"It's when the actual meaning is the exact opposite from the literal meaning"
BUUUUUUZZZZZZZZ!!!! WRONG ANSWER!
No, irony is when you make a movie that tries so hard to catch the attention of the counter culture, that it becomes popular making it a novelty of itself.
This is pretty much how i have always felt about the 1994 film Reality Bites. Recently we got the movie through Netflix, and we decided that after sitting on it for a month, it was time to just get it out of the way.
Now, i've only seen this movie once before, and i didn't enjoy one bit of it then. So, watching it again after a decade or so not only reaffirmed my distaste for it, but allowed me to find all new reasons to dislike it.
First and foremost, it is one of the most pretentious pieces of crap i've ever seen. It's like the writer of the dialogue literally couldn't just have the characters deliver lines without being smug and filled with generic angst all the while using an oversized vocabulary. It's as if someone was trying to capture the 90's counter culture generation and missed the mark completely. They missed the mark so badly that anyone who claimed to be a part of the counter culture would probably vomit at this persons attempt at capturing them as a group. Literally, from begining to end, it is just one non-stop verbal diarhea ride as each character attempts to top one another while being smug/snide/"witty"/or all of the above. Here are just a few examples of how people don't talk:
"Hello, you've reached the winter of our discontent."
"There's no point to any of this. It's all just a... a random lottery of meaningless tragedy and a series of near escapes. So I take pleasure in the details. You know... a Quarter-Pounder with cheese, those are good, the sky about ten minutes before it starts to rain, the moment where your laughter become a cackle... and I, I sit back and I smoke my Camel Straights and I ride my own melt."
"You don't understand. Every day, all day, it's all that I think about, OK? Every time I sneeze, it's like I'm four sneezes away from the hospice, and it's like it's not even happening to me. It's like I'm watching it on some crappy show like "Melrose Place" or some shit, right? And I'm the new character, I'm the HIV-AIDS character, and I live in the building and I teach everybody that it's OK to be near me, it's OK to talk to me, and then I die. And there's everybody at my funeral wearing halter tops or chokers or some shit like that."
So now imagine an hour and thirty three minutes of this trite bullshit. It's almost as if the characters aren't even having the same conversation half the time. For example, on that last quote there with the whole intellectual leap of having AIDS and Melrose Place, the whole dialogue between Janeane and Winona is borderline laughable. Janeane is basically telling her supposed BFF, Winona, that she may be dying of AIDS, and the reaction from Winona is fucking ludacris and falls emotionally flat. If a friend was telling me that they could be dying from AIDS, and i reacted the way Winona does in this scene, i would fully expect this friend to punch me in the insensitive face.
I think the biggest irony of the movie, besides the fact that it literally illustrates everything it stands against in theory, is that they are making a very blatant jab at the 1990's Mtv programming. Dude, Mtv fucking created the 1990's counter culture!! This is when Mtv still played music, but was just starting to scratch the service of reality television with the first seasons of The Real World. Mtv wrote the damn book on 1990's counter culture using The Real World and editing as its vehicle. So, when Ben Stiller and Reality Bites get on their soap box and start making jabs at "the corporation" trying to profit on thier life events, they are basically making a mockery out of themselves. Again, there wouldn't have been a 1990's counter culture if it wasn't for Mtv cramming it down all of those impressionable twenty somethings throats.
Needless to say, Reality Bites definetly doesn't stand the test of time, in terms of message. Every character in it is not only a total cookie cutter generic personality, from the philosophical loser guy that nobody understands and is totally anti-establishment (oh yeah, he's a musician too, big surprise there), to the "evil" corporate yuppy who tries to cash in on the counter culture, to the liberated slut who may have to come to terms with her life choices catching up with her by getting periodic AIDS tests. It's all just so blatantly contrived that it's literally dissapointing to know that Ben Stiller directed it. So on top of having to deal with what a piece of shit the movie is, i get to struggle with the fact that Ben Stiller is a joke of a director.
Ugh, i just needed to vent about how bad i think this movie is. I know that i am in the minority when it comes to this film, and i also know that it's just a movie and shouldn't be taken so seriously. But i also know that there are people who literally claim this as one of their all time favorite films, and god forbid anybody actually designs their life after it.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Thanks for coming... I think?
So last night, me and my wife went to see the comedian Michael Ian Black. I've been a long time fan of Michael Black since i first saw him on the Mtv show The State, and more recently on the short lived Comedy Central series Michael and Michael Have Issues. Needless to say, when i heard he was coming to our city, i knew that we just had to go.
So, we get to the comedy club, and get seated. It's a relatively small club, i would maybe describe it as cozy. The stage is only about twelve feet by six feet in the center of the front wall. The seating area probably sat about 100 people if that. My thoughts are less on the show itself (which was very enjoyable and hilarious), but more about two people that i saw at the show, and my confusion on why these two prototypes would even go to a comedy show.
The first type, i wouldn't say confused me so much, but still remains a mystery to me. I imagine this first type of person is basically a regular presence at any comedy show. For the sake of this article, we will just call this person the Loudmouth.
First and foremost, the Loudmouth is generally male. This particular species of Loudmouth was maybe in his late 30's, early 40's, and wore a burnt orange hat that matched his short sleeved burnt orange Under Armor polo almost perfectly. He was probably the guy who was pretty popular in high school, maybe an athlete. He probably has gained this belief that people actually give a shit about what he thinks, due to constant pandering. So, before the show, i was already fairly certain that this guy was going to be an issue, judging by his boisterous demeanor, and overall jack-assery. He was in a group of about 15 people, and as he was getting progressively more drunk, he would make his way through his party and loudly insult each of them. I imagine he thought he was pretty funny.
So, the lights go down, and the show begins. The first comic is a guy from L.A. named Brandon Walsh. He was actually pretty funny, and had a lot of strange little anecdotal stories that he referenced and shared. So as Brandon was telling his jokes and stories, Loudmouth starts hollering things up at Brandon.
Why? Why go to a comedy show, just to heckle the comedians? People didn't pay their money to see if there are any "great" undiscovered comedians in the audience with them. No, they paid to see the main acts. Luckily enough, Brandon was pretty quick with his wit and shut this guy down pretty fast by questioning the Loudmouth's sexual prowess, by inferring that the Loudmouth couldn't even close the deal with a stripper. The Loudmouth basically pumped the brakes from there on out and let everyone enjoy the show without his running commentary.
The second prototype, i barely noticed, and figured were a lot more rare to find at a show. The second type of comedy show phenomenon is what i would call, the Stick-in-the-Mud, or SitM.
I noticed the SitM during Brandon's set. As Brandon was telling his stories that involved fake mustaches, giant mushrooms, stripper girlfriends, and the overall fuckery that goes along with comedians, i simply scanned the room. I noticed the SitM sitting arms folded blankly staring at the stage.
The SitM was sitting with, what i imagine were his two friends, with a stone cold straight face. If you erased the rest of the surrounding atmosphere of the comedy club and were only able to see him sitting in a chair and have to guess what was going on around him, one would definitely not guess, "He's at a comedy show!" No, some answers you might get are 1) He's waiting at the DMV, 2) He's sitting on a bus, or 3) He might be at a funeral for someone he only kind of knew.
His friends seemed to be enjoying themselves, but there was just something about his body language that made me ask, "why?" At first, i figured maybe he just really wasn't into this comedian, maybe he doesn't think this guy is very funny. Maybe he really just came for Michael Ian Black, and is mildly upset that this guy is "wasting his time." Even during Brandon's most hysterical jokes, i would look at SitM to see if he even cracked a smile. He didn't. I just chalked it up to, "maybe this guy is such a comedy snob, that he refuses to find this stuff as funny."
My real surprise came when Michael Ian Black hit the stage. I looked over at SitM, and he was the exact same! He didn't laugh, he didn't snicker, he didn't even smile. It got to the place, where i would quickly glance over at him for each joke. Nothing, Nada, Zip, Zilch. This kid was checked out, and looked completely bored.
I guess the moral of the story is that if you want anything in the audience with you during a comedy show, it's the SitM. The SitM's lack of enjoyment is their own loss, and their own money. It won't affect you, other than baffle you. Now with the Loudmouth, they will affect you. They can change your enjoyable (paid for) experience into a nightmare. So, you better hope the opening act has a wit like a god damned blade to cut these clowns down early.
So, we get to the comedy club, and get seated. It's a relatively small club, i would maybe describe it as cozy. The stage is only about twelve feet by six feet in the center of the front wall. The seating area probably sat about 100 people if that. My thoughts are less on the show itself (which was very enjoyable and hilarious), but more about two people that i saw at the show, and my confusion on why these two prototypes would even go to a comedy show.
The first type, i wouldn't say confused me so much, but still remains a mystery to me. I imagine this first type of person is basically a regular presence at any comedy show. For the sake of this article, we will just call this person the Loudmouth.
First and foremost, the Loudmouth is generally male. This particular species of Loudmouth was maybe in his late 30's, early 40's, and wore a burnt orange hat that matched his short sleeved burnt orange Under Armor polo almost perfectly. He was probably the guy who was pretty popular in high school, maybe an athlete. He probably has gained this belief that people actually give a shit about what he thinks, due to constant pandering. So, before the show, i was already fairly certain that this guy was going to be an issue, judging by his boisterous demeanor, and overall jack-assery. He was in a group of about 15 people, and as he was getting progressively more drunk, he would make his way through his party and loudly insult each of them. I imagine he thought he was pretty funny.
So, the lights go down, and the show begins. The first comic is a guy from L.A. named Brandon Walsh. He was actually pretty funny, and had a lot of strange little anecdotal stories that he referenced and shared. So as Brandon was telling his jokes and stories, Loudmouth starts hollering things up at Brandon.
Why? Why go to a comedy show, just to heckle the comedians? People didn't pay their money to see if there are any "great" undiscovered comedians in the audience with them. No, they paid to see the main acts. Luckily enough, Brandon was pretty quick with his wit and shut this guy down pretty fast by questioning the Loudmouth's sexual prowess, by inferring that the Loudmouth couldn't even close the deal with a stripper. The Loudmouth basically pumped the brakes from there on out and let everyone enjoy the show without his running commentary.
The second prototype, i barely noticed, and figured were a lot more rare to find at a show. The second type of comedy show phenomenon is what i would call, the Stick-in-the-Mud, or SitM.
I noticed the SitM during Brandon's set. As Brandon was telling his stories that involved fake mustaches, giant mushrooms, stripper girlfriends, and the overall fuckery that goes along with comedians, i simply scanned the room. I noticed the SitM sitting arms folded blankly staring at the stage.
The SitM was sitting with, what i imagine were his two friends, with a stone cold straight face. If you erased the rest of the surrounding atmosphere of the comedy club and were only able to see him sitting in a chair and have to guess what was going on around him, one would definitely not guess, "He's at a comedy show!" No, some answers you might get are 1) He's waiting at the DMV, 2) He's sitting on a bus, or 3) He might be at a funeral for someone he only kind of knew.
His friends seemed to be enjoying themselves, but there was just something about his body language that made me ask, "why?" At first, i figured maybe he just really wasn't into this comedian, maybe he doesn't think this guy is very funny. Maybe he really just came for Michael Ian Black, and is mildly upset that this guy is "wasting his time." Even during Brandon's most hysterical jokes, i would look at SitM to see if he even cracked a smile. He didn't. I just chalked it up to, "maybe this guy is such a comedy snob, that he refuses to find this stuff as funny."
My real surprise came when Michael Ian Black hit the stage. I looked over at SitM, and he was the exact same! He didn't laugh, he didn't snicker, he didn't even smile. It got to the place, where i would quickly glance over at him for each joke. Nothing, Nada, Zip, Zilch. This kid was checked out, and looked completely bored.
I guess the moral of the story is that if you want anything in the audience with you during a comedy show, it's the SitM. The SitM's lack of enjoyment is their own loss, and their own money. It won't affect you, other than baffle you. Now with the Loudmouth, they will affect you. They can change your enjoyable (paid for) experience into a nightmare. So, you better hope the opening act has a wit like a god damned blade to cut these clowns down early.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Betty White is nothing but a...
Novelty item now.
I just don't get the phenomenon. It's not that i don't like Betty White, I think she has had an amazing career, and it's good to see her getting work after not seeing her for so long, but it all seems to be stuff that just trivializes her. It seems that every time i see her, she is just a caricature of herself. I just wonder if you told the Betty White forty years ago that she would get tackled in a snickers commercial, or how her only real jokes in 2010 revolve around how old and dusty her vagina is, what that Betty White would think.
Maybe past Betty White would just be happy that she would still be relevant in the year 2010. Maybe she would just be surprised that she would still be alive in the year 2010. I would probably leave the fact out that she would outlive all of the other Golden Girls. Regardless, i would like to think that she would have hoped that her career would not be reduced to just being one long punchline on how she's old.
I guess the joke is really on all of the studio heads and producers that are trying to capitalize on the Betty White phenomenon. I can just see advertising agencies and studio casting directors trying to fit her into their project to bank on the Betty White craze. Meanwhile, Betty is laughing all the way to the bank. I mean seriously, i'm sure Betty White is no fool, and understands that her name within the past few years has basically become some strange brand. For example, she is going to be in that movie You Again. The thing that's funny to me, is that it's a part that can be essentially played by any elderly actress (and probably for cheaper). In reality, she isn't bringing anything to the table other than the fact that she is Betty White. Get any grand motherly actress in there and they can do the same things that she is. You want an old lady to hit on a significantly younger guy, while at the same time being abnormally hip with the most latest social networking tools, BUT you also want her to show how out of touch she is by adding the word "the" to said social network devices like only an elderly person would do (i.e. the Twitter)? I can assure you that although i'm only making a really brash generalization based solely off the trailer, i guarantee that it's a part that any senior actress could play.
I digress...
Good for Betty White. She has become some strange pop icon, and i think she is going to ride that gravy train until it runs out of gas... or until she dies. Anybody in their right mind would do the exact same thing in that position. Still, i just don't get it.
Arrested Development/Fight Club/East of Eden
I just don't get the phenomenon. It's not that i don't like Betty White, I think she has had an amazing career, and it's good to see her getting work after not seeing her for so long, but it all seems to be stuff that just trivializes her. It seems that every time i see her, she is just a caricature of herself. I just wonder if you told the Betty White forty years ago that she would get tackled in a snickers commercial, or how her only real jokes in 2010 revolve around how old and dusty her vagina is, what that Betty White would think.
Maybe past Betty White would just be happy that she would still be relevant in the year 2010. Maybe she would just be surprised that she would still be alive in the year 2010. I would probably leave the fact out that she would outlive all of the other Golden Girls. Regardless, i would like to think that she would have hoped that her career would not be reduced to just being one long punchline on how she's old.
I guess the joke is really on all of the studio heads and producers that are trying to capitalize on the Betty White phenomenon. I can just see advertising agencies and studio casting directors trying to fit her into their project to bank on the Betty White craze. Meanwhile, Betty is laughing all the way to the bank. I mean seriously, i'm sure Betty White is no fool, and understands that her name within the past few years has basically become some strange brand. For example, she is going to be in that movie You Again. The thing that's funny to me, is that it's a part that can be essentially played by any elderly actress (and probably for cheaper). In reality, she isn't bringing anything to the table other than the fact that she is Betty White. Get any grand motherly actress in there and they can do the same things that she is. You want an old lady to hit on a significantly younger guy, while at the same time being abnormally hip with the most latest social networking tools, BUT you also want her to show how out of touch she is by adding the word "the" to said social network devices like only an elderly person would do (i.e. the Twitter)? I can assure you that although i'm only making a really brash generalization based solely off the trailer, i guarantee that it's a part that any senior actress could play.
I digress...
Good for Betty White. She has become some strange pop icon, and i think she is going to ride that gravy train until it runs out of gas... or until she dies. Anybody in their right mind would do the exact same thing in that position. Still, i just don't get it.
Arrested Development/Fight Club/East of Eden
Monday, September 6, 2010
In the Blog-ing...
I don't get blogs.
Why does anybody care?
Who cares who i am?
Who cares what i'm doing?
Who cares what my favorite television show/movie/book is?
I don't even care, and this is supposed to be about me. It all changes on a pretty regular basis for everyone doesn't it? I mean, the person i am right now isn't the same person i'm going to be in 24 hours, a week, a month, or a year. It's all just relative. I guess blogs are an "in the moment" type of thing. Maybe i can look back on myself and sit there and say, "oh, that's who i was on September 6th, 2010." I can't complain, i like the idea of taking miniature snap shots of who i was. It's always interesting.
I suppose, blogs are akin to the big bold headlines of an article in the newspaper. It better grab some attention, it better be flashy, it better have some horror with a hint of mystery:
Forgotten Heavy Metal Band Sets Club on Fire with Faulty Pyrotechnics!
Or, it's just a worthless story that's really only worth the time of the person who wrote it. And even then, the person who wrote it is probably just doing their job, and even THEY may not give two shits about the article they wrote. Just like you never see articles in the news that address the pedestrian things in life, i guess maybe blogs aren't meant for the pedestrian:
Wake up, take a shower, brush your teeth, put on clothes, do your day. Rinse and repeat.
I suppose blogs are meant for more interesting lives. Well regardless of what blogs are supposed to be, here's mine for now.
LOST/Shaun of the Dead/The Stand
Why does anybody care?
Who cares who i am?
Who cares what i'm doing?
Who cares what my favorite television show/movie/book is?
I don't even care, and this is supposed to be about me. It all changes on a pretty regular basis for everyone doesn't it? I mean, the person i am right now isn't the same person i'm going to be in 24 hours, a week, a month, or a year. It's all just relative. I guess blogs are an "in the moment" type of thing. Maybe i can look back on myself and sit there and say, "oh, that's who i was on September 6th, 2010." I can't complain, i like the idea of taking miniature snap shots of who i was. It's always interesting.
I suppose, blogs are akin to the big bold headlines of an article in the newspaper. It better grab some attention, it better be flashy, it better have some horror with a hint of mystery:
Forgotten Heavy Metal Band Sets Club on Fire with Faulty Pyrotechnics!
Or, it's just a worthless story that's really only worth the time of the person who wrote it. And even then, the person who wrote it is probably just doing their job, and even THEY may not give two shits about the article they wrote. Just like you never see articles in the news that address the pedestrian things in life, i guess maybe blogs aren't meant for the pedestrian:
Wake up, take a shower, brush your teeth, put on clothes, do your day. Rinse and repeat.
I suppose blogs are meant for more interesting lives. Well regardless of what blogs are supposed to be, here's mine for now.
LOST/Shaun of the Dead/The Stand
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