Sunday, August 07, 2005

Sticking together is what good waffles do.

A nice slow sunday back in ye olde avondale. It's good to be home, I like this little set up I had this summer, because may was like star wars/relaxing month and then a little bit of june and all of july was new york internship and now august is another relaxation month. Hopefully now I can do all the stuff I wanted to do this summer, it's good to cram it all in sometimes. Right?

RIGHT?!?!?!?


Anyway, I watched three movies today. All the Real Girls this morning, Black and White in the late afternoon and then Waking Life at night. Black and White is weird, it came out about five years ago and when I saw it I thought it was really provocative and insightful and it still is to a certain extent. There's a collection of interesting scenes (all of mike tyson and robert downey jr's stuff) but over all it's way too heavy handed and obvious with what it is trying to "say" about race relations in america. It's not a bad movie but one than can get very annoying at times, on the flipside it's not nearly as bad as crash.

But what I wanted to write about was how depressed I became during All the Real Girls and Waking Life. Now, I'm sure this is going to sound extrememly pompous and self-congratulatory but please bear with me for just a few minutes. This weekend The Dukes of Hazzard made something like 30 million dollars, which means a shit load of people went to see it. And that makes sense, it's pg-13, it's got cars, and it's got a deranged/moronic life size looking barbie struttin' around in her ass pants.

I know, I sound like a crotchety old man, but come on 30 million dollars.

The point of all this was I'm watching All the Real Girls and trying to figure out A) Why this movie is rated R cutting off a huge section of a potential target audience whereas Dukes skates by with a pg-13 and B) Why can't movies like this make 30 million dollars opening weekend. I know it's an age old question everybody asks about a lot of movies and I'm not asking it just because I think all the real girls is better ( i know it is) and not because it's more artsy or more poetic. All the Real Girls is in love with life and the possibilites of life. It makes you want to sit down by a river and watch the day drift away, it makes you want to remember experiences, places you've been in your life, people you miss who are long gone. In short the things that make life great (at least I think they do) And this movie celebrates those things to their very core in the least pretentious way possible because let's face it, if I can enjoy it then anyone can (I speak from experience I needed the ending of the sixth sense and the usual suspects explained to me in fine detail). It's just so depressing that this movie will slip by a lot of people's radars and cynical garbage like Dukes will rise to the top. A movie that exploits its audience rather than enjoy it's company.

I'm sorry to rant like this, I don't think just because I love all the real girls that everybody else should, nor do I think everybody should run out and see it right now. Because honestly, it's probably not for everybody (just like any other movie I suppose) I just wish there was a way for more movies like it and Waking Life to be made for younger audiences and that they didn't rely on cheap fads, lame jokes, and frat boy shit. Or if we could somehow have a balance. That's all.

I hope Nate made it through his work weekend okay, just remember this, the words of Feng Shui...

Pretend you're standing over the ocean. You're a millionaire. Pretend you're running over the ocean. You're jumping across mountains. You're jumping across mountains. Everybody loves you.

5 comments:

Nathaniel said...

"Yeah drive the bus off a cliff that would solve everything."

&

"What is a wedding? Webster's Dictionary defines a wedding as "The process of removing weeds from one's garden."

KounterKlockwise said...

Dukes celebrates the wonderful, great things in life too. Like cool cars, hot chicks, drinking beer and hating negroes. I guess everyone has their opinions on what the good things in life are.

Nathaniel said...

Right on.

Anonymous said...

I hope the comment before me was in jest. Apparently, the Real Dukes of Hazard are embarrassed by this movie. God, I hate Jessica Simpson, and todays Pop Culture. Despite your rant, and despite the fact I know nothing about All the Real Girls, you did make me want to rent it. I may tonight. Well done.

E, you need to make movies that are good AND sell 30 mil +. You will. I mean, come on, just feature me in them, and you got a great movie ;)

Anonymous said...

I guess people don't want things that remind them of real-life. They want alot of stuff shoved in their faces that pretends to really matter but doesn't. Exhibit A: Jessica Simpson.
And movies are marketed as "events". See it now while it's hot or you miss out. So, people spend millions of dollars seeing a movie like Dukes even though in just a few weeks, most people will have forgotten the movie and not see it as essential at all. It was something to do though. The curtain was revealed on another turd. I'm the same way with things other than movies.