The answer is "no." Like, I even forgot how to "sign in." I AM SO LAME. But I'm gonna step up to the plate and take a few cuts and work on being less lame.
During my long silence I did manage to do a few things like drive to Oregon to see my law school son and his wife. While there we went to see the new Matt Damon flick, THE INFORMER. Or maybe it's THE INFORMANT. Whatever. Anyway. Seeing the movie gave me a chance to think about storytelling and risk.
For those of you who haven't seen the movie, it's about a corporate whistle blower. Sort of. Not surprisingly, Damon is great. Scott Bakas is great. The production values are great. It's a movie that's easy to admire. Which I did. EXCEPT I didn't like it. This happens sometimes--you can appreciate an artistic endeavor for all kinds of reasons, but in the end, the thing just leaves you cold.
I think the problem for me had to do with the whole "control of sympathy" issue. Generally speaking, we want to read about or watch characters we can root for--even if they're "bad guys." Think of Russell Crowe's character in THE 3:15 TO YUMA, for example. But Damon's character (for me, at least) was unlikable and even worse, uninteresting. I. Just. Didn't. Care. About. Him.
I can sort of see all the parties involved, sitting around a table going, "Let's try something different! So we won't be bored with ourselves as artists any more! Let's do a WHOLE MOVIE ABOUT A SCHMUCK!" Probably the process was interesting for those involved. But dudes. Come on. Think of the audience.
I ate a liverwurst sandwich today. I am the only person of my generation I know who likes liverwurst.
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3 comments:
I liked this movie but did not love it and I think you have articulated exactly why. And it's true--the performers were all very good. And I loved the voiceover.
But yeah, it did just about nothing for me emotionally, and you've nailed it as to why.
Just when I think I know you, you pull out liverwurst. Come on woman, get it together, liverwurst is for felines. Not the human race.
I haven't seen Matt Damon in a good movie since The Outsiders.
P.S. I love me some Oregon Coast.
I was actually planning to call you today to make sure you hadn't fallen into trouble, but I didn't have a quiet moment in the day to pick up the phone.
Thanks for saving me the trouble of watching that movie, although Matt Damon is a dish!
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