Standing the Test of Time

I am a little bit of a movie buff. It makes sense, if you think about it. After all, popcorn does top my list of all time favorite foods. And popcorn and movies are one of those matches made in heaven.

I watch a lot of movies. Some good, some terrible. Some surprisingly good even though they are panned by the critics (think "Catch and Release" - and NOT just because of Timothy Olyphant. I could talk about this one all day long - join me if you're interested). Some that I can't stop thinking about long after I've left the theater. (These are my favorite - they can be anything from "Schindler's List" to "Love, Actually" - I don't discriminate on a genre-basis.)

What I find funny, though, is movies that I THOUGHT were good when I first saw them, but later realized that they were total junk. Again, there's no genre or setting/decade bias here. I have seen "Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead" at least ten times, most of them unintentional (HBO seems to like this one). I saw it shortly after its video cassette release (sadly missed this one at the Winchester Mall when I was in high school). And you know what? I still freaking love this movie. The premise is ridiculous, the plot cheesy, the clothes are BEYOND dated. And yet, it is irresistible. Christina Applegate is fantastic, and where else can you see the early work of a rising David Duchovny?

But the other night, I was reminded of another one of my favorite movies of the early '90s: one "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves." This movie is not just mediocre; it is downright awful. It is melodramatic and stupid, and Kevin Costner's acting sets the bar for horrific. And yet I was so drawn to it that I had to buy it immediately after its video release (and a life-sized poster of Kevin Costner to go with it). The best part of this movie is the severely overplayed Bryan Adam's ballad "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You." Now that's saying something.

You know what the worst part is, though? Back when we saw it in the summer of 1991, I had to challenge my mom's suggestion that it was kind of lame. And now I have to eat my words . . .

...It's WHO You Know

So the latest George Clooney-Sarah Larson break-up rumors have caused me to ponder, once again, it's not what you know; it's absolutely who you know.

When first introduced into the Limelight, and to date, Sarah Larson has been described as the Vegas cocktail waitress that George met one night. That's her background, her description. Sure she was on Fear Factor but did anyone really watch that show? She certainly didn't have anything else on her resume that made her stand out. I think the media pushed her cocktail waitress status because it was very much 'rags to riches' or 'the prince and the pauper' and who doesn't like one of those feel good stories? After spending some time on the red carpet in designer dresses (her choices weren't wonderful) though, she has been upgraded to fashion model. Oh yes, she walked the catwalk for Valentino (I believe) and Smashbox, during Fashion Weeks across the globe. She has had photo spreads in magazines and all because...*gasp! dare I say it*...she was dating George Clooney!

Absolutely I dare. Supposedly she used to be a part-time model. If she was good at modeling and got jobs before, wouldn't she still be modeling instead of waitressing at the Playboy club? Since being on a game show didn't get her anywhere, thank goodness George Clooney came to save her day because within a matter of months, she became a hot commodity.

So my question now is this - now that her and George have called it quits, will she still be getting the "jobs" that she was getting when she was George's arm candy?! My bet is on 'No' because it's not what you know, it's WHO you know.

We shall see.....

P.S. - I Don't Love It

This past Memorial Day Weekend's activities found me doing a lot of house stuff - like getting the patio set and screened in canopy up and ready for the summer - all before Sunday afternoon when I had to be put on 24-hour bed rest... another story for another time.... so knowing that I would be confined to my bedroom for 24 hours, I prepared as best as I could by straightening up the house and signing up for a Blockbuster membership so I could rent some DVDs.

The two DVDs I rented - 'Death at a Funeral' and 'PS-I Love You.' I really enjoyed 'Death at a Funeral.' It starred the guy that played Mr. Darcy in the most recent 'Pride and Prejudice.' It was quirky and funny and I really enjoyed it. I saved 'PS - I Love You' for the second half of my confinement in hopes that it would make the time go by quicker. It did not. I kind of knew, from the get go, that I was not going to enjoy this movie.

Not sure if it was the fact that I'm not a Hillary Swank fan or the fact that I didn't like the idea of Hillary Swank married to my pretend boyfriend, Gerard Butler...but I think the opening scene of the movie where they are having a quarrel kind of screamed, 'Neurotic' to me...I'm talking about Hillary Swank. Her character talked in circles...she didn't make sense - and later in the movie, he calls her out on it...the fact that she makes no kind of sense.

The movie proceeds with how Hillary Swank's character copes with Gerard's death (via brain tumor) through a series of letters that Gerard has left for her....I guess he knew how neurotic she was that he needed to prep her for the year after his death by leaving her these letters....very kind and considerate husband. And in the end, THANK GAWD, she gets some direction and learns that she can move on and there will be other men out there to find her neurotic and love her for it.

All in all, it was definitely not my favorite rom-com, which saddens me because I do heart Gerard. I was really glad to see James Marsters (aka - Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) in something, post-Buffy. I did like her supporting cast of friends, Lisa Kudrow and Gina Gershon...but Hillary Swank? I think she needs to stick with the serious side of the business....no more rom-coms for you, I hope!

Jerkstore! I'm Going With Jerkstore!!

My mom came up with the perfect response to the San Antonio news reporter who asked how seeing drunk drivers on the road "made me feel":

"I really hope I see some swerving cars when I go out driving - reminds me of dodge-em cars."

Ahh - hindsight is always 20/20 isn't it?

The Next Fifteen Minutes

Andy Warhol's "fifteen minutes of fame" is one of my favorite prophecies of all time. It's certainly a recurring theme these days, with all of the reality television clogging up the airwaves. The question for me is this: when it comes to our "fifteen minutes," what counts?

Now, I don't have any grand illusions of becoming the next Reese Witherspoon or Scarlett Johansson or anything of the sort. I don't really want to be famous like that; I'd like to continue my routine of dining in obscurity (although, did you know that you can "hire" paparazzi to follow you around? interesting concept). What I do strive for, however, is success with my writing. I'd love to land a contract with a publishing house and see my book in print. I guess you could say that achieving this dream would involve a certain amount of "fifteen minutes," even if my writing never makes it to the level of Marian Keyes or Lauren Weisberger.

I worry, however, that if Mr. Warhol's prophecy rings true, my "fifteen minutes" may already be up. On three occasions now, I have been interviewed by the local news. Once was in Washington, D.C., while I was lunching at Freedom Plaza (Channel 7 news asked me what I thought about the height restrictions on buildings in the city). The second, hilariously, was in London's Covent Garden (some morning show correspondent asked me if I was concerned about the salt content in pre-packaged foods - my reply: "I like salt. I have low blood pressure."). And finally, just yesterday, while sipping on a mocha light frappucino from the Riverwalk Starbucks, some San Antonio news channel asked me how seeing drunk drivers swerving on the highway "makes me feel" (this inspired me to wonder about this woman's journalism education - kind of a loaded question, don't you think? It's not like I was going to answer "Why, it makes me feel great! I'm all for it!" (although I did think about it, given the stupidity of the question)).

In any case, while I have yet to see any of my "interviews" on television (couldn't find the London program and believe my D.C. footage was left on the cutting room floor), a part of me worries that this is it for me. My "fifteen minutes" of cheap, localized fame.

Let's hope that's not the case.