Sunday, Sunday

Okay, so Sunday is my day to get very little accomplished. I got no writing done...zero, zip, zilch. I read the paper, went to Best Buy where I spent money I shouldn't have (but my justification is that I had a gift certificate) had lunch with my family (a lovely little meal at Ruby Tuesday's, one of the few places where the salad bar still exists, and quite a nice one!) then spent the afternoon playing Wii, munching on the apricot torte from Trader Joe's (a la mode, of course) and then capped it off by watching a few Netflix movies.

Now I thought when I quit my job I would have lots of time to watch lots of movies. My plan was to go to the movies every Friday and watch at least six Netflix rentals a week. All of which is to be categorized under research, of course, since I am a screenwriter. Well, I haven't been to the theater at all and have watched a total of six movies. Yes, that's right, I have watched less movies since I quit that I did when I was working. Which makes me happy that I'm not sitting around watching movies instead of working but sad because I love movies. So have to get my butt in gear and do some watching! You can't write commercial schlock if you don't see what schlock is out there (remember, I aspire to be a hack).

So this weekend I watched all of my Netflix movies, one that I have had for over a month (the others I just mailed back, unwatched). First was "Dan in Real Life", starring Steve Carrel of The Office. Lovely, sweet little movie if you can get past the slight ick factor of brothers sleeping with the same woman. But other than that it's charming and I want to marry into a large Kennedy-esque clan that plays touch football in a cape type setting. It looked like so much fun to be in a big family with a talent show night. (I don't know anyone who does that in real life, but it looked idyllic.) I definitely recommend you see this film.

Next was "August Rush". Just go into it knowing it's a fairy tale in a modern setting. Completely unbelievable in every way. The music was awesome and you get to see Jonathan Rhys Myers (see previous post) looking hot, brooding a lot and singing (he was surprisingly quite good). You also get to see Kerri Russell looking doe-eyed and mostly moving zombie like through the film ("Waitress" was a much better example of her acting talents.) A nice turn from Robin Williams as the evil 'Fagin' type character and the kid who played Evan/August was really good although I would have directed his performance a bit differently.

Finally, "I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With". I wanted to like this movie, I did. It got decent reviews. And I love Chicago/Second City people (Chicago is second only to Boston on my comedy scale). I adore Bonnie Hunt, adore her. "Return to Me" is one of my favorite films and I have been a faithful follower of hers forever (anyone else remember "Davis Rules"? of "The Bonnie Hunt Show"? or "The Building"? I didn't think so) and we share the same birth date (she's older). So when I saw that she was in it I was willing to watch even if it meant sitting through Sarah Silverman playing the same creepy crazy girl she has been typecast into (or maybe she is just a creepy crazy girl). And I like Jeff Garlin and the rest of the Second City cast he brought along with him (he wrote and directed and starred). And I wanted to like this film about a chubby actor living with his mom and not dating much (hmmm, why do I relate?). But his character came off as a bit unsympathetic and sad. There were some moments of sheer brilliance - a remake of the Ernest Borgnine classic "Marty" starring Aaron Carter and Gina Gershon, big hoot! and the part with Poncho Boy was too funny. But I wanted more from the character than he wanted for himself. So I guess what I'm saying was that the side bits were funnier than the whole. I give it a 'watch it on cable' recommend. When you do watch it, grab a tub of tapioca. And people, hire Bonnie Hunt more, she's terrific!

Now about the Wii. I love the Wii (see this post) and I can't wait for the Wii Fit. But we needed some new games so I bought Game Party (don't bother) and Mario Kart. Yes, the one with the Wii wheel. Okay, can I just say my thumbs hurt? And I crashed like a million times. My brother is pretty good, my sister-in-law to be Val is really good and my mother was hysterical to watch as she crashed, bumped, got turned around and basically sucked. It was so much fun. I practiced a bit more last night and I think I might some day get to the point where I don't embarrass myself, as long as I don't play against anyone under thirty. If you don't already have a Wii, get one. They are so much fun, no matter what your age - heck Grandma is 87 and she plays with it!