Taking Woodstock

Last night, after an epic trip to Seattle (read: Indian style gyros and driving in rainstorms), some friends and I rented Taking Woodstock instead of going to see a movie in theaters.

A few months ago, I think, I posted about how excited I was to see this movie.

That excitement was totally justified.

Most of the action centers around a family who run a failing resort in the Catskills. Imelda Stauton is brilliant as the stereotypical Jewish mother, occasionally breaking into rants about Nazis. I also really liked Demetri Martin's performance as the frustrated, slightly neurotic son. He wants to go to California to be a painter/designer, but has instead been roped into helping with the motel and being president of the chamber of commerce in his small, conservative hometown.

Luckily! His two obnoxious positions put him in just the right place to have the power to authorize the hippie music festival that has been forced out of another town in the area. I really liked how this movie showed the opposition to what these kids were doing. There were all these assumptions that Woodstock would dissolve into violence, things would be stolen, property damaged. Besides from the effects of having a couple of thousand people in one place, not a lot of that really happened. But the people in the town wanted them out. It's that opposition that I think we're lacking these days. The tension between generations that gave people something to rebel against. Perhaps that would produce more action out of what seems a largely apathetic youth. I'm sure we're not, I just don't see it.

Ang Lee, as usual, is an expert at creating a full world. All the details were taken care of and the side plots were just as delightful as the main story. Liev Shrieber's character, the drag queen (I think) security guard, was utterly charming. The buildup of Elliot's romance with Dave the Construction Worker (Adam LeFevre) was very nicely presented without being overdone. There were also great cameos by Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine) and Mamie Gummer, who I like more the more I see of her.

In conclusion - the sixties don't look too bad when Ang Lee directs it.

Serial Mom

I just finished, like twenty minutes ago or something, the John Waters film "Serial Mom."

My original response was, what the fuck, but it's growing on me and I think I have a few things worked out.

First. Kathleen Turner is a goddess. I don't care what else she's done before or since, in this film she is impeccable.

Next. Holy shit, how does John Waters write this stuff and get away with it?

So it's about this family. There's Kathleen Turner, Jack McCoy from Law and Order, Shaggy from the Scooby Doo Movie (or that one guy from Without a Paddle, if you saw that), and the original Tracy Turnblad from Hairspray. Now imagine all of them having breakfast. Pretty trippy. Then you realize, all the boys walked out of a Backstreet Boys music video and Kathleen Turner is fucking insane. She kills people. All the time. But it's insane in a beautiful, mesmerizing, frightening way. It's like watching a burning building - beautiful and terrible. Along with some alarmingly frank views on the idea of fame in this country.

And you giggle through the whole thing. Quite a masterpiece. Maybe when I'm done with all the Meryl Streep movies, I'll watch all the John Waters movies.

Julie Andrews down the hall

Julie Andrews lives in my dorm. Seriously, she does. I haven't seen her yet, but she does. She lives at the end of my hall, by the tea pantry. She has a sign on her door letting us know where she is. Usually she's having a lie in, but sometimes she's flying a kite, cross dressing, or being more awesome than Audrey Hepburn.

And she's become part of our community. The other night, as a friend of mine was getting ready to head out into the rain, she called to us,

"Tell Julie I'm borrowing her umbrella."

"Okay," we responded.

See - the spirit of Julie Andrews is in our lives, brightening our days.

Loving Glamour

I love celebrity. It sounds whorish, but I really do, I think it’s great. When I was in middle school I read People magazine religiously. There’s something about it that, as the entertainment industry indicates, is addicting. But it’s dangerous too. It’s really, really dangerous. People build up these images of people who always look fabulous and always do cool things. When these celebrities unavoidably fail to match the image that has been created for them the fallout is terrible. I wonder if that that’s one of the hidden blessings of the tabloids. They show all the screwed up, potentially fictional, aspects of these people. It’s like they’re say, “Look, fuck off! These people aren’t special, they’re just as screwed up as you.”

But now it sounds like I’m saying that we shouldn’t create celebrities and I don’t think that’s true at all. I love that I have people like Meryl Streep and Bogie and Kate Winslet in my life to be fabulous and glamorous. I know there’s more to them then glamour. They’re imperfect and have their faults, but that’s part of them. They’re people I can adore. I know that sounds unhealthy. Maybe it is. I don’t need to know them, they don’t need to be wrapped up in my life drama, I don’t need to be wrapped in theirs, they can just be shading in my life that is always a bit of brightness and light. And I can love them for fulfilling that role in my life.

Sometimes I’m okay with people not quite being what I thought they were. Take James Dean, for example, no matter what I learn about his life, I don’t care. He’s still interesting and I like having him around. It’s the same with Marilyn Monroe, it doesn’t matter how screwed up she was, I still think she’s enchanting.

But it’s still dangerous loving the celebrity. As much as I love them, they’re still people. I know that. I really do, just sometimes I forget. They can’t always live up to the expectations I set for them. And that’s what I’m going through right now. I thought I could overlook everything that wasn’t quite wonderful, but of course they weren’t And when they’re not as wonderful as I thought, they kind of break my heart.

Side note: It would appear that during the school year, this blog is on hiatus.

Up

At school, when I'm not reading my Spanish romance novel for my Spanish lit class (the descriptions are fantastic, "el rey del acero"), I'm part of the film series committee. We show movies on campus every weekend. This first six week series of the year is a pretty great lineup, we have some great movies coming up. Star Trek is next weekend and Some Like it Hot is in the near future.

Tonight was the first movie of the year and it was Up. I ended up showing it and no matter how many more screenings I run, none of them will be more hilarious in retrospect.

We use one of the larger lecture halls on campus for most of our screenings. I do not attend a large college, so it is not the biggest lecture hall, but it works fine. I showed up twenty five minutes before so I could remember how to use the equipment. After ten minutes the room was totally packed. I watched from the front of the room as we slowly blocked all exits with sitting people and went above and beyond maximum capacity for the room.

"Guys... can we just make a little aisle? Please?"

In the end, I gave up and played the movie. I hadn't seen Up before. I didn't intend on seeing it, I was going to go do homework, but I couldn't get out of the room because of all the people. I really liked it, the characters were fantastic and it was so creative. I go to a women's college. For those of you who have not experienced watching a movie with a room full of girls should try it, it's hilarious. I mean that in the kindest way possible. By fifteen minutes into the movie, most of the room was sniffling audibly. Then they all started giggling. It's kind of adorable.

Streep Tease

I like living on the east coast, I really do. Right now the weather's a little nuts (thunderstorms all evening) and I'm not totally moved in yet. I'm still not sure if I really like the layout of my room. But otherwise, I'm quite thrilled with the east coast.

Except right now, I want to be on the west coast because I want to go to this.

All of Meryl Streep's major monologues performed by men. I don't even care it's in LA (the idea of this city frightens me a little), it has to be awesome.

I will watch the rest of Giant soon. It's weighing heavily on my soul.

Meryl Streep's Casablanca

I was directed to this article by my debate coach who writes the awesome blog decorabilia. The article, for those too lazy to skim it, is "written" by Meryl Streep for The Onion and discusses how she's a great actress but doesn't really have a solid major piece of cinema to her name. Now, no matter what I may think personally, the article kind of has a point. None of her big movies are generally recognized as movie masterpieces. In other words, she doesn't have a Gone with the Wind or Casablanca to her name.

But I was challenged to prove otherwise.

My first thought was The Hours. Based on a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, about a famous dead person, absolutely fantastic cast (don't get me started, there is so much talent in this movie it's a wonder the theater didn't explode) and director and costumes by Ann Roth. There were nine Academy Awards nominations and Nicole Kidman won best actress for her role as Virginia Woolf. So - quality film, but not really a "classic piece of cinema" to quote the article. I'm not sure why, I think it's fantastic, but this is my theory. First, the storyline is really convoluted. There are three interwoven storylines in three different eras and thus it's kind of difficult to get attached to any one person. Second, there are really uncomfortable scenes in this movie. To give some examples, that scene with Meryl Streep and Jeff Daniels where she just loses it and starts sobbing hysterically in the kitchen. I think it's one of the most impressive scenes of her career, but lets face it, it's really uncomfortable to witness. There's also the scene with Nicole Kidman and Stephen Dillane at the train station where she's trying to flee to London. Also incredible acting, but so painful to watch. There's a difference (I think) between sad, which causes empathy, and painful, which just makes you feel awkward and want to look away. I think the painful scenes are painful because we can identify so much with the scene that it's difficult to watch. And that can make them a little unpopular. And third, there isn't really a resolved ending. The ultimate message is, life goes on, in the end it doesn't really matter. Audiences don't really like that. We like - the robots lost! or yes, you can beat cancer! or I am a better person now! So. The Hours. Popular with critics, not exactly a "classic piece of cinema."

Then I thought Postcards from the Edge, but no matter how much I love that movie, I seem to be the only person in the world besides Debbie Reynolds who has seen it. And I thought Plenty was hilarious but not exactly classic material.

So after giving it a lot of thought - here is my final response. Silkwood is Meryl Streep's Casablanca. I may like The Hours better, but Silkwood follows way more of the "classic" formula. First, Ann Roth did the costumes. This is a requirement for me. It's important. People just look better that way. Second, it's about a important social issue, radiation poisoning. A modern example of this would Milk. Third, there is not a lot of happy going on, see The Reader, Kate Winslet's winning film, a movie loaded with unhappy. Fourth, the main character gets ugly (i.e. Charlize Theron in Monster). Lets face it, Meryl Streep is not that attractive in this movie. Her hair should be taken it out and shot. Fifth, it's based on a true story. Bio-pics, as Milk, Walk the Line and Ray have shown, really do matter. Sixth, Cher plays a lesbian. Also, for bonus points, Cher was nominated for an Oscar. And it was her first film. How cool is that? The whole film garnered five Academy Award nominations including actress and director (Mike Nichols). And the critical reception was not too bad. Opening weekend it was twelfth at the box office with limited release, but was number one when it went to a wider release. All the important "classic" criteria, lots of Oscar attention. Sounds important.

Okay, so it may not have survived as well as it could have, but you know what, neither has Bonnie and Clyde.