the groundhog day project

Chris dances and mouths along to "Then He Kissed Me" and she dresses in black and white, which is an easy segue into her later dancing and singing--"Babysitting Blues"--at the Silver Dollar Room. Which, out of all the various messages one could take from this film regarding the "urban" world, is maybe the worst. I say maybe because the car theft ring is a pretty bad thing, but feels more opportunistic and less systemic. Wandering into a blues bar and immediately owning the stage when forced to perform--that's got bigger implications. Again, maybe. Albert Gene Drewery, better known as Albert Collins or the Ice Man, plays himself. He's the guitarist/singer running the stage at the club. Playing more like a nobody in a small club than who he really is (even thought he is credited as self... on IMDb; he is not in the cast list at the end of the film). This same year, he had been the musical guest on Late Night with David Letterman and in 1988 he...

I imagine that Louis (Alex Desert), because I'm pretty sure no one says his character's name [Barry does], is actually Charles from Swingers -- (Because, why not?) --and then things get weird. Because does that mean that Penny's (Joelle Carter) negative experiences with Rob are why she changed her name to Ava, moved to Kentucky, and got involved with more a few men prone to violence? Did Barry leave Kathleen Turner Overdrive for (or change its name to) No Vacancy, change his name, leave Chicago for New York and pretend to be a substitute teacher because music wasn't working out for him? Did Epiphany Proudfoot survive Johnny Favorite, change her name, head north, and take up music in Chicago? Is Charlie Nicholson so odd because she's just a cover identity for Virginia Baker in between heists? For that matter, is part of Sarah Kendrew's ongoing problems stem from Joe lying to her so much when she was Corey Flood? And, how did Rob Gordon also have time to be L...

Watching Rambo: First Blood Part II for the last time--I like to toy with the idea that after watching any of these movies for multiple days I will retire them from my viewing repertoire--it strikes me that I haven't had much that was actually negative to say about this film. Sure, it represents an attempt to rebuild American hegemony symbolically, and a manipulation to reconstruct the myth of Vietnam, but it's just so damn fun. So, I figured I'd end this week of Rambo by looking backward, see where Rambo came from. I've mentioned David Morrell, author of the novel First Blood . I've even talked here and there about differences between book Rambo and movie Rambo. But, why does Rambo even exist? Wilder (1990) presents us with a story--I'll just provide the beginning of it: A young boy is raised in a patriotic Christian culture to love god and country; to believe "Thou shalt not kill." At the age of 18, not yet old enough to drink or vote, he is giv...

Planes, Trains & Automobiles is a romantic comedy. I mean, structurally. Tripping over the trunk, accidentally stealing the cab, ending up next to each other on the flight—this is the meet-cute for Neal and Del. In Hinnant’s (2006) terms, this would be the courtship model that begins with “an atmosphere of bitter animosity. It involves the initial antagonism of an improbable pair of lovers who will only slowly come to appreciate in one another the sterling moral characteristics prized in the courtship novel” (p. 297). Now, for Neal and Del, it’s a little more one-sided than that. Del is the friendly one in this pair, Neal the standoffish one. Del just asked Neal, “You want to take a shower?” Neal misunderstood and thought Del wanted them to shower together. Or did he misunderstand? Seriously, just imagine Steve Martin’s Neal as a woman, like the Sally to Del’s Harry. They share a bed their first night together. And, Neal has to sleep in the wet spot. Dowd and Pallotta (200...