connielane (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
connielane) wrote2003-09-21 08:50 am
connielane) wrote2003-09-21 08:50 am
(no subject)
Well, my dad's wedding went fairly well yesterday, but I am thoroughly exhausted by the experience. I wasn't nervous or emotional at all until a girl I went to church with growing up gave me a hug five mintes before the ceremony began and told me I looked just like my mother (who died when I was 12). That put me in a bit of a state, but it was a lovely thing for her to say.
In more mundane news, I saw three movies this weekend.
I saw American Splendor Friday afternoon. It is quite simply excellent. I've never seen anything like it. It's really something. I love how it's half biopic and half documentary. Parts of the story are told by the actors and other parts are told by the real Harvey Pekar and the people in his life who are portrayed in the film. Toby Radloff is my new hero. He has a real commitment to nerdiness. He even drives from Cleveland to Toledo just to see Revenge of the Nerds, which he considers the best movie ever made.
Last night, I did a double feature of Thirteen and Anything Else. Thirteen is pretty intense. It makes me feel silly for trying to write a screenplay about my own experiences at that age. These girls are nuts, but they're really no different than other people their age. A lot of what you do at that age is showing people what you're made of and proving that you're not too chicken to do something wild. Of course, in my day, something wild was creating graffiti on the bathroom walls or saying a particularly vulgar swear word, not getting high with your best friend and slapping each other until you draw blood or knock each other out. Perhaps the most impressive part of the film is that it was co-written by one of its adolescent stars, Nikki Reed, who apparently based the story on some of her own experiences.
I found Anything Else to be a bit yawn-inducing. But maybe that was just because I was watching it so late. All I could think about was how Jerry was able to make enough money as a writer for stand-up comics that he could live in a sizable NY apartment and still afford to lavish gifts and rent nice hotel rooms for his girlfriend. Christina Ricci got on my nerves, but I guess she's supposed to get on your nerves. The only high points in the movie for me were whenever Woody Allen was on screen. Usually it's the Woody in Woody Allen movies that brings out the "meh", but when compared to Christina Ricci, he was actually quite charismatic and almost fun (almost). :)
In more mundane news, I saw three movies this weekend.
I saw American Splendor Friday afternoon. It is quite simply excellent. I've never seen anything like it. It's really something. I love how it's half biopic and half documentary. Parts of the story are told by the actors and other parts are told by the real Harvey Pekar and the people in his life who are portrayed in the film. Toby Radloff is my new hero. He has a real commitment to nerdiness. He even drives from Cleveland to Toledo just to see Revenge of the Nerds, which he considers the best movie ever made.
Last night, I did a double feature of Thirteen and Anything Else. Thirteen is pretty intense. It makes me feel silly for trying to write a screenplay about my own experiences at that age. These girls are nuts, but they're really no different than other people their age. A lot of what you do at that age is showing people what you're made of and proving that you're not too chicken to do something wild. Of course, in my day, something wild was creating graffiti on the bathroom walls or saying a particularly vulgar swear word, not getting high with your best friend and slapping each other until you draw blood or knock each other out. Perhaps the most impressive part of the film is that it was co-written by one of its adolescent stars, Nikki Reed, who apparently based the story on some of her own experiences.
I found Anything Else to be a bit yawn-inducing. But maybe that was just because I was watching it so late. All I could think about was how Jerry was able to make enough money as a writer for stand-up comics that he could live in a sizable NY apartment and still afford to lavish gifts and rent nice hotel rooms for his girlfriend. Christina Ricci got on my nerves, but I guess she's supposed to get on your nerves. The only high points in the movie for me were whenever Woody Allen was on screen. Usually it's the Woody in Woody Allen movies that brings out the "meh", but when compared to Christina Ricci, he was actually quite charismatic and almost fun (almost). :)