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltHMavC5i8JQDr6qud1FZZkd2QsjO_rCSqxeUGo9TtzUCs_Eez-xUMQ0thLrls_Jrl_tMJKwRUrNpCnRtxdHPiohdzC1xiD3GNzpNGAm42BfcRwgD-AUFeckjQkD7o3yVYi79HzRCQiEC/s1600/Doo-Wop+Girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltHMavC5i8JQDr6qud1FZZkd2QsjO_rCSqxeUGo9TtzUCs_Eez-xUMQ0thLrls_Jrl_tMJKwRUrNpCnRtxdHPiohdzC1xiD3GNzpNGAm42BfcRwgD-AUFeckjQkD7o3yVYi79HzRCQiEC/s200/Doo-Wop+Girls.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michelle Weeks as Ronette, Tisha Campbell-Martin as Chiffon, Tichina Arnold as Crystal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The Doo-Wop Girls:
Played by Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks, and Tisha
Campbell-Martin. These ladies are the
“Greek Chorus” of the film. They sing
the opening number, and are present throughout, offering sassy commentary and
kickass back-up vocals. I had the
pleasure of playing one of the Doo-Wop Girls in college when we put this show
on in 24 hours… more about that later.
The girls are named after popular girl-groups of the 1960s: <st1:city>Crystal</st1:city>,
Ronette, and Chiffon. </div>
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Audrey II: Voiced by Levi Stubbs. Audrey starts off as a cute little fly-trap
looking thing, but in order to grow big and strong, it needs human blood. As the plant grows, sucking the blood out of <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city>’s
fingers isn’t enough. People start
mysteriously disappearing…</div>
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CAMEOS GALORE! We’ve
got John Candy, Christopher Guest, Jim Belushi, Bill Murray, and a handful
more. Like, seriously. So many people in this movie…</div>
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The Rundown:</div>
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So, I realize not everyone has seen this, but really? OK…</div>
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Seymour, Audrey and Mr. Mushnik work at Mushnik’s Flower
Shop on Skid Row. Business sucks. So, <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city>
(with a little prodding from Audrey, aw) suggests that they put this “strange
and interesting new plant” in the window to draw customers in. We learn through song (hey, it is a musical)
that the plant mysteriously appeared during a total eclipse of the sun the week
before. </div>
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Well, putting the plant (Audrey II) in the window works, and
they have an awesome sales day. Now,
I’ve seen this movie a million times, and upon the latest viewing, something
occurred to me: they show this mini-montage of people popping in the store door
and inquiring about the plant. They are
all dressed up super fancy-like. This is
day one of Audrey II in the store. <i>Why
are all these fancy rich people shopping for flowers on SKID ROW?! </i>I mean, I understand when the show gets
really successful, but this is still early on.
I blame costuming for putting sparkles and fur on the ladies… </div>
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Anyway, Mushnik is super pumped that customers <i>do exist!</i> He offers to buy Audrey and <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city>
dinner, but Audrey has a date, and Audrey II suddenly keels over. <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city>
is given the task of nursing the plant back to health. Cue the erectile dysfunction song!</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/pprJtn28q1c?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Audrey II grows, and <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city>
appears on the radio with it. Great
scene with John Candy here, nice little SCTV reunion!</div>
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Audrey missed the radio broadcast, and gets an earful from
the Doo-Wop girls about how bad her boyfriend is for her. She’s in a sling, by the way. She shoos them away, denying she deserves
anything better than this jerk who beats her and makes her wear handcuffs
(well, the handcuffs thing isn’t <i>that</i> bad, Audrey!). She retreats to her cute little ruffle-filled
apartment, and sings about the life she wants, “Somewhere that’s Green”. It is beautiful and heartbreaking. Just like Audrey. Aww…</div>
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Cue song/montage of Audrey II getting bigger at the expense
of <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city>’s health. Suddenly, the plant is huge, and the shop is
busy, and poor little anemic <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city>
forgot an order. While Audrey helps him
put it together, they bond some more, but then she brings up her stupid
boyfriend. Which leads to the best thing
Steve Martin has ever done:</div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://1.gvt0.com/vi/v_VU1q7czkE/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/v_VU1q7czkE&fs=1&source=uds" />
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<embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/v_VU1q7czkE&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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So, the Dentist meets <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city>
while he’s picking up Audrey for their date, is a dumb asshole, and they ride
off. Then it is revealed that the Audrey
II can speak! And in a sexy, deep
African American voice. After the song
“Feed Me”, and a brief scene of Orin beating on Audrey (which is witnessed by
Seymour and Audrey II), it is determined that Orin has to die. And be fed to the plant. Dude, I’d kill people for Levi Stubbs, too. </div>
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So, <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city> goes
to shoot Orin, but he accidentally kills himself by O.D.-ing on laughing
gas. Well, ok, then! I mean, he’s dead already, might as well just
chop him up and feed him to a plant!</div>
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The next day, <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city>
sees the police outside Audrey’s apartment, and he rushes over to make sure
he’s not wanted for murder. After a
really beautifully done scene (Ellen Greene kicks major ass in this role), we
have this song. (And this song
completely justifies my love for Rick Moranis, BTW):</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/9DD7VIKZnGA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<i>Side Note</i>: I have watched this movie a lot, and only
on a more recent viewing, did I notice something really subtle and well-done
here: throughout the film, Seymour and Audrey have scenes together, but they
never make physical contact until the very end of this song, when they are
ready to make the jump together. Well
done, Frank Oz.</div>
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<st1:city>Seymour</st1:city> returns
to his little room in the basement of the flower shop, deliriously happy. But he’s not alone! See, Mushnik saw <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city>
cut up the dentist, so he tries to make a deal with him. Resulting in him being eaten, too. Geeze, everyone’s dying around here!</div>
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Now <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city> is
super famous and successful. The plant
is freaking ridiculous at this point. He
tries to get away, but the plant tries to eat Audrey, and after a little scene
in the alley with a guy played by Jim Belushi offering to sell cuttings of the
Audrey II, thus making it “Bigger than hula-hoops” (probably my favourite line
in the whole movie, don’t ask me why).
Realizing that this is what the plant wanted all along, <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city>
decides to go in and kill his best friend.
Aw, sad…</div>
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So, it is then revealed that the Audrey II is “A Mean Green
Mother from Outer Space”. Well,
duh! OK, so here’s the song:</div>
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That’s <i>ALL PUPPETRY, MOTHERFUCKERS</i>. Back to <i>that</i> point in a sec…<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, we have our
happy ending with <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city> defeating the monster, and he and Audrey go live in her little suburban
dreamhouse. And a tiny little Audrey II
(III?) hidden in their garden…<o:p></o:p></div>
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OK, so this is one
of my all-time faves for a few resons:<o:p></o:p></div>
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The story. It’s just.
Fun! It’s an homage to the 1950s <i>It Came from Outer Space</i> type B-movies. Which is funny, because it’s a musical
re-imagining of a 1960 Roger Corman movie of the same name. Which was shot, by the way, in two days. So cool!
Anyway, it’s a quirky story, and I like it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The
characters. They are all so distinct,
and all of them are flawed in one way or another; Mushnik is greedy, <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city> is easily influenced and success-obsessed,
Audrey is in some ways very broken and has low self-esteem, Orin is a
sadomasochist, the Audrey II is a fucking <i>alien plant form who eats people</i>. And yet, they are all enjoyable
on some level. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmKz8etg0-XoJ8SHn3Sjv07NMhllrigL-kdVxhA5RGG5SPZB0tgLv9uohuia78JXoUdL1RuIGIaWpwq3n6yFjdHLX5XOiCDNSDOEoSd782Xja1B9YdFrknfV6ApZbSBswwDedH8a4CffI/s1600/Ashman+and+Menken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmKz8etg0-XoJ8SHn3Sjv07NMhllrigL-kdVxhA5RGG5SPZB0tgLv9uohuia78JXoUdL1RuIGIaWpwq3n6yFjdHLX5XOiCDNSDOEoSd782Xja1B9YdFrknfV6ApZbSBswwDedH8a4CffI/s200/Ashman+and+Menken.jpg" width="172" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashman and Menken</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The music. Ashman and Menken were the best musical team
in the 1980s/’90s, most well-known by many for their work on the Disney flicks
of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. Sadly, we
lost Howard Ashman to AIDS shortly before <i>Aladdin</i>. He was a masterful lyricist, and I am forever
grateful to him for giving me “Somewhere that’s Green”.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynEpt4uIkT0KQhOyhgXPV-yO6Hvp1yu7vzUoOsk-K685eV2QQ-7c5c0VE9tbQ6m-5ncNIz4b3kCz1t4HDUKk3kvZe8DnDvLvQAHth2LxAjyLUOIxMjBanib46k4DywRtIttXYYcSPZCuv/s1600/Frank+Oz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynEpt4uIkT0KQhOyhgXPV-yO6Hvp1yu7vzUoOsk-K685eV2QQ-7c5c0VE9tbQ6m-5ncNIz4b3kCz1t4HDUKk3kvZe8DnDvLvQAHth2LxAjyLUOIxMjBanib46k4DywRtIttXYYcSPZCuv/s200/Frank+Oz.jpg" width="164" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank Oz</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The effects. OK, I know I went off a little about special
effects when I talked about <i>The
Wizard of Oz</i>. Well, here we go again. This film had about 3 optical effects
throughout. Everything else was
practical, on-set effects and puppetry.
Like, holy shit. That plant is
fucking <i>awesome</i>, and you know when they remake this (there
are serious talks. I might have to
protest) the powers that be will most likely opt for an at least partial CG
Audrey II. Which is fucking
cheating. Now, of course, the director
for this was Frank Oz, of Muppets fame, so he kinda knows his way around
puppets, but of this size? Damn. There was some miniature work and cheating
angles done, but mostly with the medium Audrey II. The big one we saw in “Mean Green Mother…” is
legit. They shot everything at a
slowed-down tempo and sped up the film later.
So, when you see the plant on screen interacting with <st1:city>Seymour</st1:city>?
Rick Moranis was acting in slow-mo so the plant looks real. That amount of effort is astounding,
especially when you see the final effect.
It’s just so damn impressive.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PUPPETS. THEY KICKS CGIs ASS!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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OK, off my
soapbox. This is a terrific movie, and
everyone should check it out. Totally
worth watching. I was lucky to have been
in a production of it in college, in which we cast, rehearsed and put the show
up in 24 hours. I was Crystal, one of
the Doo-Wop Girls, and it was a blast!
If you ever have a chance to see the stage production, do it! There are extended versions of songs, songs
that were left out, and the ending is quite different. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I will now leave
you with one of my most favourite things ever: a video of a bloopers/gag reel
from the set. It’s also found on the
DVD.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, that’s a wrap
for today! Yet another musical tomorrow!<o:p></o:p></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-3948953539649344762012-06-03T07:30:00.003-04:002012-06-03T07:36:28.734-04:00What's Up, Doc?<br />
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Happy June! Since it
is my birth month, I am being self-indulgent and writing about all of my
favourite movies. For some of the more
well-known movies out there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it
is one of my favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a
wee little bit of reflection. Not all of
my favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category
– but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
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#350: <i>What’s Up, Doc?</i> (1972). This is my favourite comedy. Hands-down.
It is Peter Bogdonovich’s love letter to the classic screwball comedies
from the 1930s and 40s. For some reason,
not many people I know have seen this, and there are way too many plotlines
going on to properly recap, so I’m gonna give you the list of primary players,
a little on why I love this movie so much, and then a clip of some of the
funniest bits. So, here goes!</div>
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The Players:<br />
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Judy Maxwell: Played by Barbra Streisand. This woman is a free-spirit who causes
trouble everywhere she goes. Modeled
after characters played by Katherine Hepburn, Irene Dunn and Myrna Loy. I am normally not a big fan of Barbra’s, but
she is perfect in this role.</div>
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Howard Bannister: Played by Ryan O’Neal. Think Carey Grant in every screwball comedy
ever made. He’s a musicologist who is in
<st1:city>San Francisco</st1:city> to compete for a
research grant. <br />
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Eunice Burns: Played by Madeline Kahn. She’s Howard’s shrew of a fiancé, and steals
every scene she’s in. Neurotic,
controlling, insane, and I love every minute of her on screen.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRl7cIlXUUKb4-BiD0gQn71gby1d_bBNBk-sOivdGhTcZ3YA2nsThm3a7yulSvHS-suzZo_RL5zvsXQv6SZOB1Ol4JXTdAmlJhXqPwUalJSHVZiXeOi7dq5L0ZF-YSGsNXYDmnFdItXN3/s1600/Austin+Pendleton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRl7cIlXUUKb4-BiD0gQn71gby1d_bBNBk-sOivdGhTcZ3YA2nsThm3a7yulSvHS-suzZo_RL5zvsXQv6SZOB1Ol4JXTdAmlJhXqPwUalJSHVZiXeOi7dq5L0ZF-YSGsNXYDmnFdItXN3/s200/Austin+Pendleton.jpg" width="173" /></a>Hugh Simon: Played by Kenneth Mars. Hugh has some kind of funky European accent,
is Howard’s competitor for the Larrabee Grant, and is an all-around
asshole. He is tremendously fun to watch,
even if you want to smack his pompous face all the time.</div>
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Frederick Larrabee: Played by Austin Pendleton. He is the head of the Larrabee foundation,
kind of a little hippie-leftover, and very cool. </div>
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Judge Maxwell: Played by Liam Dunn. He’s a judge who is at the end of his pitiful
rope. He only has once scene, but it is
probably the best scene in the whole movie.
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Everyone Else: There are a lot of classic actors and
1960s/70s “Hey it’s that guy!” guys, as well as a young Randy Quaid as one of
the musicologists.</div>
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OK, so here’s the main plot:</div>
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Judy Maxwell causes issues everywhere she goes, and for this
particular movie, she is in <st1:city>San Francisco</st1:city>. She carries her belongings in a plaid
suitcase, and follows a pizza delivery guy to the Hotel Bristol. Also staying at the <st1:city>Bristol</st1:city>
are Howard Bannister and his fiancé Eunice Burns. Howard is after a grant so he can study
something having to do with rocks and music.
He keeps his rocks in a bag just like Judy’s. </div>
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Judy and Howard meet in the hotel drugstore, she crashes the
Larrabee dinner happening that night, posing as Eunice. She charms the musicologists, including Mr.
Larrabee. When the real Eunice shows up,
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Later, Howard tells Judy to stay away. And she does.
For about 30 seconds. Later, she
appears in his bathtub, and we’re off to the races of misunderstandings, Eunice
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The next day, Howard is kicked out of his room, and winds up
in a ballroom being renovated on the top floor, where Judy slept on top of a
random piano. Insert obligatory “Barbra
SINGS!” moment. Judy and Howard get to
know each other, he finds out that he got the Larrabee grant, and he goes to
explain everything to a very upset Eunice.
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Poor Eunice gets sent to the wrong place for the reception <st1:city>Frederick</st1:city>
is throwing in Howard’s honor, and gets caught up in some jewelry fencing gone
horribly, horribly wrong…<br />
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Then everyone shows up at <st1:city>Frederick</st1:city>’s
house with all the bags (there are about 3 other subplots going on involving
the plaid suitcases) and a shootout occurs, leading to one of the best car
chases ever committed to film.
(Seriously. Not just my opinion –
it’s been on movie lists and everything!)</div>
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Then we have the court scene, in which we meet poor Judge
Maxwell who is one bad hearing away from a nervous breakdown, and his bailiff
who thinks he’s at an auction house. After
a great exchange between the judge and Hugh Simon, Howard takes a crack at
sorting everything out. Ryan O’Neal does
a terrific job of summing up the movie for us.
Then the judge gets a little bit of a shock, and the scene is over…
(Really, it’s funnier than it sounds, but I don’t want to spoil the good
stuff!)</div>
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Airport. Howard is
headed back to <st1:state>Iowa</st1:state>, sans
Larrabee Grant, due to the commotion caused at <st1:city>Frederick</st1:city>’s
house. But wait! Hugh is a fraud, which Judy reveals. So, Howard gets the grant afterall! (Judy is a bit of a Renaissance Woman, who
has been to just about every college imaginable). Frederick and Eunice have bonded (ha!) so
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Of course, who else is headed to yet another college in <st1:place><st1:city>Ames</st1:city>,
<st1:state>Iowa</st1:state></st1:place>?!
Why, it’s Judy! They kiss, make up,
the end.</div>
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So, yeah, this is a slightly anemic rundown, but there is a
lot going on in this movie, and so much of the greatness lies in the visual
gags. It is also the movie with the most
fantastic one-liners ever made.
Seriously. My dad and I have a
tendency to just randomly spew the one-liners from this movie at each other,
turning them into entire conversations.
Hell, even the cast and crew (according to director Peter Bogdonovich)
was quoting them to each other on the set.
In fact, as I was writing the rundown, lines kept on popping in my
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Everyone in this movie is spot-on. No one is ridiculously over the top, even
when Madeline Kahn is shrewing it up as Eunice.
The bigger stuff is nicely countered with her being a little more level
in other scenes. This was Kahn’s first
movie, and she came out kicking and rocking.
This was a bit of a vehicle for Barbra Streisand, but Kahn is the one
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Even people with smaller roles are memorable. This is just a damn good movie, and everyone
needs to check it out. It is the last
perfect comedy, in my opinion. If you
are a fan of Cary Grant movies, you will love this, I promise. And now, I leave you with a few choice
scenes…</div>
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And the Trailer...</div>
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And that's a wrap for today! Tomorrow, another musical! Wheee!</div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-83374110070871956622012-06-02T07:56:00.000-04:002012-06-02T07:56:00.344-04:00Singin' in the Rain<br />
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Happy
June! Since it is my birth month, I am
being self-indulgent and writing about all of my favourite movies. For some of the more well-known movies out
there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it is one of my
favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a wee little
bit of reflection. Not all of my
favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category –
but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
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#351:
<i>Singin’ in the Rain</i> (1952). I’m
hauling out the good ones early this month!
This is my go-to movie if I’m feeling blue or stressed. So I have watched it <i>a lot</i> over the
years. Again, one of the earliest movies
from my childhood, hence why it’s one of my favourites. But also because it is near-perfection. They really, truly don’t make them like this
anymore, and it’s a damn shame…</div>
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The
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Don
Lockwood: Played by Gene Kelly… Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my face…
OK, I’m better now. Don Lockwood is the
big-time movie star of the day. He’s
ridiculously handsome, confident, talented.
What’s not to love? Well, his
entitled smarmy attitude, for one, but that quickly falls by the wayside as his
insecurities are revealed and he becomes a better person. Also: It’s <i>Gene Kelly</i>. I mean… yeah…<br />
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Kathy
Seldon: Played by Debbie Reynolds. Kathy
is a little starlet hoping to make it in the movies (but upon her first meeting
with Don, she mocks movie stars, and claims to be a “legitimate actress on the
stage”). She is cute, plucky, and tells
Don like it is. <br />
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Cosmo
Brown: Played by Donald O’Connor. Cosmo
is Don’s best friend, and a composer.
They have been friends since childhood, and he’s also not afraid to tell
him like it is. Donald O’Connor is given
several moments to shine in the role, not only with little one-liners, but in
dance numbers, as well.<br />
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Lina
Lamont: Played to perfection by Jean Hagen.
Lina is a silent movie star/diva.
She has a horrendously squeaky speaking voice, and appears to be very
stupid, but can be conniving when she needs to be. She is just awesome.</div>
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R.F.
Simpson: Played by Millard Mitchell.
R.F. is the head of the studio, but he knows who really holds the power
– his stars. He’s a little afraid of
Lina.<br />
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Honorable
Mentions: Rita Moreno (of <i>West Side Story </i>fame) plays a contract actress
named Zelda who is pals with Lina and causes trouble; Cyd Charisse and her legs
play a fictional love-interest in the “Broadway Melody” sequence, a number from
the movie-within-the-movie.</div>
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So,
I understand that movie musicals aren’t for everyone, and that not everyone has
seen this (which is such a shame!) so, here’s a quick rundown for y’all:</div>
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We
open with a movie premiere of Lockwood and Lamont’s latest flick. It is 1927, the height of the silent
movies. We are introduced to Don
Lockwood, as he gives a red carpet interview telling the story of his career,
the main theme being “Dignity. Always
dignity”. However, the flashbacks played
over the narration shows us that his entire story is bullshit, which I
love. It’s so freaking <st1:city>Hollywood</st1:city>.</div>
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The
movie’s a hit, and we quickly discover that the beautiful Lina has a voice like
a dying cat. This is pretty realistic,
as many of the silent film stars had either squeaky and/or bullfrog-like voices,
or thick accents. Anyway, they all head
out to the after party at R.F. Simpson’s house.
Unfortunately, on the way Cosmo’s car gets a flat tire, and Don gets
mobbed by his fans. Using some of his
old stunt-man moves, Don escapes by climbing onto a trolley car and jumping
into the car of Kathy Seldon. At first,
Kathy doesn’t recognize Don, and thinks he’s going to rape and murder her (I’d
probably assume the same) until she pulls over and screams at a cop who
instantly recognizes Don. Embarrassed,
she offers him a ride home. You can tell
she’s secretly thrilled, until Don’s ego decides to join the party, and things
get ugly fast. She insults his
profession and his talent, admitting that she’s a stage actress. But oh, he mocks her right back, although his
exit from her car gives her the last laugh as his jacket gets caught in the
door and rips.</div>
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We
learn that Kathy is actually a dancer at the famed Coconut Grove as she arrives
at R.F.’s party. Well, this can’t end
well…</div>
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Don
shows up in a fresh tux, looking just… Mmmm… Sorry, went away there. I’m back!
OK, he asks for validation from Cosmo, gets it, and then R.F. shows a
brief little demonstration of this new fad called “talking pictures”. Of course, this will never amount to a thing…</div>
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R.F.
brings his two stars over to a cake to be cut and served, but instead a cute
little Coconut Grove dancer bursts out.
Of course, it’s Kathy, and an amused (and genuinely delighted) Don looks
on and proceeds to give her complete shit for her earlier grand-standing about
actors. Cue the adorable song and dance
“All I do is Dream of You”.</div>
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Don
corners and proceeds to flirt with Kathy, but Lina’s having none of that (she
has bought into the studio publicity that says her and Don are a couple), and
frustrated, Kathy goes to throw a cake in Don’s face. Of course, he dodges and it gets Lina. Don chases after Kathy, but she drives off…</div>
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We
learn from Don a few weeks later that Kathy is on his brain, and that she
doesn’t work at the Coconut Grove anymore, so he can’t go all predatory stalker
on her. He’s also still hung up on some
of the stuff she said to him about how all his movies are the same “If you’ve
seen one, you’ve seen them all”, and that he’s not a real actor. In an attempt to cheer his friend up, Cosmo does
a song and dance called “Make ‘em Laugh”, and it is <i>made of awesome</i>. You go, Donald O’Connor…<o:p></o:p></div>
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While filming a love scene for their latest
French Revolution love story movie, Don discovers that Lina is the reason why
Kathy lost her job. Ooooh, that snake! The dialogue here is great, though, and makes
one wonder what actors were <i>really</i> saying to each other in all those silent
films…<o:p></o:p></div>
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But stop!
R.F. declares that <i>The Jazz
Singer</i> and talkies are more than
just a fad, and that they are going to turn this movie into a talking
picture. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Cut to… weird but awesome montage of shit
you see in early musicals, complete with the “Beautiful Girls” number, which is
hilariously sexist, but for some reason I have always loved it. We see Kathy in the chorus, and Don is
brought to the set to talk to her. Afraid
that the whole pie-throwing incident will cost her another job, Kathy tries to
bolt, but R.F. decides she can stay.
Just make sure Lina doesn’t find out…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Don and Kathy stroll down the backlot, where
it is revealed that Kathy is indeed a huge fan of his. Ego back on track, Don decides he is falling
in love with Kathy. He takes her onto an
empty soundstage that conveniently has a ladder, a pretty backdrop, and a huge
fan so he can sing “You were Meant for Me” and have a lovely little dance
number with her. *Dreamy Sigh*.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, because all of <st1:city>Hollywood</st1:city> is freaking out about sound, all the major
stars are being sent to diction coaches.
Lina is made of fail, but Don’s doing ok. Cosmo crashes his lesson, mocks the coach,
and the two of them do a completely random but <i>fucking awesome</i> song and
dance, “Moses Supposes”. It is probably
one of my favourite scenes ever committed to film, so I shall share it with
you. Check out the brilliance:<o:p></o:p></div>
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The following scenes are hilarious, and show
all the technical issues to be had with early film, and are brilliantly
funny. Not so funny? The reception <i>The Dueling Cavalier</i>
receives. It’s is unintentionally
hilarious, which does not bode well for Don’s career.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Depressed about his future, Don has Cosmo
and Kathy over to his <i>insanely
gorgeous</i> house. Somehow, Kathy gets the idea to turn <i>The Dueling Cavalier </i>into a musical. Sure, why not! This leads into the song “Good Morning”,
which again: perfection. Little
backstory for ya: Gene Kelly drove poor Debbie Reynolds crazy trying to get her
to learn this one number. She was young,
and not the most experienced dancer, so she was having trouble keeping up. Her feet bled, she got no sleep, and even at
one point went and hid out in a rehearsal room until Fred Astaire showed up and
helped her out (so the story goes). None
of this is evident as everyone appears to be having a flawlessly fun time in
this number. <i>That</i> is professionalism
right there. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So, Don is in love with Kathy, and after
dropping her off at her house, he takes a little stroll. In the rain.
Yes, ladies and gents, it’s <i>that
song</i>. It’s so simple – just Gene Kelly, an empty
street, the rain and his umbrella. And
it is genius. There’s a reason why it is
so iconic. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Don and Cosmo make the pitch to R.F., who is
totally cool with it, and even agrees to let Kathy dub Lina’s voice, but <i>don’t let Lina know!</i>
After a nice little montage of the beautiful song “Would You?” being
recorded and filmed, we are back to R.F.’s office, where Don pitches a number
for the modern part of the film they’re making.
And then we have the big, self-indulgent ballet-type musical number
“Broadway Melody”. And yes, it is long,
it is self-indulgent, and it is hypnotic.
I mean, it’s got Cyd Charisse and her legs being <i>beyond</i> sexy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, of course Lina finds out eventually
(thanks to Zelda) of their little plot, and goes to R.F. and threatens to sue
the studio for everything unless they take Kathy’s credit off the screen. Oh, and from now on, Kathy’s going to dub
Lina in all of her films; uncredited, of course. Lina is letting her claws show, and it is so
perfectly played by Jean Hagen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now it’s the premier, and the movie is a <i>huge hit</i>. Poor Kathy is getting shafted
left and right, but there is just so much going on, no one seems to care? But not before Lina insists on giving a
speech, which makes the audience be all “huh?
She sounded way sexier in the movie!”
So they ask her to sing! Oh
no! They set up a microphone behind the
curtain and insist that Kathy sing while Lina lip-synchs. In fact, Don demands it! Kathy agrees, because of her contract and
all, but wants nothing more to do with Don.
Until, of course, they pull up the curtain to reveal what’s actually
going on. Lina is laughed off the stage,
Kathy tries to run away, but it stopped, and Don sings a reprise of the cut
“You are my Lucky Star”, and they live happily ever after.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, that was a very in-depth recap of this
movie, but it is just.that.good. This is
one of the earliest examples of <st1:place>Hollywood</st1:place>
poking fun at <st1:city>Hollywood</st1:city>. I mean, a lot of what is shown
actually went down, it’s just exaggerated for laughs, and in just the right
amount. It’s not cartoony or over the
top. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oWqI3DkRj9RrQoYQPG48HqxM2XVHgBzCnf0GZfVNjYh-O28Ywwc2wyJoYGodqgFqarsf9OQZntJMmACxr1PIiUcrms9yThq-q3eV38wriFEudJv_mUTEDhNTigHHvrUriMN33CPJ-iJa/s1600/Arthur+Freed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oWqI3DkRj9RrQoYQPG48HqxM2XVHgBzCnf0GZfVNjYh-O28Ywwc2wyJoYGodqgFqarsf9OQZntJMmACxr1PIiUcrms9yThq-q3eV38wriFEudJv_mUTEDhNTigHHvrUriMN33CPJ-iJa/s1600/Arthur+Freed.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arthur Freed</td></tr>
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Some history for ya: there once was a man
named Arthur Freed, and he produced some of the greatest musicals ever put on
film for MGM. But before he was a
producer, he was a song writer. Most of
his stuff was written in the 1920s-‘30s.
So, for some reason, the powers that be at MGM decided they wanted to
make a movie that would use all of his music. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5VEWuIXhiviVfzN41UOkT0oA08YnkRLn2B0l-XugOHroii46cwJLx7uR2aO4Om1YneSwJbOjFp2ZQMepdqO434fRLsXgP0n4jiUakCmEty0zobnuhMxq8Odh7eHUc0De2FcXQ21NskibC/s1600/Comden+and+Green.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5VEWuIXhiviVfzN41UOkT0oA08YnkRLn2B0l-XugOHroii46cwJLx7uR2aO4Om1YneSwJbOjFp2ZQMepdqO434fRLsXgP0n4jiUakCmEty0zobnuhMxq8Odh7eHUc0De2FcXQ21NskibC/s200/Comden+and+Green.jpg" width="178" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Betty Comden and Adolph Green</td></tr>
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Writing team Comden and Green were given the task of coming up with
something, and it had to feature/be called <i>Singin’ in the Rain</i>. A lot of ideas were tossed around (including
a western starring Howard Keel), and eventually they were like “duh! These songs were all written during <st1:city>Hollywood</st1:city>’s transition to sound! We can work with that!” And thus, <i>Singin’ in the Rain</i> was
born. And thank God it was…</div>
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There is a lot of awesome going on here. <st1:city>Hollywood</st1:city> acknowledges the importance of star power,
the ridiculousness of itself and the fakery that goes on behind the
scenes. The leading man is not
perfect. He’s cocky, but really insecure
of his talent and abilities. He falls in love with Kathy because not only
is she a challenge, she doesn’t fall for his bullshit. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So, this is a movie I’ve been watching
probably as long as <i>The Wizard of
Oz</i>, which is to say my whole
life. Gene Kelly as Don Lockwood was my
first crush, and I still swoon every time I watch him in this. It is beautifully shot, funny, and the song
and dance numbers are flawless. This is
about as close to a perfect movie as it gets, and still stands the test of
time. There are some inconsistencies in
the film (the random reprise of a song that was cut, complete with a final shot
that makes little sense without the cut song, but what can you do, other than
shoot a new ending?, and the fact that Kathy’s voice seems to change tone from
scene to scene, due to the fact that in some scenes Debbie Reynolds is also
dubbed), but really, those are kind of easy to overlook in the grand scheme of
things. If you haven’t seen this yet,
really, you should. It’s not full of
great meaning or depth, but I guarantee it will leave you with a smile on your
face and a song in your heart.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s a Wrap for today! Tune in tomorrow for some wacky hijinks in <st1:city>San Francisco</st1:city>!<o:p></o:p></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-49948178736858927392012-06-01T10:21:00.000-04:002012-06-01T10:21:12.548-04:00The Wizard of Oz<br />
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Happy June! Since it
is my birth month, I am being self-indulgent and writing about all of my
favourite movies. For some of the more
well-known movies out there, I will be mostly reflecting on the <i>why</i> it
is one of my favourites, as opposed to the usual format of a plot rundown and a
wee little bit of reflection. Not all of
my favourite movies are classics – some fall into the guilty pleasure category
– but whatever. It’s my birthday month,
deal with it. OK, disclaimer out of the
way, let us begin…</div>
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#352: <i>The Wizard of Oz </i>(1939). This is one of my all-time faves because it
is one of the first movies I ever watched.
I can remember sitting in the family room, or Dad’s office, watching
this movie over and over on video disk (a technology that blipped on the radar
just before VHS and Beta). This movie
introduced me to Judy Garland, my lifelong role model, and who I aspired to be
for a long time. So, before I get into
it too much, here are the players:</div>
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Dorothy Gale: Played by Judy Garland. Dorothy is unhappy with her hum-drum life,
and wants something more exciting and fulfilling than her life on her <st1:state>Kansas</st1:state>
farm. She has a pet dog who frequently
gets her into trouble, and lives with her Aunt and Uncle. Is she an orphan? What’s the story there? Anyway, her only friends, aside from her dog,
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Toto: Played by Terry.
Toto is Dorothy’s best companion, and a big reason why she winds up
taking her incredible adventure.<br />
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Hunk/The Scarecrow: Played by Ray Bolger. Hunk is one of the farmhands, and in Oz is
represented as a scarecrow. He is the
one who forms the strongest bond with Dorothy.
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Zeke/The Cowardly Lion: Played by Bert Lahr. Zeke is another farmhand, and in Oz is
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Hickory/The
Tinman: Played by Jack Haley. <st1:city>Hickory</st1:city>
is the third farmhand, and in Oz is represented as a sentimental tinman who
lacks a heart.<br />
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Miss. Gulch/The Wicked Witch of the West: Played by the
brilliant Margaret Hamilton. She is the
villain of the piece, both in <st1:state>Kansas</st1:state>
and in Oz. She has an axe to grind, and
she wants to grind it on Dorothy’s head…</div>
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Professor Marvel/The Wizard of Oz: Played by Frank
Morgan. Morgan also appears as various
characters in Oz. Professor Marvel is
who convinces Dorothy to go home after she runs away, and the Wizard grants
everyone’s wishes in Oz. Sort of?</div>
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Glinda the Good Witch: Played by Billie Burke. One of the only people in Oz without a <st1:state>Kansas</st1:state>
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Auntie Em and Uncle Henry: Played by Clara Blandick and
Charley Grapewin. Auntie Em and Uncle
Henry are the guardians of Dorothy (again, what happened to her parents?) and
are stern but love her very much.</div>
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OK, so here’s the thing.
If you’ve never seen this movie… seriously? How can someone have <i>never</i>, not once,
in their life see this movie? I feel
sorry for you and your childhood if you’ve never seen it. Now, there are people who think that this
movie is overrated and not their taste, and I respect that, but come on… So,
because of the fact that everyone has seen it at least once, I’m skipping the
recap and going to hit up personal highlights instead.</div>
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“Over the Rainbow”.
Fun fact: this song was <i>almost cut from the movie</i>. Not kidding.
the powers that be at MGM thought that it slowed down the pace, and at
the time Judy Garland was a rising star – they didn’t want her singing in a
barnyard. It wasn’t dignified. However, wiser heads prevailed, and the song
was kept in. Thank GOD, because it is
the single best moment in the movie.
I’ve been watching this movie over and over for about 30 years, and this
one, simple little song still makes me cry.
Every.Time. It became Judy’s
signature anthem, sung at the end of every concert she gave in her later
years. It speaks to everyone who has ever
searched for more in their life. It is a
simple, but beautiful and poignant song. And I'm sorry, but no body can sing it like Judy...</div>
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The transition from the <st1:state>Kansas</st1:state>
house to Munchkinland. This is still
amazing, even if you’ve seen it a million times. When Dorothy makes her way through her house,
and opens the door to a Technicolor dream world, it smacks you in the face so
hard you can’t <i>help</i> but smile. And
all done without computer gobbeldy-gook – they had a sepia painted house, Judy’s
stand-in in a sepia-died dress and wig walk through the house, so that when the
door opened, you could see the colour.
That’s right – the whole thing was done with no trick-photography, no
computers, not hand-coloured (as previously misunderstood by many) just plain,
old-fashioned practical movie magic.
Love.</div>
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The songs. They are
all earworms, and delightful ones at that.
The fact that a few are referenced all the time in pop-culture (most
notably “Ding, Dong! The Witch is Dead!”) is a testament to their
longevity. My personal faves are, of
course, “Over the Rainbow”, but also: “If I Only had a Heart”, “The Merry Old
Land of Oz” and the removed “Jitterbug”.
If you don’t have the DVD with “The Jitterbug” on it, check it out on
YouTube. It’s a catchy little
ditty. I prefer the “Heart” song to the
other two simply because I adore Jack Haley’s rendition. </div>
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The Wicked Witch. I
have always been partial to villains, and she was my first. She also used to scare the hell out of me
when I was a kid, but I still love her to pieces. This movie went through several incarnations,
including one where the witch was beautiful.
When they decided to make the witch ugly, the actress originally cast
walked, and in stepped Margaret Hamilton.
And she is beyond brilliant, throwing herself into the role with
abandon, and making her a true threat.
Ah, the days when studios has no qualms about instilling fear into
children… </div>
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The relationships. I
adore Dorothy’s relationship with the three guys, both on the farm and in
Oz. They are the big brothers everyone
wishes they had – fun, helpful, and protective.
There is an innocent familial bond between them, and it is so
beautifully done, and believable.
Especially between Dorothy and the Scarecrow. Maybe it’s because she meets him first, maybe
it’s because of the undeniable friend-chemistry between Judy and Ray
Bolger. Whatever it is, it is
delightful.</div>
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The sets. I want to
go to Oz. It is colourful, imaginative,
scary, mysterious, and just plain stunning all at once. Technicolor was still relatively new when this
movie came out, and was used to perfection here. The use of light/shadow and colour is dead-on
perfect, the different areas of Oz are distinct, so you know <i>exactly</i>
where you are as the journey continues. Props
to the designers who made Oz come to life so vividly.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Judy Garland. I have
seen pretty much everything this woman has been in, and she will appear a few
more times this month, if not this year, but this is the Judy I love. Mainly because this was my first <st1:city>Garland</st1:city>
movie, but she is just so good in this.
You truly <i>feel</i> everything Dorothy is feeling, because she is so
convincing. She is beautiful, innocent,
and heartbreaking. The studio worked her
hard, but you would never have guessed it from her performance. Even at sixteen, she was a consummate
professional, and a delight to watch in this movie.</div>
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I will admit, even thought I have nothing but absolute love
for this movie, there are a few things which I feel they could have done
better, and none have anything to do with the technology available to them at
the time. So, a couple of “lows” for me:</div>
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Glinda. She doesn’t
really do <i>much</i> to help Dorothy out, although that is how Dorothy learns
her lesson, I guess. Even still, she is
pretty much the reason Dorothy is being hunted down by The Witch of the West,
and other than causing it to snow on the poppy field, she’s not much help. I wish they had done a little bit more with
her, but then it would have cut down on screentime with the guys, so I’m ok
with it.</div>
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<st1:place><st1:placename>Emerald</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>City</st1:placetype></st1:place>. I’m always so disappointed by <st1:place><st1:placename>Emerald</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>City</st1:placetype></st1:place>. They did such a wonderful job with the other
sets, and Emerald city was just… blah.
Maybe because it appears to be completely indoor, like a mall or
something, but I just wish they’d given it a little more pizzaz. </div>
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“King of the <st1:place>Forest</st1:place>”. OK, so they wanted to cut “Over the Rainbow”
for pacing, but left this in? Did Bert
Lahr have dirt on the director or something?
This is the single most boring part of the whole film. I guess it serves as a time-killer while they
wait to hear back from the Wizard’s guard, but there could have been a better
song, something sung by all four of them, or even some dialogue. Anything would have been better than this.</div>
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This movie had a profound effect on my life, and still
manages to touch me, make me smile, laugh, cover my eyes, etc. As technology goes racing by, it makes me appreciate
the effort put into this movie, a true pioneer in special effects. The tornado is still brilliant, and
sufficiently scary. </div>
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In 1999, the movie was re-released for its 60<sup>th</sup> anniversary
to theatres. I excitedly went and saw it
and was blown away. As I walked out of
the theatre, wiping the tears out of my eyes, I heard a woman talking to her
kid who couldn’t have been more than about 9 or 10. She was telling him “Well, the special
effects weren’t the same back then as they are now.” My heart dropped. Apparently, the kid thought it was boring or
something, and was disappointed that the tornado didn’t look like <i>Twister</i>. This is my beef with current movie-going
kiddoes. They can’t appreciate beautiful
movies with compelling stories and characters unless some really cool technical
stuff is involved. I guess I was
spoiled, being raised on all of the classics.
Those of you who are parents, or plan on it, I strongly encourage you to
show some of these classics to your kids when they’re young. It will help them to appreciate film in
general (I believe these old movies are the reason I am film-obsessed), as well
as simplicity. OK, climbing off my
soapbox.</div>
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<i>The Wizard of Oz</i> is a true classic. Like I said, if you haven’t seen it, you have
led a very sheltered life, and really should rent it ASAP. If you haven’t seen it in a while, I
encourage you to do the same and re-visit it.
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Tomorrow: Another one of my all-time faves. Bet you can’t guess which one! And that’s a wrap!<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-12204076661350618852012-05-31T10:30:00.000-04:002012-05-31T10:30:23.759-04:00Playing Catch Up!<br />
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Wow, it has been a long week, and now I’m totally behind in
my movies. OK, so in order to be able to
keep up, I will forgo my previously chosen movies, and give you the “short,
short” version of a handful of flicks I have seen before. Tomorrow, I should be able to give you a
legit post…</div>
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I count <i>The Fighting Sullivans</i> as a movie, since I
recommended it and all on Sunday. So,
that was #357. Up next…</div>
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#356: <i>Summer Magic</i> (1963). This was a Disney Haley Mills vehicle, and
boy is it fun! It’s about a family, the
Carey’s, who lost their patriarch and are forced to move to a tiny little
apartment across town (Boston), but little schemer Nancy has already written to
the Postmaster of idyllic Beulah, Maine, about a house they once saw while on
vacation, affectionately known as “The Yellow House”. The Postmaster (played brilliantly by Burl
Ives) tells a little lie (as does <st1:city>Nancy</st1:city>
– actually a TON of little lies to get the house) and lets them live
there. There’s city
slicker-turned-country mouse hilarity, as well as genuine heart and, yes, schmaltz. The songs are from the Sherman Brothers, so
you <i>know</i> they’re awesome. Check
it out - it’s a harmless little piece of fluff.
This is my favourite song from the movie: (couldn't find a clip of the actual scene, but the song is a gem, and I want it played at my future wedding!)</div>
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#355:
<i>Truman</i> (1995). This made for HBO
Biopic about US President Harry S. Truman (played by the always brilliant Gary
Sinise) probably could have been a theatrical film. Then again, HBO is known for its excellence in
movies. It’s a pretty straight-forward
biopic, and does show Truman in a fairly favourable light, but then again, he
was a pretty decent guy to begin with.
There’s not much on his life as a youngster, but then we would have had
a <i>John Adams</i> length series, and this was before Tom Hanks teamed up with
HBO. The only weak link casting-wise I
can think of is Amelia Campbell, who plays Truman’s daughter Margaret. But her role isn’t really that big, so it
doesn’t really take away from the rest of the movie. It should be noted that this biopic is based
off of David McCullough’s book <i>Truman</i>, which is why it’s so damn
good. Check it out, even if only for the
greatness that is Gary Sinise.</div>
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#354:
<i>Isn’t She Great? </i>(2000). No, she
really isn’t… This is another biopic about the late, great author Jacqueline
Susann. Susann is most well-known for <i>Valley
of the Dolls</i>, also my favourite book.
Don’t judge. It’s awesome. Anyway, the biggest problem here is that
Susann actually led a crazy interesting life, most of which is glossed
over. The movie is cartoonish at the
beginning, but calms down a little as the film progresses. Even Susann’s breast cancer is handled with a
seemingly light touch. The thing that
kills me is that Susann is played by Bette Midler, who I <i>know</i> is a terrific
actress, but the overall tone of the film just doesn’t work. She over does it in almost every scene. Yes, Susann was a character, but she wasn’t
the cartoon character created here. It
doesn’t help that <st1:street>Nathan Lane</st1:street>
plays her manager/husband, Irving Mansfield.
Susann deserves better, so I say hold off until they make a more fitting
film about her.</div>
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#353:
<i>The Love Letter</i> (1998). OK, just
to clear this up: there was an utterly charming movie called <i>The Love Letter</i>
that came out in 1999 starring Kate Capshaw and Tom Selleck. This is not that movie. I am saving that movie for a full-on post,
because it is just that awesome. No,
this version is a made for TV Hallmark movie.
It’s about a guy named Scott who buys a Civil War-era writing desk, and
discovers a secret compartment with an old love letter written by the desks
previous owner, Elizabeth. <st1:city>Elizabeth</st1:city>
lived during the Civil War. On a whim,
he writes her back using vintage paper, ink, and even a Civil War-era
stamp. He even mails the letter from a post
office that was in existence back then. His
letter time travels to <st1:city>Elizabeth</st1:city>,
and they begin writing. Oh, and Scott’s
totally engaged to a very nice, but obviously not meant for him, woman. So, yeah, he’s carrying on an affair with a
woman who’s been dead for about a hundred years. Scott works in publishing, and <st1:city>Elizabeth</st1:city>
is a writer, so he finds and publishes her poems and stories, thus able to make
her dream of being a published writer come true. There is a happy ending, but I don’t want to
spoil it for you. This really is a
charming movie, I say check it out.</div>
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Tomorrow:
a real post! WHEEEE! That’s a wrap, folks!<o:p></o:p></div>BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813841580635985669.post-68568666965867930862012-05-27T08:58:00.003-04:002012-05-27T08:58:45.955-04:00Memorial Day MemoriumI missed yesterday due to the fact that I was exhausted when I got back from work on Friday night, and didn't watch the movie ahead of time, and worked about 11 hours yesterday. Hopefully, I will be back to normal blogging at some point today or tomorrow. In the meantime, Happy Memorial Day, and thanks to all who served and have given their lives...<br />
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For those of you who are not history geeks like me, these 5 guys are the Sullivan Brothers. They were all on the USS Juneau, which was attacked November of 1943. Only 10 out of over 800 servicemen survived. None of them were from the Sullivan family. This is the reason why the military is hesitant to station siblings together. There was a movie made in 1945 called <i>The Fighting Sullivans. </i>I highly recommend you check it out. I only saw it once when I was, like, 10, but the story still sticks with me. (Guess this counts as an entry since I recommended a movie to y'all...)BethieJeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00935945872924561311noreply@blogger.com0