i knew it! carrie and kevin *were* mfeo!
Aug. 30th, 2003 03:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fearlesstempSo the cover of Entertainment Weekly this week is all about guilty pleasures, which meant I was probably going to buy it no matter what, but the second I opened it up and saw that there was an article about The OC in there? It was mine. I was at the bookstore and felt weird just buying an Entertainment Weekly. "I swear, I read actual books," I wanted to say. "I'm like forty pages into At Swim, Two Boys right now. Honest!"
I didn't say anything and simply purchased it, doing my best impersonation of a Cool Collected Confident Chick while doing so. And then tonight, sitting on my couch hoovering Triscuit-and-Vermont-Sharp-Cheddar-Cheese sandwiches, watching What Not to Wear on TLC, I decided to crack open the magazine. And swiftly discovered that it was written/organized by someone LIVING IN MY BRAIN. On the list? Luke from General Hospital. Alias Fanfiction. I don't use I-Tunes, which is listed, but some of the songs mentioned? It's All Coming Back To Me Now by Celine Dion? I totally, unabashedly JAM to that whenever it comes onto my local easy listening station. And Centerfold? Total Eclipse of the Heart? Love it!
Other things I love or have enjoyed in the past, like Kurt Russel's Overboard, Sabrina the Teenaged Witch, and The Family Man (the Nic Cage/Tea Leoni movie) were mentioned. All good stuff, but the kicker? The thing that made me nearly choke on my Triscuits? Rated a 10 on the guilty pleasure meter:
THE OLSEN TWINS' TWO OF A KIND!
I. Love. That. Show. As you know, because I've mentioned it before! And! No one else I know IN THE WORLD loves that show, save perhaps the programming executive at ABC Family who occasionally puts the show back into rotation so that while I'm channel surfing on an odd day -- like I was earlier this week -- I'll stumble across an episode and find myself transfixed, unable to look away. The other day it was the episode where the father tries to break up with his girlfriend but she thinks he's trying to trade housekeys, and Mary Kate goes to the stables to ride horses but hides it from her dad because she thinks it will remind him of her mother, who's died. Very touching! And the breakup stuff was funny! Overall: Love it!
I was seriously going to watch that show where the son of Irish Catholic old school traditional parents dates the daughter of a male gay couple just because half of the gay couple is played by the guy who played the father on Two of a Kind.
Anyway! The author of the article contacted the show's cocreater and got the scoop about where they were going with the rest of the show after the season/series finale (surprise surprise, the babysitter Carrie was eventually going to end up with Kevin the dad, but not till the end of the series, blah blah blah). Closure! I get closure! It's so fabulous!
I could talk about this more but I won't because I don't want to sound too pathetic.
In other news: Saw two movies today, Camp and Open Range. I liked Camp but find I don't have much to say about it, whereas with Open Range
I wonder if I'm just genetically predisposed to dislike westerns. Very often, I just find myself actively not caring about the gunslinger's plight, and I don't know why! I like to think I'm the type who will like any kind of movie if it's done well, and I guess I didn't dislike Open Range or High Noon or any of the others I've seen, but it's more that I just. don't. care. Isn't that awful? The only western type thing I've loved is Firefly, honestly, and I loved it for some reasons that make it clear why the typical western doesn't speak to me -- strong female characters, humor, and fun dialogue for three -- but I also loved the way it explored the theme of going out into the black to chase freedom, the desire not to accomplish anything other than to keep going, keep flying, escaping the establishment and the past, all things which I always associate with the western -- the frontier, lawlessness, not being tied down, etc etc.
(I feel it should be noted that my discussion of the whole western thing is seriously limited by the fact that I've seen so few, mostly because I don't enjoy them, and that one of them was, in fact, How the West Was Won, which is quite possibly the worst movie ever made and very likely not even deserving the title "western", mostly because of the whole dance sequence with Debbie Reynolds. Regardless, watch me continue to spew my thoughts with abandon!)
After staring at the wall for a few minutes and marvelling at how much U.S. history and film theory I've forgotten, including the name of a few 19th century historians I'd love to name drop to make myself look smart, I guess all I can say is that I don't like old school westerns because of The Girl Thing. The one classic-cinema-era Western I can remember loving off the top of my head is Destry Rides Again, and that's definitely not the typical Western. Jimmy Stewart! Marlene Dietrich! Western! Can you say random? But I think I loved it because of Marlene, because she was so cool and strong and in charge of herself.
And also, it was funny. Which is more important than it sounds; I can't take humorless movies not because they're brutal to suffer through (though they often are), but mostly because they feel so false and cold to me. Firefly rang so true to me not just because of Zoe and Kaylee and Inara and River; it was also how warm and funny the crew was with each other and in general, showing that they and the show had a sense of humor about themselves/itself and a heart.
As for Open Range, like most westerns, I mostly didn't care about the bulk of what was going on. I thought the big fight scene at the end was well done, not just because of the staging, but also because it felt legitimately scary and dangerous. I liked that there was no music, just the sound of the guns going off, and that you could see terror and panic and pain in people's eyes when they were shot. The movie gets points for that, and though I felt the whole romance between Kevin Costner's character and Annette Bening's was rather random and sudden, they were so sweet with each other at the end that I didn't really care.
In closing, the movie was worth the price of admission if only for the moment where Robert Duvall's character is talking to his young protegee who's shot and in a coma near death, telling him that if he wakes up, they're going to stop running around and settle down on a nice patch of land so that he can have a normal bed and life and home. Very touching, but the real enjoyment on my part came when my brother leaned over and whispered "It's like My Two Dads!" I couldn't stop laughing. I still am. Maybe you had to be there, watching Super Cowboys Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner being all Manly and Noble and Brave and, let's not forget, Attractively Dirty, to get why the idea of the two of them shacked up with 16-year-old Button (that's seriously the kid's name in the movie), having wacky adventures while guiding him through those perilous teenage years on the plains, would be so funny.
Anyway. Enough blabbing about that, especially since I'm pretty sure I didn't make much sense. In other news: Recently came across my copy of Without Feathers, and have been flipping through it at odd moments, cracking up. I will close with an excerpt from it, because it doesn't get much funnier than old school Woddy Allen in my book:
Selections from the Allen Notebooks:
Idea for a story: A man awakens to find his parrot has been made Secretary of Agriculture. He is consumed with jealousy and shoots himself, but unfortunately the gun is the type with a little flag that pops out, with the word "Bang" on it. The flag pokes his eye out, and he lives -- a chastened human being who, for the first time, enjoys the simple pleasures of life, like farming or sitting on an air hose.
Today I saw a red-and-yellow sunset and thought, How insignificant I am! Of course, I thought that yesterday, too, and it rained. I was overcome with self-loathing and contemplated suicide again -- this time by inhaling next to an insurance salesman.
Am I the only one who's bothered by the fact that he married his stepdaughter mostly because it affects their ability to enjoy his work? I feel like chasing him down and chastening him, all "Woody! What you did was Wrong and Bad and how dare you? Now I'm be forced to contemplate the moral implications of enjoying your humor while knowing you've engaged in skeevy weird behavior! How dare you harsh my humor buzz?"
But I can't help it! I can't resist Annie Hall.
I didn't say anything and simply purchased it, doing my best impersonation of a Cool Collected Confident Chick while doing so. And then tonight, sitting on my couch hoovering Triscuit-and-Vermont-Sharp-Cheddar-Cheese sandwiches, watching What Not to Wear on TLC, I decided to crack open the magazine. And swiftly discovered that it was written/organized by someone LIVING IN MY BRAIN. On the list? Luke from General Hospital. Alias Fanfiction. I don't use I-Tunes, which is listed, but some of the songs mentioned? It's All Coming Back To Me Now by Celine Dion? I totally, unabashedly JAM to that whenever it comes onto my local easy listening station. And Centerfold? Total Eclipse of the Heart? Love it!
Other things I love or have enjoyed in the past, like Kurt Russel's Overboard, Sabrina the Teenaged Witch, and The Family Man (the Nic Cage/Tea Leoni movie) were mentioned. All good stuff, but the kicker? The thing that made me nearly choke on my Triscuits? Rated a 10 on the guilty pleasure meter:
THE OLSEN TWINS' TWO OF A KIND!
I. Love. That. Show. As you know, because I've mentioned it before! And! No one else I know IN THE WORLD loves that show, save perhaps the programming executive at ABC Family who occasionally puts the show back into rotation so that while I'm channel surfing on an odd day -- like I was earlier this week -- I'll stumble across an episode and find myself transfixed, unable to look away. The other day it was the episode where the father tries to break up with his girlfriend but she thinks he's trying to trade housekeys, and Mary Kate goes to the stables to ride horses but hides it from her dad because she thinks it will remind him of her mother, who's died. Very touching! And the breakup stuff was funny! Overall: Love it!
I was seriously going to watch that show where the son of Irish Catholic old school traditional parents dates the daughter of a male gay couple just because half of the gay couple is played by the guy who played the father on Two of a Kind.
Anyway! The author of the article contacted the show's cocreater and got the scoop about where they were going with the rest of the show after the season/series finale (surprise surprise, the babysitter Carrie was eventually going to end up with Kevin the dad, but not till the end of the series, blah blah blah). Closure! I get closure! It's so fabulous!
I could talk about this more but I won't because I don't want to sound too pathetic.
In other news: Saw two movies today, Camp and Open Range. I liked Camp but find I don't have much to say about it, whereas with Open Range
I wonder if I'm just genetically predisposed to dislike westerns. Very often, I just find myself actively not caring about the gunslinger's plight, and I don't know why! I like to think I'm the type who will like any kind of movie if it's done well, and I guess I didn't dislike Open Range or High Noon or any of the others I've seen, but it's more that I just. don't. care. Isn't that awful? The only western type thing I've loved is Firefly, honestly, and I loved it for some reasons that make it clear why the typical western doesn't speak to me -- strong female characters, humor, and fun dialogue for three -- but I also loved the way it explored the theme of going out into the black to chase freedom, the desire not to accomplish anything other than to keep going, keep flying, escaping the establishment and the past, all things which I always associate with the western -- the frontier, lawlessness, not being tied down, etc etc.
(I feel it should be noted that my discussion of the whole western thing is seriously limited by the fact that I've seen so few, mostly because I don't enjoy them, and that one of them was, in fact, How the West Was Won, which is quite possibly the worst movie ever made and very likely not even deserving the title "western", mostly because of the whole dance sequence with Debbie Reynolds. Regardless, watch me continue to spew my thoughts with abandon!)
After staring at the wall for a few minutes and marvelling at how much U.S. history and film theory I've forgotten, including the name of a few 19th century historians I'd love to name drop to make myself look smart, I guess all I can say is that I don't like old school westerns because of The Girl Thing. The one classic-cinema-era Western I can remember loving off the top of my head is Destry Rides Again, and that's definitely not the typical Western. Jimmy Stewart! Marlene Dietrich! Western! Can you say random? But I think I loved it because of Marlene, because she was so cool and strong and in charge of herself.
And also, it was funny. Which is more important than it sounds; I can't take humorless movies not because they're brutal to suffer through (though they often are), but mostly because they feel so false and cold to me. Firefly rang so true to me not just because of Zoe and Kaylee and Inara and River; it was also how warm and funny the crew was with each other and in general, showing that they and the show had a sense of humor about themselves/itself and a heart.
As for Open Range, like most westerns, I mostly didn't care about the bulk of what was going on. I thought the big fight scene at the end was well done, not just because of the staging, but also because it felt legitimately scary and dangerous. I liked that there was no music, just the sound of the guns going off, and that you could see terror and panic and pain in people's eyes when they were shot. The movie gets points for that, and though I felt the whole romance between Kevin Costner's character and Annette Bening's was rather random and sudden, they were so sweet with each other at the end that I didn't really care.
In closing, the movie was worth the price of admission if only for the moment where Robert Duvall's character is talking to his young protegee who's shot and in a coma near death, telling him that if he wakes up, they're going to stop running around and settle down on a nice patch of land so that he can have a normal bed and life and home. Very touching, but the real enjoyment on my part came when my brother leaned over and whispered "It's like My Two Dads!" I couldn't stop laughing. I still am. Maybe you had to be there, watching Super Cowboys Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner being all Manly and Noble and Brave and, let's not forget, Attractively Dirty, to get why the idea of the two of them shacked up with 16-year-old Button (that's seriously the kid's name in the movie), having wacky adventures while guiding him through those perilous teenage years on the plains, would be so funny.
Anyway. Enough blabbing about that, especially since I'm pretty sure I didn't make much sense. In other news: Recently came across my copy of Without Feathers, and have been flipping through it at odd moments, cracking up. I will close with an excerpt from it, because it doesn't get much funnier than old school Woddy Allen in my book:
Selections from the Allen Notebooks:
Idea for a story: A man awakens to find his parrot has been made Secretary of Agriculture. He is consumed with jealousy and shoots himself, but unfortunately the gun is the type with a little flag that pops out, with the word "Bang" on it. The flag pokes his eye out, and he lives -- a chastened human being who, for the first time, enjoys the simple pleasures of life, like farming or sitting on an air hose.
Today I saw a red-and-yellow sunset and thought, How insignificant I am! Of course, I thought that yesterday, too, and it rained. I was overcome with self-loathing and contemplated suicide again -- this time by inhaling next to an insurance salesman.
Am I the only one who's bothered by the fact that he married his stepdaughter mostly because it affects their ability to enjoy his work? I feel like chasing him down and chastening him, all "Woody! What you did was Wrong and Bad and how dare you? Now I'm be forced to contemplate the moral implications of enjoying your humor while knowing you've engaged in skeevy weird behavior! How dare you harsh my humor buzz?"
But I can't help it! I can't resist Annie Hall.
no subject
Date: 2003-08-30 08:15 pm (UTC)Dude. We must be the only two people who love that show, because, yes. Every time it's on, I must sit and watch. Can't tear myself away! <.g>
(no subject)
From: