Movie Review: Like Crazy

I'm just going to start off by saying: you're "like" crazy if you watch and enjoy this movie. On the Netflix star scale, I have this movie a great big uno. And only because giving it a zero isn't an option.

Now, I was pretty excited about the film, because it had won some awards and had been talked about as a possible Oscar contender this last year. I saw some of the previews for it and it looked like it could be cute and sweet... In fact, that's how it had been categorized by some real critics: a funny romance. I can only deduce that it is one of those incredibly artsy films that no one understands but film students at NYU, and thus it should not be shown to the general public. 10 minutes in, and we were already considering turning it off, slipping it back into it's little paper pocket, and shoving it in the mailbox.

Unfortunately, for us, we kept watching in hopes that it would turn around and somehow become worth two hours of our time.

Wrong.

[Spoilers Below...as in, the whole movie plot]

Okay, for those of you who are still intrigued, Like Crazy is a film about a long distance relationship between an English girl and an American boy. The girl (Anna? Hannah? See, it was so terrible, I didn't even care to remember her name) is studying at a university in LA when she meets boy (don't remember his name, either). They fall in love, have a romance, and she promises she will come back to visit so they can keep their love alive. Her parents love him (mom is River Song), she loves him, their future is bright, life is wonderful. Well, in an idiotic move, she declines to go home when she is supposed to, thus violating her visa (keep in mind, she knows she is violating her visa and says "I don't care, I'm in love."). She then tries to return later as a tourist, but the US won't let her enter the country because of her violation.

She cries, he might cry... Life is terribly sad. They start living separate lives, she as an assistant to a magazine editor, he designing and making furniture (mostly really, really ugly chairs). He starts seeing someone else (Jennifer Lawrence, aka Katniss), she starts flirting with her neighbor. All of a sudden, she misses him, and asks him to come see her. He flies to London, life is great... Her parents--who love him, remember--suggest they get married so she can move back to America. And then they don't "click" like they used to, and there is some apprehension. He gets pissed off and leaves.

They decide they miss each other, again, and he flies back to London. She talks to a lawyer, who says after they get married, it's 6 months until she can get a marriage visa. So, they get married. The love each other. Life is wonderful. He goes back to LA to work (because, apparently, it is impossible for him to design and make ugly chairs in the UK), and she waits patiently for his return.

He comes back six months later, they go to the US Embassy to get her visa straightened out, and it's denied until she gets her previous violation taken care of. He's sad, she's sad, they take it out on each other... He goes back to America.

He and Katniss get hot and heavy and she has her sexy neighbor man move in with her. She gets a job promotion, and sexy neighbor man has her parents over to celebrate. It's obvious they don't much like sexy neighbor man. Sexy neighbor man pops "the question." She never actually says no, but it's obvious she is going to.

She texts boy, he refuses to text back... He's going at it with Katniss.

Her lawyer calls--her visa issues have been cleared up, she can now go to the US. Katniss is out. Girl moves in with him. They act like they are really bored.

End of movie.

Real life? Yes, probably. Movie worthy? Um, hell no. The whole thing was lots of shaking cameras, scenes where no one does anything but cook dinner, lots of montages of them sleeping in bed. Neither of the characters were particularly likeable--he was stubborn and all "me, me, me" and she was stupid and kind of overly emotional. There was no big hook. It was just... a long distance relationship that should have ended after its first 6 months. And comedy??? Where was the comedy?

Unless, of course, we're talking "omg, this movie is so terrible, it's funny."

Something That Makes Me Gag... Just a Little

I'm tired of the "I want to feel like a princess" talk that gets batted around all the time, especially in the wedding industry. Women and girls are always throwing that little gem out into conversation when talking about men, dating, engagements, weddings, anniversaries... "He makes me feel like a princess," "I want a princess dress," "today's my day to be the princess."

Gag.

Usually, this statement comes up when talking about "stuff"and/or money. A "princess" has a certain kind of engagement ring (one that can be measured in multiple carats), a dress that is covered in crystals, a tiara (insert cock-eyed emoticon here), gets married in a castle, and gets to act like a complete Bridezilla... (I say all of this with the height of sarcasm).

I'm sorry, but has anyone actually stopped to contemplate what an actual princess does all day?

Last I checked, being a princess has a lot more to do with press conferences, little privacy, and a shitload of responsibility than it does wearing frivolously, gaudy wedding dresses and spending more on a wedding than some people make in a year (although that part may be true, regardless). All you had to do was flip on the 72 hour "William and Kate" special TLC played this last weekend for 5 minutes to see that it's not all about getting what you want 24/7 and getting to act like a bitch while you do it.

Those people are hounded every second of every day. So much so that the media (who is doing the hounding) thinks it's so refreshing to see their "princess" out grocery shopping. We all hate when people gossip about us... And they have the entire world gossiping about them all. the. time. Is that really what people want??? Sure, some of the perks are definitely nice to dream about, but they don't necessarily have to do with being a "princess."

Personally, I would rather be treated like a countess. I mean, let's think about this. When is the last time you heard about the Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne in the media? I know I haven't heard her name thrown out there (at least not since 2005...). Vast estates? Check. Lovely castles? Check. Awesome jewels? Check. Wealth and prestige? Check. Whole life publicized to the the entire world? ...Not so much.

BIWNNR: A YA Fairy Tale

I'm a huge fan of fairy tales. I love them, even when Disney decides to destroy them with crazy departures from the original stories and meanings (this could possibly end up being a huge rant about the real role of fairy tales in European history, but I am going to try to control myself and not go there). In fact, I am attempting to write my own for an adult audience. And since I have taken on the task of writing in a genre in with which I am not particularly familiar, I have been attempting to read more fantasy.

Now, the book I just finished, Awake by Jessica Grey, was a modern Young Adult fairy tale, so it isn't really even that close to what I am writing, but I was floundering with what to read after finishing my last BIWNNR (Book[s] I Would Not Normally Read for anyone who missed my last BIWNNR post) and this looked like it had potential...

Potential is definitely what this book had, in my opinion. But, to be fair, I am an adult reading a novel geared towards girls in their mid-teens. If you look at the reviews of other readers, they liked it enough to give it 4.5 stars (no one gave it anything below 3 stars). I would probably put myself in that 3 star area, myself.

The book had an interesting enough premise. It follows a girl, Alex, who is in the transition between high school and going off to college as she starts a summer internship with a geology museum in Los Angeles. The story begins with her attending the intern orientation, even though she has interned with the museum the previous three summers, as well. When she arrives, it's to find--to her surprise--one of the most popular boys from her high school and MLB draftee, Luke, also interning with the gem and minerals museum. The two had been best friends as children and drifted apart in high school.

A few days later, Alex and Becca discover Luke "asleep" (and unable to wake up) on a massive jewel- and gold-encrusted bed that was newly arrived in the museum, and a beautiful blonde girl awake in his place. The girl, who is the princess of a fictitious Medieval country located to the southeast of France, explains that she is a demi-fairy and was put under a spell by her aunt. Asleep for almost a century, the girl was awakened by a kiss--however, because Luke, who kissed her, didn't love her, the curse was transferred to him.

The story continues to make twists on the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty, and of course the three girls must figure out how to release Luke from the curse without transferring the curse, again. It managed to keep my interest simply because I wanted to see where the author was going. The story was interesting enough, but in the end, it still fell flat for me--like I said, based on the other reviews, apparently teen aged girls loved it.

So, why was this not a five-star book?

A few things:

• The author relied heavily on Disney's re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty for her story. There was some mention that there was a book in which the story could be found, but the only element of it divulged to readers was something along the lines of: "well, it could be worse. In some fairy tales, the princess wakes up to find herself pregnant." Otherwise, only other departure was the prick of a rose thorn, not a spinning wheel.
• The characters spent a lot of time arguing with one another rather than doing something. There was one conversation that took almost three pages and be summed up with: "I'm going." "No, you're not." "Yes, I am." "No, you're not." "Yes, I am." "No, you're not. "Yes, I am." Etc. Etc. It was as though they had to repeat the same thing twenty times before they "got it." In other words, the characters were thick.
• The characters were thick (ha), especially the main character. It didn't matter what kind of "proof" they had, they refused to believe it.
• The pace was rather slow.
• Overall, I really think the story could have used a few workshops to work on a few of those things. It just felt... un-tried.

It was definitely a different take on the Sleeping Beauty story, especially while adding a modern twist. I liked that the female characters were strong, they were smart, and they were relatively resourceful. It was refreshing to see female characters who were more interested in their education, research, and intelligence than how to be popular, get a boyfriend, fashion, or how to deal with their vampire/werewolf/ghost/shape-shifter boyfriend. I really did want to see what was going to end up happening, which is why I kept  reading. I would definitely recommend this story to a teenage girl over some of the other popular YA fantasy fare. And I would recommend an adult pick it up free/at a library if she needed something light and slightly magical to get lost in for awhile.

Crash Course in What You're Missing on TV... and Probably Don't Want to Watch, Anyway

My friend Jamie is one of my blogging heroes. She has actual reoccurring topics on which she likes to write, and unlike me, she actually writes more than one post pertaining to any particular theme. I, on the other hand, ramble on about who-the-hell-knows what, and hope for the best (by the way, I think Jamie might be my only follower. I couldn't even convince the twenty followers from my previous blog to follow. Further proof that I have nothing interesting to say).

Anyway, today she talked some about the television shows she likes. It got me thinking that I, too, could expound on my own incredibly random television addictions. I'm really not particularly picky, I do follow some of the more popular shows, but I also have a few quirky favorites, as well. I love the NBC comedies, am in love with Smash, and record all of the Once Upon a Time episodes. My husband and I both got into Spartacus on Starz, have some catching up to do on True Blood, and plan to start watch Game of Thrones once we have True Blood out of the way.

When I first sat down to write this, I thought about trying to convince you that The Big Bang Theory is the greatest show to ever make it on the small screen. But then I realized that if you haven't been caught up in that gem, yet, there is no hope for you, anyway (this is totally me being snarky and sarcastic... my sense of humour is probably why I have no followers). So, instead, be prepared to be wowed by Irish Travelers/Romani.

Yeah. I'm totally talking about TLC's My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.

I know this probably makes me look like a big fat loser for A) watching reality television and B) watching reality television about weddings... But I still love it. I love it so much, I actually DVR it.

So, if you haven't seen it, I guess I should give you a little bit of background information. The show was originally produced and aired in the United Kingdom. It follows the traditions of British Irish Travelers mostly, but every once in awhile, they will have a segment about the Romani, as well. Most of the episodes are about weddings, christenings, or other large family events. The major draw is the amount of extravagance: think along the lines of an estimated $140,000 wedding, dresses that weigh up to 300 lbs, illegal street racing of the horse and carriage variety... The "gypsies" are unwanted and unwelcome, and the laws and actions of "mainstream" Brits is prevalent.

I love it because it shows a glimpse of another culture that is so uniquely out of place in our idea of western society. The sociologist in me squees over it all the time. I find myself equally disgusted and impressed with the girls the show usually follows. Most of the brides are in their late teens--anywhere from 16 to 19. The oldest, I believe, was 23, and she was considered an "old maid." They have what I would describe as being horrendously tacky taste, and plan weddings that are the stuff of young girls' fantasies. It's like Barbie threw up all over the semi-adult/real world. They wear dresses that don't fit in vehicles, weigh hundreds of pounds, and give them physical scars. They dress their younger siblings like mini-brides. Their street clothes look like something a Julie Roberts would wear in Pretty Woman before she meets Richard Gere... And all while remaining very strict morally--no premarital sex, no being in the company of men, no socializing with a boy unless without an escort--I'm talking Jane Austen-style.

But, like I said, I can't help but admire them at the same time. I mean, here we have a group of people that the rest of society hates. The mainstreamers look down on them, refuse to work with them, refuse to hire them... They struggle to find venues and cake decorators and seamstresses for their outrageous weddings. They are treated unfairly by the police, laws are passed to limit their way of life. And yet they keep at it. They find ways to make things work, and even though the rest of their country is "making fun" of them via television, they just keep right at it in an effort to keep their traditions alive.

It's fascinating. And kind of like watching a train wreck.

Anyway, if you have nothing better to do, watch an episode. There's definitely more there than meets the eye. And if you have weird taste in television like me, you might actually enjoy it.

...Or give yourself something new to make fun of. Either way.