The Watercooler: 9/8/08
Summer Bishil in Alan Ball’s Towelhead
The worst box office weekend in 7 years, got off to a shaky start here at LiC. Though things rallied on Saturday, let’s start off this week’s Watercooler with the bad news: an early screening of screenwriter Alan (American Beauty, HBO’s Six Feet Under) Ball’s directorial debut.
Take a moldy dog turd from the back yard, douse it in kerosene, set it on fire and serve it on a stale Saltine cracker and you have the culinary equivalent of Towelhead, a film that charts the difficult sexual awakening of a 13-year-old half-Lebanese girl growing up with her strict and heartless father in a suburban Houston hell.
Forget about the controversy surrounding a graphically sexualized underage girl (actress Summer Bishil was 18 when Towelhead was filmed) and forget about hurt feelings over the title’s racial slur. Towelhead is an offense to people who like good movies. Alan Ball hates the world and he wants you to hate it to. To accomplish his goal, he stacks the deck by populating his film not with human beings, but by irritating stereotypes. The result is a hateful film with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Ball’s purpose? Sheer bitterness over a miserable life I expect. Though it’s one of my least favorite movies of the year, I should point out that the audience I saw Towelhead with seemed to enjoy it.
The audience for the indie Momma’s Man on the other hand most certainly did not enjoy themselves. I haven’t seen this many walkouts since Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon went batshit crazy in Bug. The thing is, Momma’s Man is a terrific little film. It’s slow, quiet and almost entirely internal, but it’s also a fascinating, tender and moving portrait of one man’s attempt to recapture the ease and comfort of his childhood. The story is simple: a man stays with his parents in the house where he grew up while on a business trip to New York. When his job is done, he finds himself reluctant to return home to his wife and child in California.
I admit it wasn’t exactly a thrill ride of a movie, but I don’t understand what the audience was expecting. The tenor and tone of the film is perfectly clear in the trailer and it’s not like it had any famous names to draw in the unsuspecting.
That’s the good and bad of my weekend. How about you?
Filed under: Watercooler
Tags: Alan Ball, Momma's Man, Towelhead
Related Posts: - Hypersensitive Interest Groups Schooled By Actual Facts
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- In the Pipeline: Let the Right One In
- Review: Towelhead (2008) * 1/2
Wow, Craig, you weren’t exactly on the same page with the audiences you saw your films with.
I can’t say I’m the least bit surprised by Towelhead. I more or less hate Alan Ball’s work, I more or less hate American Beauty and I figured I would more or less hate Towelhead if I ever saw it on DVD nine months from now. The trailer just about gave me hives.
Momma’s Man, however, has my interest accruing, and your positive words fan that flame.
I’ll be back in a little while with my weekend of film-viewing…
Watched THE CANDIDATE for giggles. Brilliant film.
Oh GOD NO…
Craig, that is SO disappointing about TOWELHEAD.
I said I wasn’t going to go if it was awful. I don’t think kids under 16 should be breaking furniture WITH ANYONE and I particularly don’t like to see children exploited.
I could ask you this in private. But I’m going to see if I can put this out there in a reasonably DELICATE manner. But it will be TOUGH.
People were saying that there was a scene where AARON ECKHART uh….forced himself on SUMMER BISHIL with his…hand and it was really graphic. Lots of red stuff.
I almost threw up when I heard that.
I wanted to go. But I won’t have any qualms WHATSOEVER about missing it if it is really that bad and the stuff in it is that horrific.
As for ALAN BALL…
I heard that his sister was killed in a car accident when she was quite young. (Early adolescence, I think.) So that accounts for the world weary attitude.
Poor man…
Who needs movies anyway? I’ll just watch my (extensive) DVD library at home.
Maybe I’ll paint my bedroom…
Friday:
I saw A Girl Cut in Two, which I liked.. It’s meditative and quite intriguing, but I’m still not sure if the sum equals the parts…? A very interesting film to hash things out with others, though; Chabrol is never truly dull.
Later that evening I watched Shopworn, an enjoyably breezy pre-code melodrama starring Barbara Stanwyck, whose wonderfulness had to be celebrated at CCC sooner rather than later.
Saturday, I saw Barry Lyndon again, which never ceases to amaze me. Then watched Lady L, a very, very uneven Carlo Ponti-produced 1965 comedy directed by Peter Ustinov and starring Sophia Loren, Paul Newman and David Niven. It started off charmingly enough, but wow, it sure ran out of fuel pretty quickly.
Sunday, I saw Children of Paradise again… What was it this weekend about great epics with pivotal duels? Such a fabulous work of art, it has as many layers as an onion. Hitchcock’s I Confess again–one of my picks for an underrated work by the master, a good case study of how the “smaller” films sometimes speak as much about an auteur as the “bigger” ones. The Golden Salamander with Trevor Howard followed that, had never seen it before… It was fairly solid. Man in the Attic starring Jack Palance in a remake of The Lodger… Atmospheric in places, but quite forgettable and coarse.
This was a bad week for theatrical films, for a host of reasons, not the least of which is the resumption of school, which is always a venerable excitement of sorts. But I did try. On two occasions I was rebuffed by not securing parking spaces in Manhattan for both AUGUST EVENING and THE POOL, leaving me to trek back to New Jersey with my tail between my legs. I did get to see one film theatrically after the last Watercooler and it was none other than Carl Theodor Dreyer’s DAY OF WRATH, one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of the cinema, and it showcased for a week at the IFC in a restored print. No DVD viewing of this austere study of witchcraft (one that heavily influenced Arthur Miller’s THE CRUCIBLE) could match this screening, and for obvious reasons.
My Saturday evening slot was occupied by the Irish Repetory Theatre’s off-Broadway production of Jules Verne’s “Around the World in 80 Days” which featured imaginative, if simple, staging and a delightful bevy of humorous characters in a plethora of settings. The actors were terrific.
The greatest adventure of the week however, was yesterday (Sunday) morning at Lincoln Center, where I waited for several hours on line with Lucille and the kids to attempt to secure tickets for several films playing the New York Film Festival. As I explained to Craig, I failed at getting tickets for both CHE and THE WRESTLER, foiled by what Craig claims is the initial offer of the tickets to Lincoln Center members, hence leaving few for those waiting on the line.
I did succeed however, in getting tickets for both Eastwood’s THE CHANGELING and the French Palme d’Or winner, THE CLASS, which is the opening night feature. I still might try again on the day of the performance for the other two, but that all depends on some other factors.
At least we made friends with a most cultured woman on line who fanatically persues film, theatre and opera with a remarkable diligence, and the kids enjoyed a nearby Ray’s pizza parlor.
I must completely agree with Craig’s summary judgement on MAMMA’S MAN, which is indeed a terrific independent feature, but one (as Craig attests to) may not enthrall the general audiences. I rate it 4/5.
The Class, aka. Entre Les Murs, was in its structure and content exactly what I expected it to be…yet somehow, I was surprised by how strong it was and how much it left me stunned. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts, Sam.
I went to a press screening of Blind Date on Friday. I haven’t seen the Theo van Gogh original, so I can only judge it on its own merits, which are 2 very strong central performances and some good dialogue. The ending, however, was unfortunately melodramatic. Or rather (might be spoilerish), it was like all those short stories I thought about writing as a teenager, in which I could think of only one definitive way to end something, or any way at all.
Then, yesterday night I started watching Le Cercle Rouge (I was almost falling asleep by the time the heist started, so I finished this morning).I liked how slow and deliberate it was, but at the same time I wanted it to get a move on. A couple of things are undisputed though: the soundtrack is great, the cinematography beautiful, and Alain Delon is one of the coolest people who ever graced the planet.
Too bad about Towelhead. Sounds like Ball all right. I really liked American Beauty when it came out (in my defense, I was 14), but every time I’ve seen it since (and it’s on TV all the time), I’ve liked it less, and now I find it too on-the-nose and fairly obnoxious.
I got y’alls beat for weird movie watching this weekend.
First I watched High School Musical. Don’t ask. I had a purpose in doing so, but I hated the film (except for the dancing bits, which were few and far between).
Then I saw Sideways for the first time. Did I miss something? How did this ever become a critical darling? How did it make it onto multiple 2004 top 10 lists? I was miserable for most of the film, almost shut it off a few times.
Finally, I capped it all off with Straw Dogs. Wowzers. I’ll be thinking about that one for days.
Hedwig, I absolutely adore LE CIRCLE ROUGE.
Ah Sam, I also failed in my “Che” tickets quest. It was a big disappointment, and I’m having quite the hard time trying to score tickets online. I’ll keep trying, but at this rate, it does seem pretty hopeless.
Sorry to hear about all the NYFF ticket disappointments. I was holding out hope for all of you, but Craig appears to have been more right in that one than I was.
I caught up on Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express Sat afternoon. It’s weird that these two movies were so similar in so many respects, so much so that the afternoon went on forever. I think I liked Pineapple Express more than Craig did, only because it’s brand of satire felt less heavy-handed and obvious than Tropic Thunder, although when Tropic Thunder was on it was hilarious. The only problem was that Thunder only worked in parts for me, and much of it was incredibly boring (Jack Black was one long series of groaners).
Saturday night I revisited Heat, mostly to counteract the bad taste that the trailer for Righteous Kill has left in my mouth. I think I’ve seen Heat too many times, because it wasn’t grabbing me as strongly as it used to. Curious to mentally compare Heat’s heist scene to TDK’s though.
I saw The Edge of Heaven on Sunday, and while I respect the excellent performances and the general tone of the direction, I found the “one degree of separation” element left me cold. I may not have been in the right mood as I entered the theater mentally distracted, but the movie simply never really grabbed me. I’m not saying it’s bad at all, just that I was underwhelmed by it.
All in all, a mixed bag. NOW BRING ON BURN AFTER READING!
I saw Tropic Thunder too, I thought it was really fun, then I saw a useless South African film, then Reprise. Then I saw Henry Poole is Here which was lame. Good and bad for me too.
And I dont get Burn After Reading next weekend. Ugh.
I am so glad to hear The Class was good Hedwig, I am really looking forward to that.
Sorry to all who are having problems securing NYFF tickets. That sucks majorly.
Sorry to hear you didn’t like TOWELHEAD Craig. It’s still one of my most anticipated upcoming films.
Over the last week I saw I SERVED THE KING OF ENGLAND, which I found very charming and surprisingly moving, and MAN ON WIRE, which was just as magnificent as you said it was.
On the older film front, I’ve been in a Coen brothers mood lately so I revisited THE LADYKILLERS, and found it just as funny and just as inconsequential as I remembered it. Irma P. Hall is a hoot.
I also picked up a copy of FARGO on DVD, and plan to re-watch it soon. It’s been a long time, and I’m getting myself hyped up for BURN AFTER READING.
Nothing much to report here. I didn’t go out to the movies this weekend; however, I did watch Night of the Hunter on TCM on Saturday night, which I’d never seen, or at least not in its entirety. I loved the movie. It’s amazing how Robert Mitchum could be so effortlessly and naturally menacing and creepy when he wanted to be. Lillian Gish owned everyone. And in the way peculiar to me I loved the music and the effective use of it in the film. I’ll have to hop over to Movie Zeal now and read the write-up on this movie during Film Noir month. :-)
It’s too bad about Towelhead. I’ve never read the book but it’s supposedly very good. I’ll skip the movie and check out the real deal.
Evan, High School Musical? Interesting. Of course you realize that they’re on the third one now. :-)
Yes, I’m still looking forward to Towelhead with tempered expectations. Momma’s Man, well I don’t have to say again that I’ve been waiting for it forever. A divisive audience reaction only makes the waiting worse.
What color, Miranda?
Just another boring weekend in New York, eh, Sam? The festival sounds pretty awesome, but isn’t it devastating to miss a chance on tickets? I’m sure you’ve gotten past it by now - at least you can still see them at some point, probably before the rest of us anyway!
Evan, I saw Sideways opening night and have seen it become insanely loved or insanely loathed since then. I’m sorry you came out on the opposite side as me, and I can only imagine what you thought of Bottle Shock if you didn’t like Sideways…
Well at least you satisfied your curiosity about The Edge of Heaven, Joel. I enjoyed the effort more than the execution, and the performances were pretty unbelievable in my opinion. I think there were only a couple of missteps (the stretch coincidences as you mention, plus the title breaks) that prevented me from being blown away by it.
My weekend consisted of more moving chores. I hate unpacking things. On Friday night I did get to see Boy A, however, and I was really impressed. Andrew Garfield completely shocked me, as I had only known him as the priggish student in Lions for Lambs last year. Wow, he is one to watch for sure. Otherwise I loved the style of the film. It was just the last 20 minutes or so, including the scene that remains as one of the most uncomfortable I’ve seen all year, that disappointed me. I think I otherwise really liked it, though. Need to catch up on everybody’s reviews of it and others, going all the way back to VCB.
Has anybody seen Ghost Town? I’m wondering if I should make the effort on Wednesday night.
Like I said Daniel, I’m not sure if Edge of Heaven escaped me because I was distracted or whatever, but I thought it was well made and worth checking out. It just didn’t grab me.
Sorry for your disappointment Dorothy–I learned that there are some benefits to Lincoln Center membership. There’s still the possibility of one-day performance cancellations, but I’m not sure what I can do at this point with an impending knee-replacement operation in the very near future………..I know e bay is another way to go, but it’s rather a rip-off.
Daniel, thanks for always commenting on my itinerary, and yes I was disappointed, even though I still did get THE CLASS and THE CHANGELING, which is at least 50%………….and with Hedwig coming in strong for the French palme d’Or winner, I must say my excitement has increased. Dan, I am very thrilled to hear that you loved BOY A!
Alexander, I often seem to find myself on the opposite side of audience reactions. Maybe I’m broken. Otherwise, I’m looking forward to checking out your Girl Cut in Two review. I liked it a little, but I’m hoping I’ll warm up to it no second viewing. I’ll save further comments for CCC.
Miranda, yes the scene and bodily fluid in question exists, thought it’s not graphic in an anatomic sense. Neverheless, that kind of thing doesn’t trouble me too much if there’s a higher purpose for the shock value. I could find none in this film. I’m glad Matthew and Daniel are still planning on checking it out. Perhaps they’ll see something I didn’t.
Sam and Dorothy, I’m sorry you went to all that trouble but were denied. I hate when that kind of thing happens.
Hedwig, in a relatively short period of time, I’ve grown to like Alain Delon a lot. I liked Le Cercle Rouge, but I warmed up to Le Samourai much quicker. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Melville film that I’ve loved right away. Like Kurosawa, they’ve all had to grow on me.
I don’t have an excuse for liking American Beauty when I first saw it. As I’ve said elsewhere to Alexander, I haven’t seen it again since it first came to home video however long ago that was. At the time, it was near the end of an epic low point for me emotionally and materially and I identified with Lester quite a bit….this sense of trying to shake yourself out of a creeping nothingness at any cost. Alas, that was many years ago and these are happier times. After Towelhead I’m willing to buy into the party line that AB is overrated.
Joel, here’s why I don’t like to recommend comedies…or discourage people from seeing them (I didn’t even review TT much as I enjoyed it): Two perfectly reasonable people who are similar in movie tastes can easily disagree about what’s funny and what’s not. Looks like our opinions of TT and PE are reversed. I think K Bowen said somewhere that he liked PE because it was what it was and had no pretentions about being anything else, unlike TT. Sounds like part of your response was something simliar.
(To be continued…)
Also Joel, I had the exact same response to Heat the last time I saw it. I risk being deballed by a significant portion of the internet when I say that I think Michael Mann just doesn’t really do it for me in the long term. I admire the craftmanship and attention to detail, but I remain unmoved most of the time. Same with Ridley Scott.
Alison, Night of the Hunter and especially Mitchum are 31 flavors of awesome. There is always an element of danger to Mitchum and it comes out shockingly in Night of the Hunter and Cape Fear.
Evan, I haven’t seen Sideways since it was in theaters, but maybe seeing it removed from all the hype helped me like it more? I didn’t like it as much as some, but I did like it. My main complaint with it was that there was no way in a million years that VIrigina Madsen would’ve fallen for Paul Giamiatti in that movie. Not because he’s a short, balding, shlubby guy (I like to think most women aren’t so easily fooled by appearances), but that he was such a glum, uninteresting asshole. He had nothing to offer a woman with an ounce of self respect, and I don’t recall VM’s character being that way at all.
All I can add about Boy A Daniel is that it was something of a pleasant surprise. It was kind of depressing, but not overwhelmingly. I wasn’t sure what to expect from it, but it has stuck with me.
Don’t judge me, but I kind of like films that are sadistically misanthropic. They can really make me laugh under the right circumstances. Towelhead might very well be terrible, but I still feel inclined to give it a shot.
Craig, I think it’s those hooded eyes of his.
Sam, I’m sorry to hear about your problems with the NYFF. However, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed Mamma’s Man so greatly; now I’m really looking forward to it, more and more.
Hedwig, I had read similar reactions to The Class from Cannes. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to seeing it, now even more than before. La Cercle Rouge is a sublime piece of filmmaking. Your “undisputed” points truly are.
Daniel, I’m glad to hear you liked Boy A. That is a rough film but I applaud it, and the central performance is rightly celebrated by you and others. That young man is one to watch, as they say.
Joel, the more removed I become from The Edge of Heaven, the less it probably holds up, but like Daniel, I do cherish the performances and many of hte issues it raises. It’s certainly a prime candidate to be reevaluated on DVD from my perspective.
Alison, I agree with you about The Night of the Hunter–I watched it Thursday evening, actually, so it didn’t get counted in The Watercooler officially but it’s close enough, haha. Just a tremendous film… Unfortunately the fellow who wrote the review for it at MovieZeal didn’t care for it much. Certainly a capital crime (I kid).
Evan, as I’ve said before, Sideways is my least favorite Alexander Payne film with the possible exception of Citizen Ruth. I liked it, I thought it was largely pleasant, but at the time of its release I was bewildered by the rabid hype in which it was marinated. I’ve seen it only once more, and I honestly liked it a little more the second time, but I do not believe it to be refulgent.
alynch, there was a time when I think I would’ve agreed with you on the sadistically misanthropic thing. Perhaps I’m getting soft. As a slight misanthrope myself, I guess I already know that people suck and I don’t need some snotty filmmaker rubbing my face in it. Call me post-misanthropic.
Alison, I think it also has something to do with him being a bit of a bad boy in real life, at least by the standards of the day.
I have no issue with cinematic forays into misanthropy, but there is a difference between making a misanthropic film and making a film about misanthropy.
Not having seen Towelhead, I can only go by Ball’s past work, which I’ve found to be marked more by its overbearing smugness and puerile juvenilia.
It’s one thing to skewer characters and create a prevalent cynical bite to one’s films, ala Billy Wilder, or, since he’s been mentioned here, Alexander Payne. (Or Noam Baumbach, for that matter.) But Ball continually rubs everyone’s nose in what feels like the musings of a petulant kid who thinks he’s better than everyone else.
Unlike many of you here, I love Alan Ball’s work. AMERICAN BEAUTY remains one of my favorite movies, despite it being in vogue to hate it nowadays. And SIX FEET UNDER, which I have only recently started watching on DVD, is brilliant.
We’ll see if my opinion of him stays the same after I see TOWELHEAD.
I think Mann is a much better film maker than either of the Scott brothers, but I’d tend to agree that his films don’t have long-term staying power. All the same, Heat has a lot going for it, but it has a couple of narrative red herrings and so it feels longer and longer with each subsequent viewing. Case in point: the Natalie Portman subplot. What is the point of her character?
After many repeat viewings over the years, I have no explanation for her.
Well I am with Matthew Lucas on what he says about AMERICAN BEAUTY (I have always loved it) but I fully respect Alexander’s position, since he penned quite a treatment over at CCC on it. I also like SIX FEET UNDER.
Thanks for your concern Alexander (and Joel) on the NYFF, but I admit it’s a long-shot from the beginning unless you are a member. But I’ll keep trying.
I’m a member of the pro-American Beauty camp as well and really enjoy Alan Ball’s writing for the most part. American Beauty was the first film that really … mehh … “grabbed” me back in high school. It may be smug and facile at times, but it made me love movies, caused me to think, and it still makes me smile.
I’ve been looking forward to Towelhead since Fox News came out with their inflammatory article last year during TIFF last year labeling it “child pornography.” Both Alan Ball and Aaron Eckhart said they were very intentional about not making it an exploitative piece. I’ll be interested to see their treatment. Coincidentally, I tried reading the novel but couldn’t stomach it.
I had a weekend without any movie-watching for the first time in a while, but I did help crew a short film being shot on a RED One — an awesome experience if there ever was one. The script may not have been too great, but the film is going to look wonderful.
It is great reading a submission from Phillip, a terrific young man. That’s a great experience you had there, I’d love to hear how it turns out.
I believe that’s Mr. Johnston’s first LiC comment. Welcome sir. Glad to see you dropping by these parts.
For the record, I’m in the pro-AB camp until I see it again and decide otherwise. Towelhead just rubbed me the wrong way.
I’ll be curious to read the novel because maybe there was some subtlety that Ball missed.
I didn’t find the film exploitative. Uncomfortable and controversial to be sure, but I didn’t feel like the filmmakers were just getting their rocks off.
I love American Beauty too, for more personal reasons, and I love Six Feet Under, which I also have on DVD, because it is one of the most consistently riveting shows I have ever seen and is put together so damn well.
Allison, you mean they made MORE of them!!!?!?!?!?!!?
Daniel, I actually liked Bottle Shock quite a bit. It felt like what Sideways could have been if any of the characters had been likable.
Craig, that was just a small indicator of why I disliked it. Not only was it unbelievable that Madsen would fall for a depressed schlub like Giamatii, but that all of the characters were so unlikable. Is it just because I’m not going through a mid-life crisis and won’t be able to for about another 13 years? Is that why I didn’t relate?
I did like the being-chased-by-the-naked-redneck gag at the end, but that was too little and about 100 minutes too late.
And yes, Allison, Night of the Hunter was one of the least well received noirs of the month. However, it inspired quite the active comments section, which is certainly worth a look-see.
And Towelhead sounds miserable. I’ll just go watch that Vampire show Ball is doing on HBO. That sounds much more interesting.
Frankly, I don’t know why I haven’t commented here before. Thanks for the warm welcome, Sam and Craig. :-)
Did anyone else find the editing in Bottle Shock to be really, really weird? It’s been two weeks since I saw it, so I can’t remember specific examples, but it made me think the director/editor was trying to be innovative and completely failing at it. I didn’t enjoy the film that much, but the ending/epilogue was, in a word, awesome.
Welcome to the Watercooler, Phillip.
towelhead. yes i want to see it.
and it almost doesn’t matter if it’s good or not. things are soooooo toothless now. it’s sort of hard to imagine this film got made and because of whosoe involved has a chance at getting a decent
media profile.
hell this would have been the feel good film of the summer of released then… ;)
if only towelhead was about a teenage guy that wanted to have sex.i bet no one would complain well you know what i mean…
i guessing the 20 plus minutes removed from the film was likley done to avoid having to go unrated/nc-17 (craig this may also explain why you thought something was missing??? )
or to just get the ‘oh no’ people to shut up abit’
and i saw a big display in a theatre babling the american beauty mets juno quote.
the thing at bop you could see someone pitching towelhead as american beauty meets crash (the oscar winner)
and way whenever when it seemed it would get released last year a.d.’s ryan refed it as happiness meets crash.
hmm i hope it’s more the later…
sorry friendo(s) towelhead is here.
*snicker* *snicker*
:)
Oh yeah, Evan, there already be two High School Musical movies (both TV movies) and the 3rd one is coming to a theater near you very soon. It’s graduation day.
I’m another American Beauty supporter, each time I watch it I can’t deny that it works, even though in certain ways it shouldn’t. I give a lot of the credit to Conrad Hall and Thomas Newman more than to just to Alan Ball or Sam Mendes.
I’m also a HUGE fan of Sideways.
My weekend wasn’t much special: Friday I saw The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which wasn’t as terrible as I was expecting. Saturday, Pasolini’s The Canterbury Tales and the ‘99 The Mummy, and Sunday the Sergio Martino giallo Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, which I must evince as surely having one of the most marvelous titles in all of filmdom.
“Is it just because I’m not going through a mid-life crisis and won’t be able to for about another 13 years? Is that why I didn’t relate?” Evan you might be on to something. Me? I think I’ve been going through a low level mid-life crisis since I was 21.
Great point about Newman and Hall, Jeff. Music and cinematography were certainly among the most memorable elements of AB.
Glimmer, if they could’ve squeezed a point into those 20 missing minutes, then perhaps the film could’ve been saved. I’m skeptical. As always, your results may vary.
Sorry about your knee, Sam. I hope you get that out of the way fast and have a splendid easy recovery.
Dorothy, it’s unfortunate that you and Sam couldn’t get the tickets for NYFF that you wanted. These things happen, i guess….
Danny, I’m so anxious to get the hell out of Dodge that I don’t know if I would SERIOUSLY undertake painting my bedroom.
I want to be in LA so bad right now. Not to worry. I’ll keep pushing. Something’s gotta give sooner or later. But if I were to paint it any colour, it would probably be RED. Apropos, no?
BTW, I know you’re busier than hell with the move etc., but I do hope you get back to continuous blogging soon. Sure your comments section is always bright and filled with sharp and fascinating observations by all sorts of cool people. But I kind of miss your voice over there.
Hope you come back soon.
glim, I don’t think anyone cares that teenagers want to get laid. EVERYONE KNOWS THAT.
But I think the things that everyone is up in arms about are that Summer Bishil’s character is 13 (rather than 16 or 17) and that she’s led down the wrong road by a much older hot guy.
Those two things are positively incendiary to LOTS of people. Me included - and I’m a liberal.
But you and I have these kinds of discussions over at my site consistently. Like the one that we had in THE 25 MOST CONTROVERSIAL MOVIES concering Larry Clark’s KIDS.
If that’s the case then I’ll likely give Towelhead a miss. But I’ll be intensely interested in what DANNY has to say about it.
Count me firmly in the AMERICAN BEAUTY camp. Saw it ten times in the theatre. Was totally mesmerized by it. Found it poetic, utterly profound, beautifully rich and a really savage satire. I also own all five seasons of SIX FEET UNDER on DVD.
I don’t think that AB has aged well. But at that particular moment I think it spoke to a lot of people. It was a 100 million dollar hit domestically…and I don’t think DREAMWORKS ever assumed that that would happen. When I consider the subject matter, I find that hard to believe as well. Though I adored it beyond measure, it sure as hell didn’t appear to be something that the mainstream would embrace. Much less end up a Best Picture winner.
For the record, I loved SIDEWAYS as well. Saw it twice. Found it hysterical and poignant. I do disagree about the Miles/Mya pairing and its potential.
I’m actually aware of what glamourous blondes want and desire. Actually being one - and if I’m not mistaken everyone that’s saying that that relatonship would never have existed in reality is male.
First of all, I’d go out with PAUL GIAMMATI. He’s funny as hell and he’s a brilliant actor.
But I digress…
You have to understand this. MYA knew MILES for a long time. She didn’t know him that well but they were quite friendly. I believe she knew him while he was still married so they went back a ways.
So she had a sense of him as a person and she was all ready fond of him. Sure, he was a misanthropic prick and he was miserable. But he was going through a VERY HARD TIME (there was the divorce, his book wasn’t going to be published etc.) and she understood that.
But there was a point where he crossed the line with her and she DID distance herself. it looked like she was through with him. But she decided to leave the door open and explore those possibilities.
I liked MILES too. I was rooting for them to get together.
Anyone that knows me well (and there are a number of you here) know that I’m about as tolerant as a freight train and I am definitely NO doormat.
But I thought he was a decent guy. Just going through a rough patch - and he genuinely cared about her.
And Craig, you’re not broken. You’re magnificent..,.
As DANIEL PLAINVIEW so eloquently stated: I’m finished….
I very much appreciate your kind words for my impending knee surgery, Miranda. Thanks so much.
One thing about Giamatti, for me it wasn’t the actor that was unattractive, it was the character.
I understand that, Monsieur Kennedy.
But this is what I’ve always said.
Since I was 14, I’ve ….uh, certainly had my share of male attention. I’ve dated all kinds of men.
Basically the entire spectrum. Within the boundaries of what I was looking for, of course.
I always said that I’d much rather spend my time with someone who was cute or average looking that had a good heart, treated me with kindness and respect, made me laugh etc. than some gorgeous dude that was an absolute dick.
Looks do count. But they don’t count for MUCH.
I have found that if someone really pisses me off and I get to the point where I can’t stand him any more, then his beauty doesn’t even make a dent. I just want to get in my car and drive. A long way away from him
FOR GOOD.
But if you have a spark with someone it can grow. He may not be JUDE LAW or ROBERT REDFORD. But he doesn’t have to be. If he adores you and he’s a nice guy, that’s all that matters.
Shallow people are really missing out, I think.
Truly….
You’re a peach, Miranda. Believe me, I’m hoping to get back to business as soon as I can, too. Arrgh, just when things are getting busy in Hollywood. Now I just found out I’m going to be involved in an internal office move in a couple of weeks, too.
I’m interested to hear what I’ll have to say about Towelhead, too - and everything else I still need to process…
Red had to be the color. Had to be!
I’m with Miranda - looking back at AB now, it’s hard to justify its Oscar win. I for one didn’t think it should have at the time, but I feel I little more vindicated with each passing year and each horrific Kevin Spacey movie. Too bad for that guy. K-Pax, anyone? Pay it Forward? 21?
Characters in Bottle Shock likable!?! Don’t read the last line in my write-up on it, Evan…:-P
Back to your original thought on Sideways - I, like Miranda, was a big fan of Miles, and I think Mya was just at a time in her life when she was looking for someone more low key like him. I mean, compared to Jack, Miles is at least human. Also, I think many relationships are borne out of one person (not always the woman) simply wanting to play the role of the caretaker, or maybe Mya saw Miles as somebody who has a good heart but a rough exterior. Turns out she was right, right?
Jack was definitely a pig, but Miles just didn’t seem to offer any of the things a person would be instantly attracted to. Once you get to know him, yeah there’s something underneath.
Who knows…maybe I’m just bitter.
Don’t be a bitter little crab, Craig.
I wil always adore you.
Well, maybe I was bitter back when I watched Sideways.