Posts Tagged ‘Drew Barrymore’
6 items.
Drew better start listening to Floyd.
Whenever I think of The Wizard of Oz, I hear the Dark Side of the Moon. If you’ve never tried the whole sync thing, do it. I believe that it works. You can do it twice with the Dark Side of the Moon and the Wizard of Oz.
It is my opinion that this also works with the vinyl version of the Fragile and Taxi Driver. Trent Reznor mentioned in his 9-9-99 interview about the Fragile that he had been watching Taxi Driver a lot. I tried syncing both the vinyl and cd versions of the album (which are different) and only the vinyl version works out right. The movie and the album are exactly the same length. You just have to allow the appropriate amount of time to flip the album. This doesn’t have as many similarities as the Pink Floyd stuff, but the mood and the feel matches well.
For more syncing info, go here.
I worked on the documentary on Sunday and Monday, then took time out on Tuesday to watch movies. I finally watched 15 Minutes. I had heard that it was bad, but I enjoyed it. I also watched Platoon Leader, which I only enjoyed because of my interest in the Vietnam war. It is basically a low budget answer to Platoon.
I forgot to mention last week that I went to see The Rules of Attraction. I found the style interesting, but wouldn’t watch it again. Except maybe for the montage, which was a fast and cool account of some dudes trip to Europe. Patti hated this movie.
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Oct23
If you think that today’s strip is some sort of late April Fool’s joke, then I suggest you check out this story.
Quite frankly, I’m sick with the idea that anyone would
A. Attempt a sequel to one of the most beloved family films of all time (does anyone remember the 10 car pile up of muppets that was Return to Oz?) and
B. Stick Drew Barrymore in the starring role of Dorothy. Never mind she’s 27 and Judy Garland was 17 when she played it. Oh, wait. You’ll probably turn her into some tough, business-minded executive that only learns a “life lesson” after a fanciful trip through Oz and reconnecting with childish innocence.
I think it would be more interesting if they sent her to the HBO version of Oz.
This is the kind of project that I can picture Drew getting really excited over. She was probably in her big-ass mansion, just having started her production company, chewing on the end of a pencil and trying to come up with a good property she could re-purpose as a vehicle for herself.
She probably thought, “Gee, I really loved The Wizard of Oz before I was strung out on coke at 11. I’ll take those happy memories, bastardize them and inflict them on an unsuspecting public!”
The point I’m making with today’s strip holds water, in my opinion because the only reason anyone will see this film is to check out Drew’s boobs.
Face it, honey. The apex of your career is when you flashed Letterman on his birthday.
Some of you might wonder why I spit so much venom at Drew. Most likely because I see her as the next in line of “girl-next-door” actresses who take their wholesome images and pad them further by developing smooshy movies I end up getting dragged to kicking and screaming.
Other actresses in this category would include Meg Ryan (although she’s a little long in the tooth) and the worst offender, Sandra Bullock. I really used to like Sandra Bullock back when she was in Demolition Man and Speed. She was a fresh face. Fun to watch. Then While You Were Sleeping happened. Then Hope Floats. Then Practical Magic. Then 28 Days. Then Miss Congeniality. I’m sure you get the picture.
And I’m sorry, but it doesn’t matter how many films like Murder By Numbers you make, you’ve carved your peg, now sit in it.
Drew is falling into the same trap. Her popularity has afforded her some sway in the industry, and she ends up producing and starring in such obvious ego-centric pieces as Charlies Angels, Never Been Kissed and Driving in Cars With Boys (featuring the most flagrant misuse of Steve Zahn if there ever was one).
I guess it’s just difficult to watch actresses you like water down their appeal by churning out the same tapioca productions. Reese Witherspoon? I’m looking in your direction…
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I just finished watching Charlie’s Angels. It was fun, but not too far from the usual movie plot. It was weird to see Crispin Glover looking like Willard.
This weekend I watched Riding in Cars with Boys. It was Patti’s choice, but I think I ended up liking it as much or more than she did. I let her pick the rental because she said “you’ll probably want to watch some movie about drugs.” Which of course… was true. But I decided to be nice and behold, the plot that unfolded included Steve Zahn as a drug addict. Woo!
We also saw Anger Management. My initial reaction was that it was okay. The cameos, although destructive to the overall plot, added to the enjoyment of the flick. It was a Kevin Bacon Game dream. I still think Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison are Sandler’s funniest films. Looking back on this recent escapade, I think they tried to cram too much stuff into one movie. The ending was rushed as well, although it seemed to take frickin’ forever.
I am ready to watch part four of Band of Brothers. It is awesome. Get your hands on this mini series (not my copy) and watch it, NOW!
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Real quick: Be sure to vote for Theater Hopper at BuzzComix. The recently introduced a new system that makes their top list more accurate. If you sign up for a free account, you can tag all of your favorite comics so it makes it easier to vote! And don’t forget, every time you vote for Theater Hopper, you get a sneak peek at some extra artwork as our way of say thanks!
Today’s comic is the third time I’ve acknowledged the fourth wall. That’s not a big deal for a lot of comics, but when I started Theater Hopper, I had a specific set of guidelines. I didn’t want to get too self-referential or “inside”.
I also tried to refrain from introducing any fantasy elements without some kind of tether to reality. Well, with The Cult of Sandler and Cami shooting fireballs out of her hands last week, I figured those guidelines are either in serious disrepair or jettisoned completely out the window. It’s probably for the best. This isn’t a journal comic, after all.
As you’ve probably gathered, Cami and I did see 50 First Dates on Friday. We went to the late show expecting the first showing to be packed with goofy 14 year olds. When we arrived for our 9:30 showing, there was hardly anyone in the theater. Of course, by the time they got through all the previews, all the goof 14 year olds showed up… late… and chattering like monkeys as they tried to find their seat.
Some obnoxious woman and her sister (mom?) plopped down next to me and proceeded to spend the entire time before the previews discussing how sick and contagious they were. Coughing, hacking, spitting… All I could think of was some noxious green cloud straining to be filtered by my lungs as we sat there in the darkness.
Seriously, people. If you’re so sick you’re complaining about it to everyone in earshot STAY HOME!
As for the movie itself, it was enjoyable. The cinematography was certainly a notch or two higher than Billy Madison, I can tell you that much! Drinking in all these lush vistas, I kept thinking “I have to go to Hawaii. I have to go to Hawaii.” like some sort of drunken mantra.
I had logic problems with the movie. Plot problems, too. I’m sorry, but I don’t find BRAIN DAMAGE to be a wholly charming device to center a romantic comedy around. I also struggled with the concept of making a long-term relationship work with someone who has no long term memory!
The whole “we’ll have her watch a videotape to get her caught up with her life” trick seems unnecessarily cruel. I kept picturing Drew Barrymore’s character waking up each morning and crying for a hour after being introduced to this grim reality. But I guess the benefit is, no matter how hard you day is, you’ll forget about it tomorrow? Hmm…
I’m pretty much comparing apples to oranges here, but I thought Memento did a much better job with depicting the struggle of someone afflicted this way. Mostly from the perspective that the human mind is devious enough to create a method to work around the handicap.
I found it particularly offensive that Barrymore’s character’s brother and father would go to the lengths of re-creating her last day of functioning memory. What kind of twisted hell is that? Not just for the person without the long term memory, but for the people around them? If I had a daughter who was a drug addict, I wouldn’t be suppling her with crack! Face the problem, people!
Ultimately I realize that we’re dealing with fantasy here. But truthfully I have an easier time committing to the idea of a man trying to reconcile his relationship with a mermaid versus what we have here. The minute you try to pass off these kinds of authentic handicaps as the central conflict of the story, you open the door to much harsher criticism and attention to detail.
That out of the way, I’m giving everyone a prescription for our latest advertiser Dr. Wuss. Check it out. It has the cure for the daily blues!
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* THIS BLOG POST WAS LOST WHEN THEATER HOPPER MOVED TO WORDPRESS IN JANUARY 2009 *
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On Monday I talked a little bit about seeing a sneak preview of Whip It! last Saturday. I promised a review at some point. A review the never came. So, instead, you get this comic and I’ll kind of splice in portions of the review I was going to write here in the blog post.
I think I said on Monday that Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut has a certain level of enthusiasm that I think can be attributed by Barrymore’s usual rah-rah “Girl Power” mantra. Despite being a film about hard-nosed roller derby chicks, the film is optimistic and sunny.
Ellen Page as the film’s heroine is serviceable. Her character is a mousy beauty pageant competitor by day and a roller derby chick by night. Unfortunately, she doesn’t really fit into either of those roles very well.
To me she seems too sharp, her wit to acerbic, to be some mousy teen bullied into pageant life by an overbearing mother. Conversely, she doesn’t have the physical presence to skate around a rink and throw elbows.
The film explains away some of the later by acknowledging Page’s pocket-sized physique. Her roller derby alter-ego “Babe Ruthless” gets by on her speed and agility and less on her right hook.
Still, I think it would have been interesting to see someone like Kat Dennings in the role. Then I might have found the dichotomy between pageant queen and roller girl a little more believable.
As I mentioned in the comic, the cast for this film is amazing. Not just for the depth of the semi-recognizable names, but for the variety. In what other film are you going to see the stunt woman from Death Proof roller skate with the female rapper who was once First Lady of Ruff Ryders?
Gotta give points to the casting director for bringing Juliette Lewis into the mix. Sinewy, snide and possibly smelly, Lewis fits perfectly into the role of Page’s riot grrl nemesis.
Special acknowledgment, however, I think needs to be given to Kristen Wiig, who finally stepped out from behind the Nervous Nellie persona she’s perfected on Saturday Night Live and in supporting roles from films like Adventureland and Knocked Up.
Despite the eccentricity of being a roller derby competitor, Wiig plays her character like a normal, everyday person. At this point, playing someone normally was probably the most shocking thing she could do!
Story-wise, there’s nothing in Whip It! that you haven’t seen in a thousand other coming-of-age comedies. Basically, an awkward girl finds something she’s passionate about and comes out of her shell in opposition to her parents wishes. Do the parents come around at the end? Of course. Are valuable life lessons learned? You betcha.
But like I said, there’s a positive vibe reverberating off this movie and a certain zest of life to the characters. The live their lives on the fringe of society in an already liberal-minded alternate reality known as Austin, Texas. They skate in abandoned warehouses under pseudonyms, get drunk and listen to loud music. Their exploits are liberating and we, the audience, get to live vicariously through that.
That’s pretty much the role of any good movie. If you can watch the characters on screen and say “I wanna hang out with them,” or “I wanna do that,” then there has been some transformative effect that has allowed you to transcend whatever hang-ups or stress is waiting for you back in the real world. By that measure, Whip It! is a rollicking success.
So what about you? Any plans to hang out with Smashly Simpson and The Hurl Scouts this weekend? Does Whip It! look like a film that interests you? Did any of you manage to catch the sneak preview on Saturday? If so, what did you think? Leave your comments below!
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