But when I do watch a movie, it's fun to watch them with Ben, because we can discuss the technical aspects, etc. Once upon a time Ben and I sat down to watch a movie that got rave reviews from a lot of people: I was horrified by the (lack of) morals it portrayed, but I think Ben was more horrified by the editing techniques.
That said, Ben and I watched a few movies this week. We finally got around to seeing Enchanted. (The movie theater waits for no busy mom, even if she intends to get there). Let's be clear: this movie was really aimed at girls like me, girls who grew up watching the Disney classic princess tales of Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, and are now old enough to be nostalgic about them. But, it worked. I was much more taken with the movie than either of my girls were.
There were some rough patches with the story; though the second time I watched it, those things were less noticeable. What I found most jarring was Susan Sarandon as the Evil step-mother. Her voice is just too well known, and she didn't alter it enough for me to stop thinking "It's Marmee as the Wicked Witch!" Her character would have been better cast with someone a little more obscure. I did love the ending with the two girls essentially switching places. And, at the risk of sounding old-fashioned, I would have liked two weddings, and not just one.
The other movie we saw was a film Ben edited, called Happy Valley. It's a documentary about drug abuse, focusing on prescription pain-killer addiction and the like, and it takes place here in Utah. It's playing in theaters this week, so if you're in-state, you should catch it. It's an eye-opener. These kinds of problems are all through-out the country, not just Utah; although Utah is the film's focus.Take some kleenex. There are some emotional moments as you hear about families who have dealt with this issue.
Allysha-I saw that you were listed as a winner on Design Mom (congrats), and thought....Huh. How many Allyshas can there be....I'll check it out. And it's you, the one that I used to share a cubicle with at the CID.:)
ReplyDeleteI lived in a building that became infested with Meth cooks. It took thousands of dollars and several years to clean up the mess. I am always glad when there is a film the shows the reality of any kind of drug addiction. It is something to bawl about.
ReplyDeleteEnchanted surprised me. I liked it more than I thought I would.
ReplyDeleteOf course Patrick Dempsey is adorable, but the whole thing was delightful, especially the scenes where they seemed to be poking fun a bit at the Disney fairy tales themselves (like where they all start singing in the park and pretty soon we have a totally over-the-top production number with dancing construction workers and everything). At least I hope they were poking fun. Please tell me they weren't entirely serious...
I too finally got around to watching Enchanted last week. The scene where Giselle points out that she and Patrick (my pregnant mind has forgotten his character name) were on a date brought back now humorous memories of being at BYU.
ReplyDeleteAfter "hanging out" with a friend of mine who happened to be a boy for a couple of months which included going out to eat, to the movies, phone calls, etc. He turns to me in the parking lot of the movie theatre we had just left and says most genuinely, "I'm concerned about you. When was the last time you went out on a date?"
This from the same guy who wanted to do a spiff on Cinderella for his animation project where the story line reads that she walks into the room and the Prince is immediately smitten with her. For the record, I told him it wouldn't fly.
I was thinking about this conversation and why Susan Sarandon worked for me. I think it's because she seems more like a wicked witch than a Marmee to me.
ReplyDeletecabesh...:) did you get my email? It's so funny to run into people on the web...
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