Enjoyment of a romantic comedy has little to do with the story itself. We all know the story going in: Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl. More or less.
So what does make for an enjoyable romantic comedy? Here are the elements I think matter:
A) A charming, good-looking male lead who we would like to go out with (if female) and who isn't too sexy or threatening.
B) The exact same thing in the female lead.
C) The "cute meet" -- A technical term referring to the way in which the characters are thrown together: It should be clever, at least somewhat believable, and, again, charming.
D) Chemistry between the two leads. If we can tell they hate each other in real life, we'll be squirming.
E) A chance to spend two hours in a world different from our prosaic, unremarkable world, preferably a world with some glamour and fun.
F) Some genuine laughs, and not mean ones.
And last but not least:
G) That lovely little squirmy feeling in the tummy when the two leads finally kiss.
By these standards, Music and Lyrics is definitely a worthy entry in the romantic comedy pantheon.
I really, really enjoyed this movie. Hugh Grant is absolutely delightful as a one-hit-wonder from the '80s, a "happy has-been" as he terms himself. I loved his character, loved it that he wasn't bitter about playing the state fairs and high school reunions that he was relegated to. And who knew the man who could sing and dance, with quite the accomplished pelvic thrust?
Drew Barrymore is always charming, though she does seem to take some time to warm into her part here. But the chemistry is there, and the two sparkle on screen.
I also loved that this movie, itself a piece of pop culture, is a celebration of pop culture, and one without any snarkiness or mean spiritedness to be found. When Hugh Grant's character makes his defense of lightweight pop music, he could be defending the very concept of the romantic comedy. And it's worth defending. An entire symphony can be less emotionally affecting, can stay with me less time, than some frothy little 3-minute song I hear on the radio. Pop music may be dismissed as being insignificant artistically, but of course it's much more significant to more people than most fine art.
Music and Lyrics is just fun, especially for those of us who lived through the '80s, who spent too much time watching videos on MTV (back in the day when it actually showed videos!) just like the retro video that opens this movie -- and which had our entire audience howling with the laughter of recognition.
A perfect post-Valentine's Day movie, not to be missed if you have romance in your soul and need a non-cynical, non-snarky laugh or two.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
WRAPPING UP THE OSCARS
Well, I turned out to be a lousy prognosticator compared to, say, Sean. Although I did get 11 right on our Oscar night ballots, and I'm not sure too many people did much better (some lucky guesses in the shorts...)
A few random thoughts:
---I was surprised by The Departed's Best Picture win. Will we still be talking about this movie 20 years from now? 10 years from now? Next year? I'm not sure. But then, I'm not sure we'd be talking about any of the other nominees 20 years from now either.
---I thought Ellen DeGeneres did a fine job. It was sort of a relief not to have the political jokes flying around, to be able to relax and realize she wasn't going to go for the cheap Mel Gibson joke. (Perhaps she has been victim of those jokes often enough to have the wisdom to stay away.) I particularly loved her getting Spielberg to take her picture w/ Eastwood.
---I loved the dance troupe's shadow images for each of the Best Pic nominees. How much more breathtaking it must have been to see them live!
---I liked the clip reel about writers in movies -- very clever. But virtually all the other clip reels (America in movies? Huh?) fell quite flat. Could we just bag the big-name directors and get back to having Chuck Workman do all the clip reels, please?
---The "sound effects" choir started off pretty cool, but got old fast. We had a friend (looking quite beautiful!) in the choir, and we ended up spending our time looking for her rather than listening.
---Thank God Sasha Baron Cohen didn't win. Though I am no fan of William Monahan's after the disastrous Kingdom of Heaven, I am happy to have called that one wrong.
---My, wasn't Beyonce singing her lungs out to show everyone that she held back in Dreamgirls and that she could hold her own with Jennifer Hudson.
---Best dress: Helen Mirren. Absolute perfection. I also liked Jodie Foster, and it was nice to see Meryl Streep not looking frumpy at an awards show. And I'm glad to see that in deciding to grow my hair long and straight(ened), I am definitely fashion forward.
---Best speech: Martin Scorsese, if only for the sheer joy of it. And very classy to have Francis, Steven and George there to present his award. Welcome to the club, indeed.
...So they weren't the greatest Oscars of all time, but they weren't an embarrassment (can you say "Chris Rock"?). And our party probably was the best we've had. Last year we had a lot of no-shows, which peeved me no end. But this year, we had people show who hadn't RSVP'd, or who had RSVP'd "maybe" on the Evite (and I always assume a "maybe" is a "no" trying to be polite) -- 7 of them! So we had quite the full house, with Lee racing outside to pull in more chairs throughout the evening.
The food was good, but, boy, we really took a time warp back to 2000 for Chocolat. We had The Good German Chocolate Cake, we had a Pan filled with a Labyrinth of Brownies, we had Devil(ed) Wears Prada Food Cake and Cupcakes, we had "poop in a bucket" (chocolate cookies) for Borat (funny, not many people ate them...), we had Dream(Girls) Bars (basically brownies again). We were chocolated to the max.
We also had deviled eggs, onion bagels, and cubes of cheese (Emily's diet) for Devil Wears Prada; "Waffles a la Modey" and KFC for Little Miss Sunshine, Irish stew for The Departed, Blood (Diamond) oranges, and lasagna which somehow ended up representing The Queen. We ran through the food so quickly it was unbelievable, leaving us with, well, lots of chocolate.
A nice Oscars. A great party. Now I guess it's time to start prognosticating for next year....
A few random thoughts:
---I was surprised by The Departed's Best Picture win. Will we still be talking about this movie 20 years from now? 10 years from now? Next year? I'm not sure. But then, I'm not sure we'd be talking about any of the other nominees 20 years from now either.
---I thought Ellen DeGeneres did a fine job. It was sort of a relief not to have the political jokes flying around, to be able to relax and realize she wasn't going to go for the cheap Mel Gibson joke. (Perhaps she has been victim of those jokes often enough to have the wisdom to stay away.) I particularly loved her getting Spielberg to take her picture w/ Eastwood.
---I loved the dance troupe's shadow images for each of the Best Pic nominees. How much more breathtaking it must have been to see them live!
---I liked the clip reel about writers in movies -- very clever. But virtually all the other clip reels (America in movies? Huh?) fell quite flat. Could we just bag the big-name directors and get back to having Chuck Workman do all the clip reels, please?
---The "sound effects" choir started off pretty cool, but got old fast. We had a friend (looking quite beautiful!) in the choir, and we ended up spending our time looking for her rather than listening.
---Thank God Sasha Baron Cohen didn't win. Though I am no fan of William Monahan's after the disastrous Kingdom of Heaven, I am happy to have called that one wrong.
---My, wasn't Beyonce singing her lungs out to show everyone that she held back in Dreamgirls and that she could hold her own with Jennifer Hudson.
---Best dress: Helen Mirren. Absolute perfection. I also liked Jodie Foster, and it was nice to see Meryl Streep not looking frumpy at an awards show. And I'm glad to see that in deciding to grow my hair long and straight(ened), I am definitely fashion forward.
---Best speech: Martin Scorsese, if only for the sheer joy of it. And very classy to have Francis, Steven and George there to present his award. Welcome to the club, indeed.
...So they weren't the greatest Oscars of all time, but they weren't an embarrassment (can you say "Chris Rock"?). And our party probably was the best we've had. Last year we had a lot of no-shows, which peeved me no end. But this year, we had people show who hadn't RSVP'd, or who had RSVP'd "maybe" on the Evite (and I always assume a "maybe" is a "no" trying to be polite) -- 7 of them! So we had quite the full house, with Lee racing outside to pull in more chairs throughout the evening.
The food was good, but, boy, we really took a time warp back to 2000 for Chocolat. We had The Good German Chocolate Cake, we had a Pan filled with a Labyrinth of Brownies, we had Devil(ed) Wears Prada Food Cake and Cupcakes, we had "poop in a bucket" (chocolate cookies) for Borat (funny, not many people ate them...), we had Dream(Girls) Bars (basically brownies again). We were chocolated to the max.
We also had deviled eggs, onion bagels, and cubes of cheese (Emily's diet) for Devil Wears Prada; "Waffles a la Modey" and KFC for Little Miss Sunshine, Irish stew for The Departed, Blood (Diamond) oranges, and lasagna which somehow ended up representing The Queen. We ran through the food so quickly it was unbelievable, leaving us with, well, lots of chocolate.
A nice Oscars. A great party. Now I guess it's time to start prognosticating for next year....
Thursday, February 22, 2007
PREDICTING THE OSCARS
Sorry to have been offline for a few days. We took a quick trip out of town to visit Sabrina's mission.
(In California, 4th grade is "California history" year, which means studying the California missions, which at our school means writing a research paper on one particular mission. And since we visited Cory's mission two years ago, we sort of had to visit hers, too. So off we went to Mission San Juan Bautista. And the hotel we stayed at promised wi-fi on their website, but didn't quite deliver on that promise. Hence the lack of blogging.)
But we're back now, with only a few days to pull together our Oscar party. And I thought maybe I should step back from thinking about food and actually look at the nominated movies. So here are a few predictions, for what they're worth.
Best Picture
This is the first year in as-long-as-I-can-remember where there was no clear front runner or at least a pair of front runners. A case can be made for just about all of the nominees. Babel won the Golden Globe for Best Drama. The Departed is directed by Martin Scorsese who will almost certainly win Best Director, and the two often go hand in hand. Letters from Iwo Jima is a Clint Eastwood movie, and you can't count him out. Little Miss Sunshine won the Best Comedy Golden Globe. The Queen has that winning performance by Helen Mirren.
It's a hard call, and it could be any of them. I'm going out on a limb for Little Miss Sunshine, however. People admire the other movies, but they love Sunshine.
But I wouldn't be surprised to be wrong.
Best Director
It should be Scorsese's year. But how many times have we heard that?... I do think Scorsese will win -- it's just too embarrassing for him to keep losing, and everyone feels that embarrassment. (I haven't seen The Departed so can't comment on the deservedness of the win -- but it's really a quasi-Lifetime Achievement award anyway.)
However, as I've said here so often before, actors vote for actors. So don't count out a surprise win by Clint Eastwood.
Best Actor
It's either Peter O'Toole or Forest Whitaker. Yes, I know O'Toole won a real Lifetime Achievement award a few years back, but he almost didn't accept it, so great was his longing for a "real" Oscar. I think he probably wins in a squeaker against Whitaker.
Best Actress
No question. Helen Mirren, and she absolutely deserves it. So does Meryl Streep, for The Devil Wears Prada. Too bad there can't be a tie.
Best Supporting Actor
Eddie Murphy should win -- it's his one chance. (He's never going to be nominated for the likes of Norbit!) The real question is, how much has the backlash against Dreamgirls hurt its chances overall? (What backlash? Well, just yesterday DreamWorks took out a full page ad in Variety apologizing to Barry Gordy and others involved with the Motown legacy for any confusion caused by people thinking the movie wasn't fictional. What an odd ad. If that isn't a studio scrambling in desperation, I don't know what is.)
Still I predict Murphy will win.
Best Supporting Actress
The award has practically been pre-bestowed on Jennifer Hudson already. But there's that backlash thing. And Hudson hasn't been particularly grateful or graceful in the press recently, slamming American Idol, without whom we would never have heard of her. Will that hurt her?
If Hudson doesn't win, it'll be Abigail Breslin, Sabrina's near-double in Little Miss Sunshine. The Academy loves to give awards to kids, and the movie rests or falls on her performance.
Because it would make Sabrina so happy (not that she's seen the movie -- no way!), I'll tip my hat to Breslin. But if I was betting money, I'd probably put it on Hudson.
Best Animated Film
This is a tough one. Happy Feet had the buzz and the box office and the cool environmental message. But it was a confused movie, not really knowing what it wanted to be when it grew up. Cars, on the other hand, was certainly not one of Pixar's best. Yet John Lasseter, who runs Pixar, hasn't yet won a Best Animated Film Oscar, and if anyone deserves one, it's him. (The category wouldn't even exist without Pixar -- and Jeffrey Katzenberg, for that matter.)
Cars won the Golden Globe, which really surprised me. So I'll predict Cars -- but I won't be surprised if it's Happy Feet. (Around here, we're just disappointed that Over the Hedge didn't get nominated -- not only did we totally love it, but we would have had such marvelous junk food possibilities for our Oscar party!)
Best Adapted Screenplay
It should probably be Children of Men. No, actually, it should have been The Devil Wears Prada (I read the book. Believe me, this was a brilliant adaptation.) Unfortunately, The Devil wasn't nominated.
But I have a very, very bad feeling about this category. Because the Academy, in its, um, wisdom, saw fit to nominate Borat.
Now, let's not even get into the question of how a pseudo-documentary could be scripted. (Given that the Writers Guild is trying to organize reality show writers -- who are usually called "producers" even though what they do is write -- they actually have to be glad it was nominated.)
But there are two other issues at hand, neither having anything to do with the deservedness of the nomination or or a possible win. First, remember, you heard it hear first: Actors vote for actors. And Sasha Baron Cohen is an actor.
Second, the Academy likes good speeches. Roberto Begnini pretty much won Best Actor for Life is Beautiful not for his acting, but because the Academy knew he'd give an entertaining speech. And after his over-the-top vulgarity at the Golden Globes, Cohen has at least shown that his speeches are good for publicity.
So, holding my nose, I will have to predict (but would never vote for) Borat.
Best Original Screenplay
It's hard for me to see how anything other than Little Miss Sunshine could win, even though there was some fine writing in some of the other movies as well.
Okay, there are my predictions. Now if anyone has ideas for drinks for our Oscar party (other than "Water" -- foreign film nominee -- and various Piratey rum drinks), please feel free to pass them along!
And let me know if your predictions differ.
(In California, 4th grade is "California history" year, which means studying the California missions, which at our school means writing a research paper on one particular mission. And since we visited Cory's mission two years ago, we sort of had to visit hers, too. So off we went to Mission San Juan Bautista. And the hotel we stayed at promised wi-fi on their website, but didn't quite deliver on that promise. Hence the lack of blogging.)
But we're back now, with only a few days to pull together our Oscar party. And I thought maybe I should step back from thinking about food and actually look at the nominated movies. So here are a few predictions, for what they're worth.
Best Picture
This is the first year in as-long-as-I-can-remember where there was no clear front runner or at least a pair of front runners. A case can be made for just about all of the nominees. Babel won the Golden Globe for Best Drama. The Departed is directed by Martin Scorsese who will almost certainly win Best Director, and the two often go hand in hand. Letters from Iwo Jima is a Clint Eastwood movie, and you can't count him out. Little Miss Sunshine won the Best Comedy Golden Globe. The Queen has that winning performance by Helen Mirren.
It's a hard call, and it could be any of them. I'm going out on a limb for Little Miss Sunshine, however. People admire the other movies, but they love Sunshine.
But I wouldn't be surprised to be wrong.
Best Director
It should be Scorsese's year. But how many times have we heard that?... I do think Scorsese will win -- it's just too embarrassing for him to keep losing, and everyone feels that embarrassment. (I haven't seen The Departed so can't comment on the deservedness of the win -- but it's really a quasi-Lifetime Achievement award anyway.)
However, as I've said here so often before, actors vote for actors. So don't count out a surprise win by Clint Eastwood.
Best Actor
It's either Peter O'Toole or Forest Whitaker. Yes, I know O'Toole won a real Lifetime Achievement award a few years back, but he almost didn't accept it, so great was his longing for a "real" Oscar. I think he probably wins in a squeaker against Whitaker.
Best Actress
No question. Helen Mirren, and she absolutely deserves it. So does Meryl Streep, for The Devil Wears Prada. Too bad there can't be a tie.
Best Supporting Actor
Eddie Murphy should win -- it's his one chance. (He's never going to be nominated for the likes of Norbit!) The real question is, how much has the backlash against Dreamgirls hurt its chances overall? (What backlash? Well, just yesterday DreamWorks took out a full page ad in Variety apologizing to Barry Gordy and others involved with the Motown legacy for any confusion caused by people thinking the movie wasn't fictional. What an odd ad. If that isn't a studio scrambling in desperation, I don't know what is.)
Still I predict Murphy will win.
Best Supporting Actress
The award has practically been pre-bestowed on Jennifer Hudson already. But there's that backlash thing. And Hudson hasn't been particularly grateful or graceful in the press recently, slamming American Idol, without whom we would never have heard of her. Will that hurt her?
If Hudson doesn't win, it'll be Abigail Breslin, Sabrina's near-double in Little Miss Sunshine. The Academy loves to give awards to kids, and the movie rests or falls on her performance.
Because it would make Sabrina so happy (not that she's seen the movie -- no way!), I'll tip my hat to Breslin. But if I was betting money, I'd probably put it on Hudson.
Best Animated Film
This is a tough one. Happy Feet had the buzz and the box office and the cool environmental message. But it was a confused movie, not really knowing what it wanted to be when it grew up. Cars, on the other hand, was certainly not one of Pixar's best. Yet John Lasseter, who runs Pixar, hasn't yet won a Best Animated Film Oscar, and if anyone deserves one, it's him. (The category wouldn't even exist without Pixar -- and Jeffrey Katzenberg, for that matter.)
Cars won the Golden Globe, which really surprised me. So I'll predict Cars -- but I won't be surprised if it's Happy Feet. (Around here, we're just disappointed that Over the Hedge didn't get nominated -- not only did we totally love it, but we would have had such marvelous junk food possibilities for our Oscar party!)
Best Adapted Screenplay
It should probably be Children of Men. No, actually, it should have been The Devil Wears Prada (I read the book. Believe me, this was a brilliant adaptation.) Unfortunately, The Devil wasn't nominated.
But I have a very, very bad feeling about this category. Because the Academy, in its, um, wisdom, saw fit to nominate Borat.
Now, let's not even get into the question of how a pseudo-documentary could be scripted. (Given that the Writers Guild is trying to organize reality show writers -- who are usually called "producers" even though what they do is write -- they actually have to be glad it was nominated.)
But there are two other issues at hand, neither having anything to do with the deservedness of the nomination or or a possible win. First, remember, you heard it hear first: Actors vote for actors. And Sasha Baron Cohen is an actor.
Second, the Academy likes good speeches. Roberto Begnini pretty much won Best Actor for Life is Beautiful not for his acting, but because the Academy knew he'd give an entertaining speech. And after his over-the-top vulgarity at the Golden Globes, Cohen has at least shown that his speeches are good for publicity.
So, holding my nose, I will have to predict (but would never vote for) Borat.
Best Original Screenplay
It's hard for me to see how anything other than Little Miss Sunshine could win, even though there was some fine writing in some of the other movies as well.
Okay, there are my predictions. Now if anyone has ideas for drinks for our Oscar party (other than "Water" -- foreign film nominee -- and various Piratey rum drinks), please feel free to pass them along!
And let me know if your predictions differ.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
EATING THE OSCARS 2007
With the Oscars a week away, it's time to start thinking about our party.
As in previous years, we are throwing our small potluck screening party. But it's a very specific potluck. Everyone who comes has to bring a dish representing a movie that's been nominated that year (not just the big 5 -- any movie).
The food can be eaten in the movie, suggested by the title -- really anything creative and yummy is acceptable.
In previous years, we've had freeze-dried ice cream for Apollo 13. We've had hot dogs and Bud Lite for Jerry Maguire. We had doughnuts for "Lard" of the Rings (and the next year, we had two piles of doughnuts stacked high for "Lard" of the Rings: The Two Towers. We've had apples for Good Will Hunting ("I got her phone number. How about them apples?").
We've had haggis for Braveheart, iceberg lettuce for Titanic, cold salmon for March of the Penguins, and a re-creation of the Normandy Invasion sculpted in meat loaf and mashed potatoes (complete with little tiny soldiers) for Saving Private Ryan. And the year of Chocolat was a very good party indeed.
So send me your ideas: What should be on the menu this Oscar party?
Here's a list of the nominated movies (I left off the shorts because of sheer obscurity). Have fun!
After the Wedding
Apocalypto
Babel
The Black Dahlia
Blood Diamond
Borat
Cars
Children of Men
Click
Curse of the Golden Flower
Days of Glory
Deliver Us From Evil
The Departed
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls
Flags of Our Fathers
The Good German
The Good Shepherd
Half Nelson
Happy Feet
The Illusionist
An Inconvenient Truth
Iraq in Fragments
Jesus Camp
The Last King of Scotland
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Children
Little Miss Sunshine
The Lives of Others
Marie Antoinette
Monster House
My Country, My Country
Notes on a Scandal
Pan's Labyrinth
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Poseidon
The Prestige
The Pursuit of Happyness
The Queen
Superman Returns
United 93
Venus
Volver
Water
As in previous years, we are throwing our small potluck screening party. But it's a very specific potluck. Everyone who comes has to bring a dish representing a movie that's been nominated that year (not just the big 5 -- any movie).
The food can be eaten in the movie, suggested by the title -- really anything creative and yummy is acceptable.
In previous years, we've had freeze-dried ice cream for Apollo 13. We've had hot dogs and Bud Lite for Jerry Maguire. We had doughnuts for "Lard" of the Rings (and the next year, we had two piles of doughnuts stacked high for "Lard" of the Rings: The Two Towers. We've had apples for Good Will Hunting ("I got her phone number. How about them apples?").
We've had haggis for Braveheart, iceberg lettuce for Titanic, cold salmon for March of the Penguins, and a re-creation of the Normandy Invasion sculpted in meat loaf and mashed potatoes (complete with little tiny soldiers) for Saving Private Ryan. And the year of Chocolat was a very good party indeed.
So send me your ideas: What should be on the menu this Oscar party?
Here's a list of the nominated movies (I left off the shorts because of sheer obscurity). Have fun!
After the Wedding
Apocalypto
Babel
The Black Dahlia
Blood Diamond
Borat
Cars
Children of Men
Click
Curse of the Golden Flower
Days of Glory
Deliver Us From Evil
The Departed
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls
Flags of Our Fathers
The Good German
The Good Shepherd
Half Nelson
Happy Feet
The Illusionist
An Inconvenient Truth
Iraq in Fragments
Jesus Camp
The Last King of Scotland
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Children
Little Miss Sunshine
The Lives of Others
Marie Antoinette
Monster House
My Country, My Country
Notes on a Scandal
Pan's Labyrinth
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Poseidon
The Prestige
The Pursuit of Happyness
The Queen
Superman Returns
United 93
Venus
Volver
Water
Friday, February 16, 2007
LIFE IN THE BIG CITY
The other night, we heard a woman in the street outside our house screaming, "Get away! Get away!"
And we live in Los Angeles. The second biggest city in the U.S. The 11th biggest city in the world. A city with all the problems normally associated with big cities -- crime, gangs, the whole bit.
So when we heard the woman screaming (and she was screaming, let me tell you), you might think she was being attacked in some way. Being mugged. A gun held to her head. Something from a cop show on TV.
But L.A. is also the only major U.S. with a mountain range running through the middle of it. And we live on one of those mountains, almost 1000' above sea level.
So when Lee raced outside to see what was happening and if he could help, we didn't see some gang member racing away. No, he saw, way down the street, what could have been a woman placidly walking her dog.
Because she wasn't screaming "Get away!" at a person. She was screaming at an animal. Could have been a coyote or a raccoon or a particularly rambunctious deer. But since the dog hadn't barked or growled (which it probably would at any of those), we figured it was probably a skunk. (And maybe she was screaming at her own dog, in that case!)
Sometimes it's nice to live in a city that defies expectations.
And we live in Los Angeles. The second biggest city in the U.S. The 11th biggest city in the world. A city with all the problems normally associated with big cities -- crime, gangs, the whole bit.
So when we heard the woman screaming (and she was screaming, let me tell you), you might think she was being attacked in some way. Being mugged. A gun held to her head. Something from a cop show on TV.
But L.A. is also the only major U.S. with a mountain range running through the middle of it. And we live on one of those mountains, almost 1000' above sea level.
So when Lee raced outside to see what was happening and if he could help, we didn't see some gang member racing away. No, he saw, way down the street, what could have been a woman placidly walking her dog.
Because she wasn't screaming "Get away!" at a person. She was screaming at an animal. Could have been a coyote or a raccoon or a particularly rambunctious deer. But since the dog hadn't barked or growled (which it probably would at any of those), we figured it was probably a skunk. (And maybe she was screaming at her own dog, in that case!)
Sometimes it's nice to live in a city that defies expectations.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD
We've had a lot of guest preachers lately at Bel Air Pres because our senior pastor is on a brief sabbatical.
And you know, most guest preachers come and go and you never think of them again.
But I haven't been able to stop thinking about Nick Vujicic.
If you clicked over, you've seen one of the reasons why Nick is memorable: He has no arms or legs. But what the website can't show is his absolute joy and confidence in the face of this massive handicap. (I can almost envision Nick reaching heaven and confronting the apostle Paul -- "You think you had a thorn in the flesh! Ha!")
If I try (and sometimes it's easy to try), I can find a lot I don't like about my life. But just thinking of Nick -- thinking about the massive amount he's done with the little he was given -- shuts me up pretty fast.
Nick, who's from Australia, is in the U.S. for a few more weeks. If he's coming to your neighborhood, drop everything to go hear him speak. (His schedule is on his website.) I'm pretty jaded when it comes to hearing speakers, but he truly is remarkable.
In the meantime, he'll just be a reminder in my life to shut up when I feel like complaining. Because if Nick's not complaining, why should I?
And you know, most guest preachers come and go and you never think of them again.
But I haven't been able to stop thinking about Nick Vujicic.
If you clicked over, you've seen one of the reasons why Nick is memorable: He has no arms or legs. But what the website can't show is his absolute joy and confidence in the face of this massive handicap. (I can almost envision Nick reaching heaven and confronting the apostle Paul -- "You think you had a thorn in the flesh! Ha!")
If I try (and sometimes it's easy to try), I can find a lot I don't like about my life. But just thinking of Nick -- thinking about the massive amount he's done with the little he was given -- shuts me up pretty fast.
Nick, who's from Australia, is in the U.S. for a few more weeks. If he's coming to your neighborhood, drop everything to go hear him speak. (His schedule is on his website.) I'm pretty jaded when it comes to hearing speakers, but he truly is remarkable.
In the meantime, he'll just be a reminder in my life to shut up when I feel like complaining. Because if Nick's not complaining, why should I?
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING UNTIL JULY 21?
I think we all know what most of us will be doing on July 21. (I would not buy stock on the Hollywood Stock Exchange in whatever movies are coming out that weekend!)
But now that the date has been announced and we have only five months until the end of this brief and lovely experience of communal waiting, here's a little something you can be reading in the meantime.
Just a reminder. Only five months left, after all.
But now that the date has been announced and we have only five months until the end of this brief and lovely experience of communal waiting, here's a little something you can be reading in the meantime.
Just a reminder. Only five months left, after all.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
NOTES FROM THE DIVINE CONSPIRACY ON DEATH AND ETERNITY
My daughter asked last week what I thought it was like to die. One of those cheery subjects kids launch into without preamble. But I had just read what Dallas Willard has to say on the subject, so I was well prepared. I told her (following him) that I thought it was like when you fall asleep in the car on the way home, and Dad carries you in to bed, and in the morning you wake up in a different place than where you fell asleep.
A lovely image, isn't it?
Willard has some other thoughts (pg. 86 of The Divine Conspiracy that are thought-provoking:
I know people with lists of things to do before they die. Maybe we should be making lists of things to do after we die...
A lovely image, isn't it?
Willard has some other thoughts (pg. 86 of The Divine Conspiracy that are thought-provoking:
So as we think of our life and make plans for it, we should not anticipating going through some terrible event called "death," to be avoided at all costs even though it can't be avoided. That is the usual attitude for human beings, no doubt. But, immersed in Christ in action, we may be sure that our life -- yes, that familiar one we are each so well acquainted with -- will never stop. We should be anticipating what we will be doing three hundred or a thousand or ten thousand years from now in this marvelous universe....
When Mickey Mantle was dying of diseases brought on by a life of heavy drinking, he said that he would have taken better care of himself had he only known how long he was going to live. He gives us a profound lesson. How should we "take care of ourselves" when we are never to cease?...
I know people with lists of things to do before they die. Maybe we should be making lists of things to do after we die...
Monday, February 12, 2007
THE NEW LOOK!
Many, many thanks to Regina for all her creative and meticulous work on the new look for this blog! I am so grateful, Regina, and so admiring of your work!
And the problems with getting things on the sidebar in the right order is purely mine, not hers (I can't seem to get Blogger to behave. Sigh...)
Lots to post coming up, but just wanted to take a look at the new color scheme and the new artwork and just breathe a breath of appreciation!
Thank you!
And the problems with getting things on the sidebar in the right order is purely mine, not hers (I can't seem to get Blogger to behave. Sigh...)
Lots to post coming up, but just wanted to take a look at the new color scheme and the new artwork and just breathe a breath of appreciation!
Thank you!
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
A LONG MEME
This meme has come my way (I think it's been around a while, but it just got to me)... I know it's long, but I'm a sucker for these things. I used to respond to just about all of those "chocolate or vanilla?" quizzes that used to go around by e-mail.... Maybe it's just because I'm a listmaker at heart.
The idea here is that all the ones I've actually done are in bold face.
Count up and see how many you can check off!
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins -- um, do dolphins that live at the Hyatt Regency count as 'wild' if they don't do tricks?
03. Climbed a mountain -- Mt. San Gorgonio, in high school. 11,502 feet.
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights -- No, but I would really like to!
15. Gone to a huge sports game -- The Rose Bowl, UCLA vs. Michigan (UCLA won) back in the '80s when I was at UCLA. Somehow I got my department chair to give me his tickets for free because he was going to be out of town. Clearly I had no idea what they were worth.
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables -- "Horticulture" class was an easy way to get a science credit in college. I grew the biggest zucchini the world has ever seen. It was so tough we could barely eat it. I decided right then and there that buying veggies at the supermarket was fine by me.
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper -- I would estimate approaching 100,000
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight -- No, but while I was working for the dorm's food service in college I had to clean up after one once. Maybe that's why the answer is no.
28. Bet on a winning horse -- Actually, the horse came in 3rd, but it was such a long shot that it paid way more than the winner. It was my first trip to the track (My mom and her girlfriends used to go to Santa Anita all the time), and the only reason I bet was because the odds were so long. I won $16 on a $2 bet.
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight -- I've tossed a few snowballs, but nothing worth calling a fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run -- Who'd'a thunk it?
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had/Have amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe -- Several times, in fact
47. Taken a road-trip -- Still do, at least once a year
48. Gone rock climbing -- Sort of, in Joshua Tree, where the rocks are in big piles -- not sure that counts, though
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds -- Perpetually. And then Lee messes them up or rearranges them in some bizarre way that makes sense only to him, and then I have to realphabetize them again. (But alphabetizing your CDs is easy. They should be asking if we've alphabetized our spice rack!)
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day -- But can you call doctor-enforced bed rest "lounging"?
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites -- Stonehenge being probably the most ancient
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight -- Often. That's where I met my husband, actually, geeks that we clearly are.
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest -- It was a can-can dancer costume made out of my mom's old underwear (petticoats, corset, etc.). Somewhere I have pictures, just perfect to embarrass the kids someday.
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice -- No, but I've ridden a water taxi in Venice. Not as romantic.
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the snake river
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason -- Do they mean "bought" flowers, or "received" flowers? Either way, it's a yes.
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas -- Any chance I get... but in 3 days I want out!
86. Recorded music.
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship -- No, but it's high on the wish list.
94. Spoken more than one language fluently - Probably depends on how lenient you are in your definition of "fluent," but my French used to be pretty good.
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children -- Can I count this if it's still in process?
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold -- Yes, after giving birth for the first time
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over -- I still live in the same county I was born in
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds -- Does losing the same 10 pounds 10 times count?
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart -- I suspect I broke my dad's heart when I married Lee (but it was definitely the right thing to do!)
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show -- I have come in second on "Jeopardy" twice... the first time I only won Ricearoni and the like, but the second time I won money
113. Broken a bone -- I've had my share of soft-tissue injuries (sprains, ligament tears, cartilege tears), but I did break a finger in junior high, playing volleyball
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery -- I'll spare you the details
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat - Lee ordered it once at some high-end restaurant, and I had a couple of bites. I didn't like it at all (good thing, because Lee got quite sick from it). It made me realize that, bacon aside, there's not much to be said for eating non-kosher meats
127. Eaten sushi - Shrimp ebi is really the only sushi I like, but I will happily eat it any time I find it
128. Had your picture in the newspaper -- You know, I really think I must have some time or another, but since I can't remember specifics, I won't mark it as a yes
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about -- Often. But here's the most important one: My high school friend Jeff called me out of nowhere when we were in our late 20s to say thank for all the times I obnoxiously hounded him about Christianity during high school, because he'd decided to become a Christian. A few months later he was dead of AIDS
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed -- Yes! At Lake Tahoe. Magical!
132. Petted a cockroach -- who comes up with these sick things?!
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey -- Yes, but not in Greek
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care -- Not yet, but it could be coming
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life
The idea here is that all the ones I've actually done are in bold face.
Count up and see how many you can check off!
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins -- um, do dolphins that live at the Hyatt Regency count as 'wild' if they don't do tricks?
03. Climbed a mountain -- Mt. San Gorgonio, in high school. 11,502 feet.
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights -- No, but I would really like to!
15. Gone to a huge sports game -- The Rose Bowl, UCLA vs. Michigan (UCLA won) back in the '80s when I was at UCLA. Somehow I got my department chair to give me his tickets for free because he was going to be out of town. Clearly I had no idea what they were worth.
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables -- "Horticulture" class was an easy way to get a science credit in college. I grew the biggest zucchini the world has ever seen. It was so tough we could barely eat it. I decided right then and there that buying veggies at the supermarket was fine by me.
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper -- I would estimate approaching 100,000
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight -- No, but while I was working for the dorm's food service in college I had to clean up after one once. Maybe that's why the answer is no.
28. Bet on a winning horse -- Actually, the horse came in 3rd, but it was such a long shot that it paid way more than the winner. It was my first trip to the track (My mom and her girlfriends used to go to Santa Anita all the time), and the only reason I bet was because the odds were so long. I won $16 on a $2 bet.
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight -- I've tossed a few snowballs, but nothing worth calling a fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run -- Who'd'a thunk it?
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had/Have amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe -- Several times, in fact
47. Taken a road-trip -- Still do, at least once a year
48. Gone rock climbing -- Sort of, in Joshua Tree, where the rocks are in big piles -- not sure that counts, though
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds -- Perpetually. And then Lee messes them up or rearranges them in some bizarre way that makes sense only to him, and then I have to realphabetize them again. (But alphabetizing your CDs is easy. They should be asking if we've alphabetized our spice rack!)
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day -- But can you call doctor-enforced bed rest "lounging"?
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites -- Stonehenge being probably the most ancient
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight -- Often. That's where I met my husband, actually, geeks that we clearly are.
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest -- It was a can-can dancer costume made out of my mom's old underwear (petticoats, corset, etc.). Somewhere I have pictures, just perfect to embarrass the kids someday.
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice -- No, but I've ridden a water taxi in Venice. Not as romantic.
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the snake river
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason -- Do they mean "bought" flowers, or "received" flowers? Either way, it's a yes.
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas -- Any chance I get... but in 3 days I want out!
86. Recorded music.
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship -- No, but it's high on the wish list.
94. Spoken more than one language fluently - Probably depends on how lenient you are in your definition of "fluent," but my French used to be pretty good.
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children -- Can I count this if it's still in process?
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold -- Yes, after giving birth for the first time
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over -- I still live in the same county I was born in
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds -- Does losing the same 10 pounds 10 times count?
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart -- I suspect I broke my dad's heart when I married Lee (but it was definitely the right thing to do!)
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show -- I have come in second on "Jeopardy" twice... the first time I only won Ricearoni and the like, but the second time I won money
113. Broken a bone -- I've had my share of soft-tissue injuries (sprains, ligament tears, cartilege tears), but I did break a finger in junior high, playing volleyball
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery -- I'll spare you the details
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat - Lee ordered it once at some high-end restaurant, and I had a couple of bites. I didn't like it at all (good thing, because Lee got quite sick from it). It made me realize that, bacon aside, there's not much to be said for eating non-kosher meats
127. Eaten sushi - Shrimp ebi is really the only sushi I like, but I will happily eat it any time I find it
128. Had your picture in the newspaper -- You know, I really think I must have some time or another, but since I can't remember specifics, I won't mark it as a yes
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about -- Often. But here's the most important one: My high school friend Jeff called me out of nowhere when we were in our late 20s to say thank for all the times I obnoxiously hounded him about Christianity during high school, because he'd decided to become a Christian. A few months later he was dead of AIDS
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed -- Yes! At Lake Tahoe. Magical!
132. Petted a cockroach -- who comes up with these sick things?!
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey -- Yes, but not in Greek
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care -- Not yet, but it could be coming
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
NEW MONTH'S RESOLUTIONS
As I reported back at the beginning of January, I decided to make monthly resolutions this year (in support of my overall New Year's resolution to spend more time with friends, put more energy into relationships than into programs and organizations).
Last month my monthly resolution was to really listen to people when they were talking to me. Well, of course this is the kind of resolution that just shows how much you suck at it from the instant you start it.
But I tried. And I was certainly doing better at it by the end of the month.
How can I tell? Because the first person I worked hard at listening to was Cory. And he wanted to be listened to big time. Not about some personal trauma or dream. No. He wanted someone to talk to about The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
So I listened. And he took that to indicate that I was genuinely interested (I must have sold it well). So for the entire month of January, I have been treated to play-by-play descriptions of every minute of his game play. Hours and hours of it.
I've tried to listen. I really have. But I just don't know what he's talking about! I do know who Link is, but this version of Zelda seems waay beyond anything we've had in the house before. Sigh. (Can someone please tell me what a boss fight is?)
So onward to February. My personal monthly resolution for February is to be cheerful. Not my normal mood, not the way I was raised by a long shot. But let's give it a try.
(Does this mean I have to smile and be cheerful now when Cory goes on and on and on about Twilight Princess? Sigh...)
Last month my monthly resolution was to really listen to people when they were talking to me. Well, of course this is the kind of resolution that just shows how much you suck at it from the instant you start it.
But I tried. And I was certainly doing better at it by the end of the month.
How can I tell? Because the first person I worked hard at listening to was Cory. And he wanted to be listened to big time. Not about some personal trauma or dream. No. He wanted someone to talk to about The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
So I listened. And he took that to indicate that I was genuinely interested (I must have sold it well). So for the entire month of January, I have been treated to play-by-play descriptions of every minute of his game play. Hours and hours of it.
I've tried to listen. I really have. But I just don't know what he's talking about! I do know who Link is, but this version of Zelda seems waay beyond anything we've had in the house before. Sigh. (Can someone please tell me what a boss fight is?)
So onward to February. My personal monthly resolution for February is to be cheerful. Not my normal mood, not the way I was raised by a long shot. But let's give it a try.
(Does this mean I have to smile and be cheerful now when Cory goes on and on and on about Twilight Princess? Sigh...)
Monday, February 05, 2007
MOVIE THOUGHTS: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
I knew I had to see Little Miss Sunshine. It was inevitable.
The reason I had no choice about it was because of the way people kept walking up to Sabrina in supermarkets and the like, asking her if she was the little girl in Little Miss Sunshine (Abigail Breslin, now nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar).
I don't really like seeing movies after everyone else has seen them. But in this case the emotional power of the movie swept aside everything I'd heard and read. (And let me just warn you: Spoilers ahead.)
I was deeply moved by this movie.
As you probably know, Little Miss Sunshine is the story of an utterly dysfunctional family that hops into their equally dysfunctional ancient VW bus to head from New Mexico to California so their daughter can compete in a rinky-dink kids' beauty pageant.
One cannot understate how dysfunctional this family is. The dad (Greg Kinnear) is a wannabe motivational speaker who is deep down scared to death that he is the loser he warns everyone else not to be. The grandfather (Alan Arkin) is a coke and porn addict with a foul mouth. The brother is a Nietsche freak who has taken a vow of silence until he gets into the Air Force Academy. The uncle (Steve Carrell) is a gay Proust expert who just tried to commit suicide. The mom (Toni Colette) only seems normal in comparison to the rest of the family, but hey, all the weirdness is happening on her watch. And the little girl (Breslin) is simply too young not to have become as dysfunctional as the rest of them.
But we love them.
And that's the power of this movie. Somehow, through the consummate craftsmanship and heart of the truly excellent writing and acting, we love this family of total losers and freaks.
Little Miss Sunshine walks an extremely fine line between comedy and tragedy. (Who was it said "Comedy equals tragedy plus time"?) We laugh and ache at the same time as everyone's life continues to go rapidly downhill. Dad's big deal, the one that was going to pay the bills, falls apart with no hope of resurrection. Grandpa... well, he doesn't make it to the end of the movie. Duane, the brother, learns he's color-blind and therefore can't fly. The uncle is repeatedly reminded of the success of his nemesis in both love and academia.
As for Olive, the little girl... As soon as we arrive at the beauty pageant which has been the goal of the entire movie, we realize that, despite everyone telling her how beautiful she is, despite the desperate family focus on "win-win-win"... there is no way she is going to win. And at this point in the movie, so much has gone wrong for everyone that we're clinging to the hope that maybe this will go right. Please, let something go right for this group of losers. Then we realize, no. Nothing is going to go right.
(A parenthetical on the beauty pageant: Yes, Olive's "talent" routine is highly sexualized and utterly inappropriate for a little girl. (The second Olive said her grandfather taught her the routine, I knew exactly what it was going to be.) And yet it's almost wholesome compared to oversexualization of the "normal" girls in the pageant. If you're horrified at Olive's routine, you should be even more horrified at the reality of the little girl beauty pageant world.)
No, nothing goes right for this pathetic group of losers. Yet they somehow manage to pick themselves up and keep going... just like Rocky Balboa, for that matter... another "loser" we care about.
And the point is that we do feel deeply for this group of losers, this group of freaks. I sure did. And in loving them, I realized that's just how God feels about me. I too am a loser and a freak, just as surely as any of these characters. We all are. And yet God's love for us never wavers. In a sense, as we watch the movie, we are moved into the point of view of God, watching the freak show and loving the freaks.
Little Miss Sunshine is not for the faint of heart, and certainly not for children, no matter how hip they think they are. There is an enormous amount of foul language (as befits a group of freaks), one scene of drug use onscreen, a few shots of porn magazines, and numerous situations I just wouldn't want to have to explain to a kid.
But the performances are impeccable and the writing is spot on (as are the editing and the scoring, by the way). And it's a movie that stays with you. If you have a heart to care about the freaks of the world (and you're not easily offended), it's hard to see how you could fail to be moved by Little Miss Sunshine.
(P.S. And yes, Abigail Breslin is scarily like our Sabrina. They even sound similar -- and sound exactly alike when they squeal or get excited. It was eerie.)
The reason I had no choice about it was because of the way people kept walking up to Sabrina in supermarkets and the like, asking her if she was the little girl in Little Miss Sunshine (Abigail Breslin, now nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar).
I don't really like seeing movies after everyone else has seen them. But in this case the emotional power of the movie swept aside everything I'd heard and read. (And let me just warn you: Spoilers ahead.)
I was deeply moved by this movie.
As you probably know, Little Miss Sunshine is the story of an utterly dysfunctional family that hops into their equally dysfunctional ancient VW bus to head from New Mexico to California so their daughter can compete in a rinky-dink kids' beauty pageant.
One cannot understate how dysfunctional this family is. The dad (Greg Kinnear) is a wannabe motivational speaker who is deep down scared to death that he is the loser he warns everyone else not to be. The grandfather (Alan Arkin) is a coke and porn addict with a foul mouth. The brother is a Nietsche freak who has taken a vow of silence until he gets into the Air Force Academy. The uncle (Steve Carrell) is a gay Proust expert who just tried to commit suicide. The mom (Toni Colette) only seems normal in comparison to the rest of the family, but hey, all the weirdness is happening on her watch. And the little girl (Breslin) is simply too young not to have become as dysfunctional as the rest of them.
But we love them.
And that's the power of this movie. Somehow, through the consummate craftsmanship and heart of the truly excellent writing and acting, we love this family of total losers and freaks.
Little Miss Sunshine walks an extremely fine line between comedy and tragedy. (Who was it said "Comedy equals tragedy plus time"?) We laugh and ache at the same time as everyone's life continues to go rapidly downhill. Dad's big deal, the one that was going to pay the bills, falls apart with no hope of resurrection. Grandpa... well, he doesn't make it to the end of the movie. Duane, the brother, learns he's color-blind and therefore can't fly. The uncle is repeatedly reminded of the success of his nemesis in both love and academia.
As for Olive, the little girl... As soon as we arrive at the beauty pageant which has been the goal of the entire movie, we realize that, despite everyone telling her how beautiful she is, despite the desperate family focus on "win-win-win"... there is no way she is going to win. And at this point in the movie, so much has gone wrong for everyone that we're clinging to the hope that maybe this will go right. Please, let something go right for this group of losers. Then we realize, no. Nothing is going to go right.
(A parenthetical on the beauty pageant: Yes, Olive's "talent" routine is highly sexualized and utterly inappropriate for a little girl. (The second Olive said her grandfather taught her the routine, I knew exactly what it was going to be.) And yet it's almost wholesome compared to oversexualization of the "normal" girls in the pageant. If you're horrified at Olive's routine, you should be even more horrified at the reality of the little girl beauty pageant world.)
No, nothing goes right for this pathetic group of losers. Yet they somehow manage to pick themselves up and keep going... just like Rocky Balboa, for that matter... another "loser" we care about.
And the point is that we do feel deeply for this group of losers, this group of freaks. I sure did. And in loving them, I realized that's just how God feels about me. I too am a loser and a freak, just as surely as any of these characters. We all are. And yet God's love for us never wavers. In a sense, as we watch the movie, we are moved into the point of view of God, watching the freak show and loving the freaks.
Little Miss Sunshine is not for the faint of heart, and certainly not for children, no matter how hip they think they are. There is an enormous amount of foul language (as befits a group of freaks), one scene of drug use onscreen, a few shots of porn magazines, and numerous situations I just wouldn't want to have to explain to a kid.
But the performances are impeccable and the writing is spot on (as are the editing and the scoring, by the way). And it's a movie that stays with you. If you have a heart to care about the freaks of the world (and you're not easily offended), it's hard to see how you could fail to be moved by Little Miss Sunshine.
(P.S. And yes, Abigail Breslin is scarily like our Sabrina. They even sound similar -- and sound exactly alike when they squeal or get excited. It was eerie.)
Saturday, February 03, 2007
IN HONOR OF THE SUPERBOWL...
...which really doesn't need any special "honor," given all the hype surrounding it.
I have more friends in Chicago than in Indianapolis, so that makes me a Bears fan for the game. My kids are probably more excited about the funny commercials and about the excuse for mom to make her famous nachos than about the game itself. Oh well.
With all that, I guess it's not surprising these results came out the way they did... Now if they could only move the Superbowl away from my birthday!
I have more friends in Chicago than in Indianapolis, so that makes me a Bears fan for the game. My kids are probably more excited about the funny commercials and about the excuse for mom to make her famous nachos than about the game itself. Oh well.
With all that, I guess it's not surprising these results came out the way they did... Now if they could only move the Superbowl away from my birthday!
| What Football Position Should You Play! Your Result: Coach You like to tell people what to do, you like gettin close to your team and havin fun! You try and make people better | |
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Thursday, February 01, 2007
FAME! I WANNA LIVE FOREVER...
In a recent Newsweek article about American Idol, I was horrified to read:
Now, it's almost definitionally impossible for this to happen, unless we warp the definition of "famous" so much that it no longer means anything. And it's a sad commentary on the values of teenagers today.
Another quote from the same article:
It does seem like a disease, doesn't it? Or an obsession. But I think the desire to be famous goes a bit deeper -- I think it's a perversion... a perversion of something that God meant for good.
Let's jump from American Idol to Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy:
I think the desire for fame is, at its root, a perversion of this calling. We want to matter. We know it's important that what we do is important... somehow. But our society has reframed what it means to be significant in terms of fame. So people, driven by a deep-seated, God-given need to be special, to be significant, to matter miss the fact that they do matter, that they are special, that they have a role to play in God's grand scheme of things that only they can play.
So as I watch in horror as American Idol wannabes embarrass themselves for the entire world to see, I have to remember: These folks are crying out to know what their "unique eternal calling to count for good" is. But they're so very very far off the path. They've never been given, most of them, any guidance to know how to find their calling, to know that they have a calling, to even know how to begin in their search.
They are, in fact, lost. That doesn't mean they can't be found. But for most of them, American Idol -- or any desperate search for fame for fame's sake -- is not going to be the path...
According to a recent poll, 31 percent of teenagers believe they will be famous when they grow up.
Now, it's almost definitionally impossible for this to happen, unless we warp the definition of "famous" so much that it no longer means anything. And it's a sad commentary on the values of teenagers today.
Another quote from the same article:
For young people raised in the era of YouTube, bloggers and reality TV, anyone can become a star, and if you're not at least trying to get in the game, you're a loser. According to a new book, "Fame Junkies" by Jake Halpern, 43.4 percent of teenage girls said their No. 1 career goal was celebrity assistant -- just being close enough to smell the red carpet has become its own reward. "Anybody can be famous now," says Paula Abdul. "It's like a disease."
It does seem like a disease, doesn't it? Or an obsession. But I think the desire to be famous goes a bit deeper -- I think it's a perversion... a perversion of something that God meant for good.
Let's jump from American Idol to Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy:
...it is nevertheless ture that we made to "have dominion" within an appropriate domain of reality. This is the core of the likeness or image of God in us and is the basis of the destiny for which we were formed. We are, all of us, never-ceasing spiritual beings with a unique eternal calling to count for good in God's great universe.
I think the desire for fame is, at its root, a perversion of this calling. We want to matter. We know it's important that what we do is important... somehow. But our society has reframed what it means to be significant in terms of fame. So people, driven by a deep-seated, God-given need to be special, to be significant, to matter miss the fact that they do matter, that they are special, that they have a role to play in God's grand scheme of things that only they can play.
So as I watch in horror as American Idol wannabes embarrass themselves for the entire world to see, I have to remember: These folks are crying out to know what their "unique eternal calling to count for good" is. But they're so very very far off the path. They've never been given, most of them, any guidance to know how to find their calling, to know that they have a calling, to even know how to begin in their search.
They are, in fact, lost. That doesn't mean they can't be found. But for most of them, American Idol -- or any desperate search for fame for fame's sake -- is not going to be the path...
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