Special

2009-07-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

It's happened to all of us. We sit down to watch a movie, not sure how it's going to turn out but are willing to give it a chance. Slow at first, the warm fuzzy feeling comes over you. You empathize with the characters. They win you over with their charm, their ingenuity, their spunk. Next, you find your eyes glued to the screen, entranced by what's transpiring, afraid that if you avert your gaze for even a moment the whole illusion will fall apart. Then, the giddy feeling creeps into your system as you realize you're watching something special. On the verge of branding this the best movie ever, it happens: that special moment.

My recent experience with the movie Special surfaced this phenomenon. That slow sucking sound was the movie drawing me in with it's intricate, original plot and sweet, likable lead (Michael Rapaport in a great role). Oh how that feeling grew. I was about to declare this movie a rousing success, then the chopstick happened: the special moment. Poof, the feeling was gone and the movie quickly spun out of control and into the pit of "could have beens."

Some movies just have that point where it all goes so horribly, inexplicably wrong. The potential ending plot twist that drains promise into the toilet of despair. The rest of the movie is spent in my head either trying to salvage any vestiges of the plot points that make sense or imagining the possibilities of what could have been. There's so much left undone by those possibilities, that something better. The disappointment for these films is so much greater when you're left with the feeling that those wrong turns didn't have to be there. That the writer could have chosen a clearer, cleaner path to success. Alas, it was not to be, and failure leaves that bitter taste.

Special was that movie for me, like Event Horizon or No Country for Old Men before it. Each had me in its spell right before the collapse of all reason and departure from logic. Before I'm crucified for my convictions on these popular movies (and believe me, these are well loved by some), think about those movies that disappointed you because of the promise they held but didn't uphold. This list will be different for everyone, but there will be some on that list.

You Gotta See It... Or Your Life Will Be Incomplete!

2009-07-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

We've all been there. Seen something, read something, heard something, experienced something that makes us want to share it with the world. Nothing quite capsulates this like movies. "Have you seen that movie? It changed my life." And the assumption is that it will change yours as well.

I've been the victim of this a couple of times, and more often than not my life has not been changed. The clouds did not part and Heaven's light did not shine down upon me revealing all the secrets of the Universe. At best it was a mildly entertaining way to waste a couple of hours and at worst I'm thinking I have to mow the lawn or change the oil in the car (both acts that I usually leave as the last possible options for free time). Then there's the confessional afterwards. "Didn't you just love it?" At this moment I could either confess to my lack of ability to meet their expectations or lie. Lying is not as simple as you would think. That could trigger further conversation about the deep subtext or characterization, a place better left alone unless you paid enough attention to perpetuate feigned interest in the topic. Nodding and agreeing does not count as at some point you will be expected to participate in the exchange with intelligent, detailed comments. Of course, the other option, telling the truth, could bring about crushed dreams and fractured relationships. So what to do?

A confession before continuing. I have been known, on more than one (or twenty) occasions to use this phrase myself. For me it's a spontaneous reaction, like a hammer to the knee. A story or script that has spoken to me so deeply that I believe legislation should be passed, nay, a constitutional ammendment, mandating viewing. So the reaction is more "You haven't seen it? But you'll be arrested!" And so the proverbial "You gotta see it" comes out.

But that's the point, everyone has something that speaks to them. That something may not be right for another person, but then it could be. And if it is, you've shared a beautiful thing. For myself, the Big Lebowski is one of those things. If I hadn't been told "you gotta see it," then I may not have seen it, and I may not have said "you gotta see it" to someone else who loved it. I may have missed out on the laughs shared or the knowing glances when a line is quoted. That is why we continue to say those four words, and why we keep believing that our lives will be changed.

EyePhoria

Special

You Gotta See It... Or Your Life Will Be Incomplete!