I had a very rich and fulfilling weekend on Saturday and Sunday. So stupendous was this passage in time, I’m left virtually without anything to complain or comment on!
I can say that Cami and I went see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on Saturday evening and it’s easily the best film I’ve seen so far this year. It’s very smart and doesn’t compromise. It has Charlie Kaufman’s signature all over it. And while Jon Brion’s score was a little loopy/creepy at times, the film was balanced by several moments of levity and true, human emotions.
Kaufman is brilliant in terms of placing his characters in outlandish situations while still grounding them in a realistic environment. Everything from the everyday clothes they wear, how they haphazardly decorate their apartments – even the non-Hollywood, unflattering lighting and lack of make-up create a very credible universe.
Great performances all around. Director Michel Gondry was able to extract something very innocent and pure from Jim Carrey. Is this the kind of person Carrey really is? Mellow, unassuming… LIKEABLE – when he’s not performing? Remember when Robin Williams finally realized he should tone it down a notch and how much easier it became to watch him? Same with Carrey here.
I left the theater with a lot of hope. I think at it’s core, Eternal Sunshine is a very optimistic film – probably one of the most romantic pictures I’ve seen in a long time. I like it message that, essentially, all the little idiosyncracies about your partner that annoy you are fundamentally meaningless in the big picture. The fact that people would be so willing to throw away love over such trifles is one of humanities great follies.
Of course, compounded with the central message of nurturing love are several great ethical debates about emerging technologies and their applications without testing. In many respects, Eternal Sunshine could be seen as a cautionary tale! The movie works on so many levels – comedy, romance… even horror in some parts. I can’t wait to start talking about it with other people who have seen it.
I’ll say this for being sick; It sure gives you the time to catch up on a bunch of movies.
I had something flu-like on Monday. So after sweating it out Monday night, I stayed home from work on Tuesday. I ended up watching The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, The Naked Gun 2 and 1/2: The Smell of Fear, The Lonely Guy and Goodfellas (because it just happened to be on).
I can say without doubt that the first Naked Gun is probably one of my favorite comedies, but that I hadn’t seen the second in a long time and I kind of remember why. Despite the addition of Robert Goulet, it’s vastly inferior. Not just in terms of the humor, which feels a little overdone. But there are huge plot holes in the thing! In my opinion, some of the best humor evolves from the characters being placed in a totally absurd situation and reacting to it with complete seriousness. That’s why the first Naked Gun movie is hilarious and also why the first Airplane! movie is hilarious. Leslie Nielson and that deep baratone of his adds the perfect amount of weight to ridiculous lines like "It’s true what they say. Cops and women don’t mix. It’s like eating a spoonful of Drano; Sure it’ll clean you out, but it’ll leave you hollow inside!" That’s why it’s such a shame he’s started wasting his talent in stuff like Mr. Magoo and Spy Hard in the late 90’s. Those movies were just flat-out stupid.
Moving on… The Lonely Guy. I’ve been on a Steve Martin kick ever since watching Shopgirl a few months ago. I have no plans, however, to endure Cheaper By The Dozen 2 when it comes out this month.
Instead, I’ve been combing through his back catalog. I already owned Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid and it’s one of my favorite movies. Actually, Jared turned me onto that one years ago. We think it’s brilliant. But I picked up The Lonely Guy only partially remembering it from the times it’s been on basic cable. It was pretty funny. Cute. It’s kind of dated though. It suffers pretty heavily from the 80’s flavored synth soundtrack. It makes me wonder if the movies we’re watching now we’re going to look back on in 20 years and go "Ugh! What was up with the music back then?"
I don’t know what it was about movies from the 80’s, but very few of them seem to have a timeless quality about them. I’m sure you can say the same thing about any era, really. The movies that ARE timeless are certainly in the minioirty compared the majority of crap that comes out of most major studios. I suppose that’s why their timeless, but still…
And finally, Goodfellas… I caught it on HBO. To me, Goodfella’s is one of those movies that I will stop whatever I’m doing to watch. It’s so arresting, you can’t really turn away from it. I think that’s a big accomplisment. Especially after nearly 15 years. An even bigger accomplishment if the movie is on television. You know how it goes. You’re at home, watching TV, some movie comes across your radar. You think, "Oh, that’s interesting." and you watch it for 15 minutes or so before going back to channel surfing. Not Goodfellas. It comes on and I forget I even have a remote. Man, what a great movie. I’m still seeing helicopters.
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