Lindsayism.com

The Ten and a Nitpicky PSA

I was really good about managing my expectations on this one, so I'll just say: I recommend it.  I laughed many times and so did the other people in my theater. But that said, I have friends who hated it. I kind of chalk that up to context (see: category tag) and difference in sense of humor (I love a good in-joke, others like broader comedy. Actually, I kind of love both, but the former is so rare in movies.)

I guess I didn't just say "I recommend it" but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who is as unfortunately very susceptible to the whole high expectations/low expectations phenomenon as I am. One thing is certain though: Paul Rudd is totally not sexy in it.

Pretty much completely unrelated: maybe this bothers me because I worked at a movie theater in college, but why is it that people who would never dream of allowing a straw wrapper to fall from their grasp without immediately picking it up off the dirtiest of city sidewalks think it's perfectly okay to leave a movie theater aisle totally destroyed by their garbage? I'm not even talking about strangers, I'm talking about the friend I saw the movie with yesterday! Totally not okay. And I am willing to passive-aggressively call out my friend in a public forum in the hopes that just one person will have an epiphany.      

Knocked Up!

Pretty much everyone I know saw Knocked Up this past weekend, and everyone I've talked to has said some version of "It was more heartwarming than I expected." Most of them mean that in a slightly pejorative way ("heartwarming" not being a compliment in my circles). I said it, too, though I might have lost my pejorative-use-of-heartwarming privileges when I got misty at the end (so did all my friends, though.)...

(Spoiler Alerts: the following half-assed analysis of the movie's stance on gender relations may spoil the next five minutes of your life, or possibly certain aspects of the movie if you've lived under a rock for the past month.)

 

Clarification: Grandma's Boy

My friend Brian IMd me and I feel the need to clarify my Grandma's Boy recommendation (below). (I changed some of the words to make it tricky!)

Brian: if you truly didn't hate grandma's boy with every fiber of your being, i don't think we can be friends anymore
lindsayism: loved it!
lindsayism: you don't [REDACTED] enough [REDACTED], dude
Brian: unless you were so [REDACTED] that you didn't know what you were seeing
lindsayism: Well, last night I was thoroughly entertained by something called "When Surgical Tools are Left Behind", if that gives you any idea what you're dealing with.
lindsayism: I'm sorry but Swardson was hilarious!
lindsayism: "I can't believe you came on my mom"
Brian: i would enjoy the surgical thing
Brian: but that movie was soooooooooo terrible
lindsayism: were you [REDACTED]?
lindsayism: WERE YOU [REDACTED]?
lindsayism: if not, you cannot speak!
Brian: I was not... it was a work screening
Brian: I was hopped up on cold stone, though
lindsayism: well then you were not the movie's intended audience
lindsayism: [REDACTED] movies must be seen by [REDACTED] people
lindsayism: maybe I'll start a movie review website with that philosophy.
Brian: sadly I was in a screening filled with studio execs
Brian: and they loved it
lindsayism: Well, I hope you learned something from this conversation. You're the reason Waiting got a bad review from THE FUCKING ONION.
lindsayism: Stoner comedies must be reviewed, and seen, by their intended audience.

word of mouth

Movies I Saw this Weekend

The Break-Up: A master(piece) of low-expectations. The critics tried to second-guess the public and got it way wrong, which is always amusing. I saw it in a packed theater full of laughing people - everyone in my group was shocked at how much we liked it. Even the straight guy. As we walked out, a group of NYU fratboys were loudly and seriously debating the ending.
Oh, and I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere but up-and-coming movie comedy it boy JUSTIN LONG steals every scene he's in as a gay goth receptionist.
Okay, now you're going to hate it because I built it up so much. I'm not saying it's the best movie ever, but it accomplished what it set out to do, no more, no less. I laughed out loud many times and, uh, well, there is this one REALLY SAD PART that I needed a tissue for...

Let's cleanse the palate...

Grandma's Boy: (now available on dvd) An excellent addition to any stoner comedy collection. Adam Sandler produced it, and it's basically like an entire movie made up of stuff that the lawyers made him cut from his other, more mainstream, movies. It's predictable and relies too much on the "old people saying raunchy things" hack, but has some surprising and original scenes and is funny throughout. And everything Nick Swardson touches is pure comedy gold, of course. Be sure to watch the extras.

Bob Loblaw Lives! (Sort Of...)

Last night's Arrested Development? BEST EPISODE EVER. Today I was wondering if "Loblaw" was a real last name, so I googled it and it is. Then I wondered if there were people named "Robert Loblaw." There are. Then I saw that there's a company called Bob Loblaw Video Communications, and I almost peed myself. Then, I read the FAQ:

"what's with the faceless guy?
The faceless guy is actually bob loblaw, a fictional character we invented (if you haven't figured out our name by now, just say it to yourself out loud really fast, you'll get it). Bob represents most organizations out there, no face and/or a lot of "blah blah blah" with little substance in their message (get the name now?). Every day we deal with companies that never show themselves or their true message. One of our goals is to put a unique face on your business or project."

I wonder if Arrested Development got permission to use the name? Either way, I bet they're getting a lot of hits. Some journalist-type should interview the president of the company about it. (Also: is "Bob Loblaw" some sort of old joke?)

I'm also loving the show "Weeds." Especially the character Andy Botwin, played by actor Justin Kirk. One of his quotes from this week's episode made me do a spit-take last night. Mary Louise Parker is considering putting her 10 year old on anti-depressants, and this is her neer-do-well brother in law's advice:

"When my ferret killed himself a couple years ago?, I took Celexa? I gained 40 lbs, I couldn't ejaculate. Is that what you want for your son?"