Category Archives: entertainment and popular culture

Bushies in Training

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I’ve been to Fulton, Missouri. It’s close to Columbia, home of the main campus of the University of Missouri. Winston Churchill delivered the famous “iron curtain” speech there, which is its chief claim to fame. Like most little Missouri towns it’s very conservative and very insulated.

But this spring, high school students in Fulton will be presenting a shockingly provocative play. A play featuring juvenile runaways, couple swapping, and the wanton seduction of a human-animal creature (A hybrid? Who can say?) by a supernatural pagan female.

The town of Fulton is outraged. But not about the play described above, a sexy romp called “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by some guy named Shakespeare. No, they’re messed up because the high school dramatists produced a sanitized version of “Grease.”

The drama teacher cleaned up profanity and substituted standard tobacco cigarettes for “weed.” But that wasn’t good enough. According to Diana Jean Schemo of the New York Times, a few people complained

… that scenes of drinking, smoking and a couple kissing went too far, and glorified conduct that the community tries to discourage. One letter, from someone who had not seen the show but only heard about it, criticized “immoral behavior veiled behind the excuse of acting out a play.”

The school has cancelled a production of “The Crucible” (of course) and will produce “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” instead. So instead of pilgrims battling witchcraft (the Fultonites won’t know it’s an allegory if nobody tells ’em) they’ll produce what is, essentially, a sex farce. Will the drama teacher edit out some of Bill S.’s more obvious double entendres? And will Titania still seduce Bottom, or will she take him to an all-night revival?

What Puck said: “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”

When Film Reviews Bite

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Like most people I’m a sucker for “best of” and “worst of” lists. But on my personal “worst” list are reviewers whose “Best Films of the Year” lists are made up of bleeping indy and foreign films I’ve never heard of, much less seen. Here’s one example, but this year we’ve had a bumper crop of them, seems to me.

I’m also seeing films on the “best” lists that got so-so reviews when they were released, like The Skeleton Key. Annoying.

I’d have a hard time coming up with a “Best Films of 2005,” because I’d have to list every new film I saw in theaters in 2005. But I didn’t see any films I didn’t like, so they can all go on the list —

    1. Good Night and Good Luck — the best.
    2. Batman Begins — dark and gritty, like a superhero movie should be
    3. A History of Violence — I hated the ending. I loved the ending.

[Update: I forgot Syriana! And it’s really good! Put it at number 4 and bump everything else down one. ]

    4. Madagascar — The New York City segments were priceless.
    5. Kingdom of Heaven — Would have been better if they hadn’t killed off Liam Neeson so fast, but still good.

[Update: I forgot Walk the Line. If Kingdom of Heaven is now #6, then Walk the Line is #7 and SW is #8

    6. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith — Almost redeemed the dreaded episodes I and II.
    7. The Legend of Zorro — I’m a sucker for swashbucklers.
    8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire — entertaining, even though I already knew how it ended
    9. King Kong — ditto. Some scenes went a little long, though.
    10. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — The book was better, but the film was still pretty good.

In addition to these I saw Aliens of the Deep in 3D, which was nice. I also saw Constantine on TV. Have forgotten it already.

There are no doubt lots of really good films I didn’t see, which is why they are not on this list. But at least these are all red blooded, all-American major theatrical releases, by gawd. None o’ that smartypants indy or foreign stuff!

At the Movies

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Rightie movie reviews, courtesy of this fluffhead, via Shakespeare’s Sister …

Get this synopsis of “Good Night & Good Luck” —

“A film portraying as noble the efforts of journalists to demonize and “take down” a US Senator whose anti-communist policies they did not like.”

Jebus. She’s talking about Edward R. Murrow’s takedown of Joe McCarthy for pity’s sake. Holy bleep. Talk about utterly depraved historical revisionism! I’d like to rub the fluffhead’s nose in a few history books. But she’s a rightie, so she can’t read. Never mind.

Here’s her comment on “A History of Violence” … “The demonization of the average mid-western American man as someone who is no hero, but a cold-blooded killer at heart.” I don’t think that’s what the director was going for; at least, that’s not what I took away from it. The main character wasn’t an “average mid-western” American man, in any event. Perhaps La Fluff didn’t see the film for herself and is just going by what other people have told her. Not smart.

Meanwhile, Steve M. has some comments on the favorite films of conservative college students. Some of the films that made the list are, um, a surprise.

I understand audiences are down in theaters, but I think that has more to do with theaters than with the films. I’ve gotten picky about which theaters I give my business to; messy theaters that don’t enforce good audience etiquette should go out of business. There’s a multiplex about a mile away from my home that I’ve avoided ever since some woman sitting near me talked loudly on a cell phone during “Return of the King.” There are plenty of other theaters that have not-sticky seats and audiences that behave.

For many years I’ve heard people complain there used to be more good movies; I think that’s because we only remember the good ones. Are films getting more depraved? I seem to remember more explicit sex and violence in the 1970s, but maybe I was hanging out with a bad crowd then. (Anybody else remember “El Topo”? Was that sick, or what?)

I don’t see every film that comes along, but of the films I’ve seen in theaters this year I believe my faves were “Batman Begins” and “Good Night & Good Luck.” I also liked “Kingdom of Heaven,” but I understand I am the only person in America who did.

Add your own film reviews here.