This is what happened when my friend and I watched 'Brokeback Mountain' the first time.....

You're nobody 'til somebody shoots you....

I’ve always believed that Matthew McConaughey is a total loser. I think his accent is ridiculous, I think his sleaziness is too severe for the silver screen, I think his abs are a smart ploy to keep the women of the world from realising he’s just plain gross and I used to think that he had absolutely no acting skills to speak of. I was very deeply invested in the idea that he was just one of those actors who is ‘attractive’ and ‘charming’ enough to keep getting roles despite their lack of talent. Like Keanu Reeves or Shea LaBeouf. And the reason I put those words in quotation marks is because I personally do not find him attractive or charming, but will concede that other people in this world do. I accept it. It’s the same way I feel about crocs, polar fleece and rat’s tails, I hate all of them but understand some people feel differently. And hey, it’s just like they say ‘it takes all kinds to make a world’. But it may seem that on the matter of Matthew McConaughey’s acting abilities, I have been too clouded by my disgust for him to realise he’s actually kind of a winner. I’m not completely committing to him but I will say this, in The Lincoln Lawyer, he is totally compelling. Maybe its because his character is supposed to be a bit dodgy and manipulative but whatever the reason I could not stop watching this film. Even after my loins shriveled up at the sight of him, and then completely combusted in on themselves upon subjection to that filthy southern drawl, EVEN AFTER THAT I just couldn’t turn the film off.

I’m a fan of the thriller genre, I like not knowing what’s going to happen and spending the whole film trying to solve the mystery myself. I generally fail at this game, I get too overzealous and start accusing every single person who enters the story of being the killer or ‘perp’ in industry terms, and that gets old real fast, lemme tell ya. But still it’s fun to be wrong because it means there’s a lot of “No WAAAAAYY!” and “Oh my god, what just HAPPENED?” going on between me and the tv. I like a genre that’s interactive; I lead a very solitary life so it’s the closest I get to a dinner date these days. But don’t feel sorry for me, I drink and talk to myself, so it’s not an altogether lonely existence. I’ve had some really choice debates with myself over the years, real mind-blowing stuff. Okay, mostly it’s about whether or not I should take my pants off, but both sides put forth some good arguments. But let’s get back to The Lincoln Lawyer. The film is an adaptation of the book which was written by Michael Connelly back in 2005. It’s usually a pretty safe bet that if the film was first a book, then the story at least will be interesting. They’d have to sell a certain amount of copies to warrant it being converted for the silver screen, and as long as the screenwriter and director don’t completely balls it up, the film should be good. Clear exceptions to that rule include One for the Money, One Day and…. (I’m going to be unpopular here, I know) …. all of The Lord of the Rings movies. Come at me with your torches and broken beer bottles people, I stand by my claim.

 Luckily, The Lincoln Lawyer is an intriguing film and the casting, I believe, was spot on. Mathew McConaughey was indeed the perfect guy for the corrupt and highly street-smart lawyer Mickey Haller. Ryan Phillippe was an interesting choice for the part of Louis Roulet, but it worked really well! Actually, if I really think about it; maybe Phillippe was an obvious choice for this role. He does innocent well, he’s totally sinister when he wants to be and he’s definitely the type of guy you’d assume would manipulate people with his charisma, flawless good looks and intellect. In a nutshell that’s who this Louis Roulet character is, albeit a lot more psychotic. Okay, Phillippe was always going to be a slam dunk, good casting there guys! Marisa Tomei is a pretty likeable character. She’s just adorable, isn’t she?! The kinda gal you’d love to brunch with. So she’s great in the role of Haller’s ex-wife Maggie McPherson, as per usual. However, she’s not stand out. She does the job well and you like her just as you are intended to, but you kind of forget about her a few days after watching the film. William H. Macy (aka the guy I wish was my cool uncle or mentor-turned-friend in real life) was just peaches in this as Haller’s trusty investigator Frank Levin. I love him! Always have, always will, and he is such an integral part of the film’s success. He adds a bit of humour to an otherwise fairly serious subject. I love his slightly-intoxicated passive aggressive remarks as Haller leaves the bar one night, it’s just delightful to watch. And I’m going to go out on a limb here and say he is one of the few men who can unequivocally pull off shoulder length hair. This is a rare gift; most men just look sleazy with long hair. My man Macy rocks that look hard. I think the facial hair and lax attitude helps though.

I’m not watching as many films these days as I’d like to, I just got over a long stint of reviewing for the fringe in my home city and am, honestly, a little burned out. But The Lincoln Lawyer (named so because he often conducts business from his Lincoln town car, just FYI) was on telly the other night while I was curled up on the couch. The remote was on the kitchen counter and though I wanted to immediately switch over once I saw McConaughey, my laziness kept me from moving for a few minutes. Luckily I didn’t because in that time I was totally hooked. Not the first time my lack of vigor has produced positive results, either. One time I couldn’t be bothered telling a guy who was interested in me (shocking, I know) that I wasn’t on board and instead just allowed things to progress at a slow pace. That guy I ended up dating for roughly four months. Do you even know how much free food I got in that time? A LOT. And he was alright for the most part, kind learned to like him. Not dissimilar to how I began to like cask wine, you eventually realise you’re not too good to go there. 

A very intriguing story with a lot of great performances, I would recommend The Lincoln Lawyer to anyone, even those who (like me) think McConaughey is a douche. He is, but he can also act. I guess wonders never cease.  

ABBY.... THERE'S A JACKAL IN THE ROOM!!!

You know how when you decide to do a big clean of the house and you’ve made a concise list of all the jobs you need to get done, after a day or so you realise that you’re not even half way through the list? And then you ask yourself how this could happen because really there were only like… four major jobs to do; tidy, clean, vacuum and mop. So you look back and realise that as you tidied you found yourself getting distracted with other little jobs that you thought “oh I’ll just quickly do that” like organising your DVD collection. And at first you thought alphabetically is the best way and so you did that. Then once you’re done you decide that system actually sucks so you decide to organise them by genre. But then that doesn’t work either because you only really have comedy, rom com and tv shows, so you then organised them into groups ranging from favourite movies and tv shows down to the ones you bought for $5 and only ever watched that one time. But then you think that maybe that’s just going to get confusing and maybe it will keep you from ever revisiting those forgotten movies that perhaps deserve a second chance. So you go back to the alphabetical system. You know what that’s like, right? No? Okay, well I do. And this long winded introduction is my way of explaining why I haven’t written on this blog for so long. Every time I went to do it I got side-tracked looking up things like the correct spelling of an actor’s name or where the movie was filmed and then inevitably got hooked on watching girls playing amazing bass guitar riffs and clips from SNL and also that amazing internet comedy ‘Ted and Gracie’ and then I’d forget what I was doing on the internet in the first place. Not for nothin kids but I have a crazy short attention span. Probably why I always walk out of the supermarket with packs of colourful textas, double sided sticky tape and aromatic hand moisturizer instead of what you’re actually supposed to get at the shops. Milk, coffee, groceries etc. All logic is forgotten when I see anything colourful. And then after a while of forgetting to post, I ended up forgetting my password. And to make matters worse I’d changed my mobile number during my long hiatus and so when the helpful people at gmail tried sending me a text with my new code, it wouldn’t work. So I was completely banned from visiting my own goddam blog! It’s my freakin blog gmail! Get your head in the game! But I eventually worked it out and I’m back online! YAY! Let me just quickly see if that chick has any new bass rifs to watch….. no. We’re cool.

Okay, so after that insanely long and tedious rant I will move on to the movie I’m reviewing today. And by today I obviously mean a year ago. I wrote it a year ago, but I’m posting it today. We all up to speed? Good! It’s called Sleepwalk With Me and it is the creation of comedian, writer, actor and director Mike Birbiglia. If you haven’t seen the movie or any of his stand up comedy, you may actually remember him from his hilarious cameo in the first season of ‘Girls’ as the guy with mood swing issues who interviews Hannah for a job she inevitably doesn’t get. This guy is great, and his comedy is very diverse. None of those usual blokey jokes that we’ve come to expect from American comedians like “Oh women are elusive! I like porn! Why are dogs wearing clothes? Cheese is delicious!” yeh guys, we get it; you’re dudes. But Mike Birbiglia is not that sort of comic. And this movie is just wonderful.

Simply put; the film follows Matt Pandamiglio (played by Mike Birbiglia) as he struggles with relationships, stress induced sleepwalking and breaking into the comedy scene. But it’s so much more than just the story of an aspiring comedian whose life is a bit of a mess.  Matt isn’t a great comedian at the start. His material isn’t very good and it’s mostly because he doesn’t really have a lot to talk about. It’s only when he starts joking about his girlfriend and their relationship that he gets any real attention. The change in his comedy style leads to interest from an agent who deals mostly in small venue gigs that don’t pay much and are quite a ways away. Matt accepts the offer to do a sort of comedy road trip and sets off on a bizarre journey from comedy club to comedy club. The stress of this plus the anxiety he feels about the direction his life is taking and his inability to communicate his concerns starts to affect him in very odd ways. Matt’s sleepwalking becomes more and more adventurous leading him to do anything from taking a shower fully clothed at a friend’s house all the way up to jumping out a window. It’s hilarious and scary at the same time, because you don’t know how much worse it’s going to get. Matt is a likeable, albeit kind of spineless, guy and the people in his life are all very relatable and affable. I love Abby, his girlfriend. And I love that she’s played by Lauren Ambrose. Does anyone else remember that gorgeous red hair from the classic 90s comedy ‘Can’t Hardly Wait’? Cos I sure do. She was such a surly bitch in that flick, but that hair… my GOD that hair! Delicious! And I feel she’s perfect in the role of Matt’s free-spirited and ever supportive partner Abby. It’s just too bad he’s too much of a dick to realise how amazing she is. I mean he kind of does, I’m probably being unfair to him, but he clearly feels he’s not into the relationship anymore and can’t seem to deal with or know what to do about it.

There seems to be a very strict format when it comes to big budget films and to be honest I get kind of sick of the monotony of it all. I hate when you watch a film and after about 10 minutes you know how it’s going to end. I mean, where’s the mystery? Where’s the drama? Where’s the suspense? These are the things I rarely get in my films and often get in my relationships. Ideally it’d be the other way around but ya can’t win em all, right?! I don’t want to just go through the motions with a film, I want to have no idea what’s going to happen. And in Sleepwalk With Me, I was exquisitely unsure of how any of it would turn out. I also appreciated how Matt sort of retells the story of when all this sleepwalking business happened but keeps from going into too much detail of what his up to now. The whole talking-to-the-camera  style isn’t always affective, but I believe it works here. Mostly because this whole thing was based on real life events which Mike later turned into an off-Broadway show and then eventually made into a movie, this movie. When a main actor talks directly to the audience it can sometimes jolt the movement of the story which kind of takes you out of the experience which isn’t good.  But I think this style propels the story and helps the natural flow of the movie. Oohh Sorry guys that sounded wanky… What I mean is it was cool and I liked it and it reminded me that this is a comedian doing a comedy movie about his life. Much better! 

It is a really cool and refreshing film and if I haven’t sufficiently convinced you to go see it (or now, almost a year after its release, rent it) then here’s the clincher: this film contains the funniest diagnosis of what sleepwalkers are doing wrong that I have ever heard. I won’t ruin it for you but when one of Matt’s friends finds him showering in the middle of the night and Matt explains that he was having a dream, this guy says sums up sleepwalking in one perfectly flippant comment. Even now, a year later, I sometimes think of that line and laugh hysterically. The characters are people you would want to be friends with and the relationships in this movie, with all their ups and downs, are actually really relatable. I know that sometimes it’s good to go see a film where the people in it are faced with such horrific adversity that it makes you thankful for what you have, and opens your eyes to the problems in the world. But sometimes it’s also nice to go see a film about all the little idiosyncrasies we face when attempting to navigate our own lives. I personally have a rough time trying to connect with people sometimes. And I know that I am often guilty of letting relationships develop in a way that I’m not happy with, just because I can’t find the words to speak up. So I do relate to Matt’s plight. The film is funny as hell but it also doesn’t diminish the issues these people face. And just to end on a predictable note, I felt very bashful when Matt’s dad lectures him about his wayward life. I am no stranger to that lecture and so I almost started apologizing for my failures right there in the movie theater. Luckily I worked out it wasn’t real life before I admitted my insanity to everyone at the screening. Gotta be happy for small victories, right?!

Bromance- Urban Dictionary defines this as: The complicated love and affection shared by two straight males

Sometimes I totally wish I was a dude. Not just because they don't have to worry about things like makeup, shaving your legs, getting your goddam eyebrows waxed and being told you need botox, how much junk you have in your trunk, what to wear, how to walk in heels and all the other wonderful little things that go with being a lady. I also wish I was a guy because bromances look so great. I really respect and adore guys who are totally comfortable with their sexuality and don't mind being really close and affectionate with their best friends. It's amazing. As a girl, or possibly more accurately: as an open and affectionate girl, I have really wonderful connections with my best friends. But I see that for some guys it's hard to be that expressive or to say things that the 'bro-ey' types of guys would laugh at and say "dude, that's so gay!" It's a tough hand to be dealt. So it's at times like that when I think it's not so bad being a lady.

There are so many films out there about the many different types of relationships. The most common of course being love or the loss of love, there's also the mother-daughter/father-son example, there's the two girls or guy and girl friendship films, there's the step-parent vs the step-children variety and of course the frenemy phenomenon. I tried to think back through all the films I've watched in my life and there is really only one other example I could think of that hones in on the importance of friendship between boys, and that was 'Stand By Me', which I always saw as the dude version of 'Now and Then'. So when I saw the movie 'I Love You, Man' I thought how wonderfully fresh it was to see such a unique and honest portrayal of this new thing the kids are calling a 'bromance'. Sure, it's not one of those films that makes you think or pushes the boundaries or asks the big questions but not every movie needs to be that. It's funny, really funny, and a lot of the characters aren't necessarily realistic at all, they're just hilarious, but the building of the relationship between the two main characters Peter and Sydney (played by Paul Rudd and Jason Segal respectively) seems very honest to me. They instantly click, but there's those awkward moments where they're both trying to work out how far they can go with one another and Peter (Paul Rudd) is so new to having a guy friend that his excitement about it all causes him to do and say some truly embarrassing things. But that's how it is, you know? I sure get that way when making new friends. It feels like a first date, sometimes, because I want to be myself but I don't know how people will take me. So inevitably I start to say something I think will be funny and then stop halfway through, try to change course, and come out sounding a little slow. Maybe that's why I enjoyed this movie so much? It spoke to the awkward geek within me. And she screamed out 'Power to ya pistol pete!' 

The character of Peter's fiancé Zooey (Rashida Jones) is amazing! I love her. She's the woman I want to be in a relationship. She's so down to earth and kind and accepting. She isn't overbearing or jealous or petty, and she wants her man to be happy in his life, but not just because he's with her. Peter is a delightful man, he's so sweet and genuine and has such respect for his friends and family. Polite to a fault, overly friendly, and really cool in an understated way. Sydney is insane. He's so funny, he has a very positive outlook but he's obviously got some relationship issues and doesn't seem enthusiastic about really succeeding in his personal or professional life. What I liked is that it wasn't one of those redemption films where he had to have sorted himself out by the end of it. His issues get brought up, he acknowledges them and we get the sense that being friends with Peter will maybe help him grow up a little, but we don't get that big "WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?????" diatribe that, if not done right, gets so old so quickly, I find. 

Some honourable mentions go out to Jaime Pressly (who I think is highly underated) as Zooey's friend Denise. She's so funny and such a cool lady and her banter with her husband is golden. Also Peter's father (Legend, J. K. Simmons) and his brother (Andy Samberg) are adorable. They have a bromance too but it's so quirky and cool. To be shamefully honest, It stirred up those feelings I have about wishing my own father and I could find some more common ground. But, I doubt we'd ever get to secret handshake status like these two winners. *sigh* a girl can dream. Also Doug (Thomas Lennon) is a revelation playing a potential friend for Peter who it turns out, is into him a little too much. When he goes in for the kiss at the end of the night and Peter, shocked by this unexpected turn of events, freezes and purses his lips together as tightly as possible, Doug is just so not phased and just goes right on kissing him. He even pauses after the kiss, examines Pete's startled face… and then (clearly reading the signals wrong) GOES IN FOR ANOTHER PECK!! Oh I laughed, I laughed so hard. He is great. 

I love light films, especially after a full on day. It's great to be able to just relax and laugh and go to sleep with a smile on your face. When you're as single as me, and having occasional issues falling into slumber, a smile is not a bad thing to end the day with. Thanks Jason Segal and Paul Rudd! You have a chemistry on screen that warms me like sitting by a fireplace sipping baileys over ice. I'm classy, just deal with it. :)

Inception- you either love it or you hate it. Like Larry Emdur, I guess...

I feel the same way about Joseph Gordon-Levitt's choices in films as I do my brother's choices in restaurants…. they both just cannot steer me wrong when it comes to taste and quality. I love that about ol Joseph, he started in 3rd Rock From The Sun and has just chosen amazingly brilliant and affecting movies ever since. 'Brick' is one of my all time favourite films, and 'Mysterious Skin' was excellent… though quite hard to watch. Actually, REALLY hard to watch. I really cried when he got attacked in the bathroom, like REALLY cried. Sobbing. nose not running but pouring. violently shaking. but, it was still a very well made, very horrifically realistic movie. BUT this review is not on either of those movies, no no. it's all about 'Inception' by Christopher Nolan. And it has the gorgeous Ellen Page and the incomparable Leonardo DiCaprio in it. Actually, on the topic of ne'er steer me wrong, Leo DC is also very much like Joseph in his movie selections… these days…

But here's the gist, if you haven't seen the film (which is ridiculous if you haven't, I mean what are you doing with your time? Watching 'Rush Hour 2' and 'Bratz the movie'? for shaaammme!) Leo is Dom Cobb, who is a master at getting into people's heads, messing with their dreams and thoughts and leaving those son-bitches not knowing that it wasn't a dream at all, it was in fact all orchestrated by a team of professionals. Among that team of professionals is his partner Arthur (Joseph, my love), Ariadne (Ellen Page), who is an architect student who joins the crew because Cobb thinks she's a young him, Yusuf- the chemist who makes the sedative to make them all go night night (wouldn't want to accept a drink from him is all I'm saying) and finally Eames, who has the coolest job of all in my opinion; he forges the identities in the dreams. So poor Cobb had his life tragically destroyed and is estranged from his kids, it's especially sad because it's Michael Caine that's guilt tripping him about his lack of presence in his children's lives. I don't know if I could take that kind of emotional beating from someone as dapper and wonderful as Michael Caine… that might just be the end of me. Also, Michael Caine plays Cobbs' father in law. So when this uber powerful guy Saito bribes Cobbs into committing corporate espionage by promising to clear his name and have him return to his children, Cobb willingly accepts. So begins the apparently near impossible task of 'Inception', which is basically where they put a dream within a dream within a dream to hopefully successfully implant this idea into someone else's subconscious. The target here is Robert Michael Fischer (played by Cillian Murphy, possibly the prettiest man in hollywood), the heir to his recently deceased father's business. The deal is they need to make him decide to sell the business so Saito can remain the most powerful man in the universe!! … or something along those lines. It's all planned perfectly and their prep is second to none BUT what they don't realise is that Robert has already been trained to kind of ward off people like Cobb, so his subconscious begins to attack them while they're going about their business. This, they did not plan for. Team that with regular hijinks from Cobb's deceased wife Mal (Marion Cotillard), who is still playing on his mind, and you've got yourself a task bigger than making Lara Bingle interesting in any real way. It's a wild ride, kids. 

A bit of trivia just quickly… Nolan had this concept in the works years before it actually got made. He wrote a horror-type treatment of this idea in 2001 and gave it to Warner Bros. Being the smarty that he is though, he wasn't entirely confident that he could pull it off without a bit more experience in creating big budget motion pictures, so he put it on the back burner for a while so he could build up his skills. I like that about Christopher Nolan, he cares so much about his ideas that he doesn't want to fuck them up by going too hard to early. He's a meticulous sort of gent, and I admire that. I do often wonder if it's that reason that makes him able to work so successfully and on more than one occasion with Christian Bale (who is clearly a bit of a d-bag but insists that it's okay for him to be a jerk because he cares so much about 'his craft'), or maybe Nolan is just so lovely that no one can be aggressive towards him. Who knows. All i know is that if I were there when Christian Bale yelled at two little girls for asking for an autograph and being so incredibly mean that he made them both cry, I would have given that boy the ol what for, if you follow me. Anyway, back to it..

What I loved about this movie is… well, many things, obviously I'm a fan of many of the actors if not all of them, but I also really appreciate that the writing and direction of the film made what I'd consider to be a fairly dense text, accessible and easy to follow. I remember watching 'Momento' a few times before I actually got the whole thing, and so I was worried that my slow-paced ability to grasp complicated concepts would leave me walking out of the theatre going "the HELL just happened, y'all?". But I totally didn't! I was SO proud of myself!! It was better than that time I went to Charlie's with my friend Bec and she would ALWAYS eat twice as much as me and gloat, GLOAT I say! But this one time, I ate the same as her and I didn't even throw up or anything. It was amazing. so yeh, it was like that. Super proud. 

I think if I was going to criticise anything about the movie it'd be that I wanted MORE Joseph Gordon-Levitt. And I didn't appreciate him kissing Ellen Page. Not just because I got jealous, that's certainly a part of it of course, but because they just seem soooo unsuited. I know, it's not even a huge plot point, and it's the most juvenile thing to complain about but that's my opinion. Joseph GL and Ellen P should keep their lips forever separated. Joseph is allowed to kiss any of the following females and I promise to be cool about it-

Meryl Streep

Rosario Dawson

Audrey Tautou

Kate Winslet

Snooki from Jersey Shore (because that would be SO ridiculous. SO ridiculous that I'd just have to shrug and go "well I guess that means the apocalypse is today")

Cillian Murphy

Ani DiFranco

Emma Stone

and I guess a COUPLE more that I've forgotten just at this moment. But how bout this, I'll promise to tell him (and the world) if I'm unhappy in future with any of his onscreen hookups… Deal? Deal!

Well that's it for this instalment. I'm going to see 'Hope Springs' this week so I might get around to writing something about that if I don't go mental and overstress about all the school and social things I've signed myself up to recently. Why do I always go overboard with my activities? It's so all or nothing with me and I think that has to change. A nice healthy balance is the goal. I might buy some Dr. Phil books to get me onto the right path. hahaha! just kidding! that guy's not even a real doctor! I'll pay him NOTHING for his fame and media attention… NOTHING!

Seeya! xoxo

It Happened One Night... although technically it was over several nights but who's counting?

GREETINGS BLOGGERS! Welcome to my world. I am 25 years old (draagg! apparently I have to start being a 'grown up' soon. society expects far too much from me, y'know?!) and I'm a student. Though I'm looking for part time employment, the world has so far rejected my attempts to join that of the working tribe. I'll keep truckin though, I am nothing if not persistent. Just ask my parole officer! juuust kidding. 

Okay so I'm mid twenties and I'm doing media studies. I love love love films. I love their ability to tell a story in such an affecting way. I cry if the book I'm reading is too sad and I get furious and stalk around the house if one of the characters acts like a fuckwit and makes me angry. But there are people who don't feel that same intensity from reading that I do. And I love how universally accessible the film form is. Not to mention the lack of boundaries or limits it enforces on the story teller. You can do more than paint a picture or set the mood, you can completely and totally create a scene that would go so far beyond the viewer's imagination and take them to a place they could only in part dream of. You can reach them and bond with them over shared goals, views and experiences. Because we all respond to the character we can relate to, and we all feel that jolt when we see something horrible or wonderful that we too have been through. If it's done well, if it's done honestly, it's not just film it's art. I don't want to start sounding wanky, I hate those pretentious bastards who wax lyrical about film and only watch the critically acclaimed stuff. That is NOT me. I'm obsessed with Tom Hanks. I have watched 'Forrest Gump' 93 times in my life. I laughed so hard during 'Superbad' and 'Zombieland' that my tummy ached afterwards. I am no scholar when it comes to film. I like crap too. A LOT. But I ultimately it's the art of film that I'm attracted to. And I hope that I don't bore and irritate people here. OH and I hope I don't offend anyone. That happens sometimes. Ask my Screen Matters tutor... *shudder* that was a bad bad day. 

The film for discussion today is 'It Happened One Night' with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, directed by Frank Capra in 1934. I know a little of the historical background because of school but apart from a tiny delicious bit of gossip about ol Gable at the time, I won't regale you with the specifics. Let's get this out of the way first though.. okay so rumour has it Clark Gable was signed to MGM at the time. And you know the deal with the studio system back then, they were contracted to studios and could only do films for them. But ol Clarkey boy was a bit of a firecracker! He got leant to Columbia Pictures because MGM were all mad at him and shit. He'd turned down a movie they wanted him to do and well... he liked the drink. He was somewhat of a 'wino' and the studio was all straight edge about that stuff. Translation: kill joys. Turns out it worked brilliantly for Gable though because It Happened One Night was a huge commercial and critical hit. It won FIVE academy awards that year- Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Writing-Adaptation and Best Film. SUCK IT MGM! YOU FOOLISH FOOLS! 

The film itself is brilliant. It has a way of pushing the boundaries because they had SOOO many rules back then during the 'hays code' era. So they inferred to a lot of things which made it a little more racy but also within the guidelines. What I loved about this film was its ability to mix whimsy with reality. My favourite scene is when they're all singing together on the bus. It's such a fun scene. But they also show the horror of the 1930s when one of the ladies on the bus faints because she hasn't eaten in days. It's a small shout out to the many many movie goers at the time. To the 90 million americans who were frequenting cinemas as a form of escapism, from the cold, the depression, and mostly from the poverty that they surely thought would never end. The basic idea of the film is this... Ellie (Claudette Colbert) a famous and wealthy heiress, has just married this dude called King (I know, it's such a douchey name. but the guy's a douche so it fits) and her father does NOT like this. He's all knowing and stuff (like Mufasa in the Lion King) and tries to tell Ellie that King is a punk ass gold digger who just wants her money. He annuls the marriage which pisses Ellie off hardcore. She escapes him and begins her journey back to the man she loves (too bad he cares more about her cash than her ass). So Ellie boards a train to reunite with her money grabbing hubby. Enter Peter, a just-fired reporter who recognises her and gives her two options... 1. He helps her get where she needs to go and hides her from the leeches in exchange for her exclusive story, 2. he calls her father and tells him where she is and collects the reward. Obviously, Ellie chooses option 1 because mama didn't raise no fool! and so the journey  begins and their love blossoms and the rest I will not reveal. 

Clark Gable plays Peter and he is a very handsome man. He's my type at least, all quirky looking and dark, but then lights up when he smiles. There were times though that I just wanted to slap him. I think it's because it's a different era. The way he talked to Ellie was probably more acceptable in those days. Now though, if he tried that domineering, short-tempered bollucks on me I'd be all "I don't care how sexy you are! talk to me like that again and i'll sew all of your pants together to make a blanket for a hooker!" but then he was adorable at times. When he was trying to teach Ellie to hitchhike.... *swoon* I wanted to hug him for ever and ever. 


Colbert is at times supremely annoying also. She is SO spoiled! She won't eat raw carrots because they're crunchy! And her hairstyle (though I think it would look amazing on say... Audrey Tautou or Natalie Portman) does not suit her features at all. She gets all hysterical at times and you just think 'c'mon lady! Don't be THAT girl!' but again, it's how it was then, you know?! She has moxie though. Again I mention the hitchhiking scene because not only is it brilliant but it's iconic. See 'Sex and the city 2' movie for a reference to this scene. She lets him do his thing but then throws a curve ball by showing her dynamite leg to get a ride. Lady knows how to work it.

Classical Hollywood was defined by this movie. And even though it's now almost 80 years old it is still a relatable tale. there are elements that will remain timeless. A sheltered girl trying to live her own life without being controlled, a father that wants above all else to make sure his little girl is happy and given everything she deserves, an underdog, stallion of a man who is deep down a lovely, giving, moral human being despite his many flaws and finally (the message we all need to learn on our own, even if we do make the mistake many many times) the man to beware of... the man who is stone cold and does what is in his best interest always and with no regard to other people's feelings. I've dated this type of man in three different variations. One of whom took delight in hurting me in every way he could think of, because he still hadn't forgiven his mother for leaving when he was 7. So I was slightly disappointed when this 'King' character didn't get horrifically maimed at the end of the film, but at least Ellie didn't settle for him. 

I'd definitely recommend that everyone watch this film at some point in their life. It's so good. It's like melting a snickers bar and drizzling it over cookie dough ice-cream. Get on it. 

That's all for my first post. Muchos gracias amigos! Thank you for reading and stay tuned for my next instalment, which will most likely be 'Inception' cos that's the next film I have to watch for school.. (yes I've already seen it. It has Joseph Gordon-Levitt in it! How could I NOT see it?!)

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