The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
Resurrecting the Movies thread...
delalluvia:
Saw the Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.
8/10
My review is over in the Imaginarium thread.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on February 04, 2010, 09:49:32 am ---I saw Crazy Heart last weekend, BTW, and aside from one minor plot point that I HATED
--- End quote ---
OK, nobody asked, so I'll just tell you. Early in the movie, Jeff Bridge's character is established as a loser -- a raging alcoholic, playing in bowling alleys and two-bit clubs, having sex with women over 40 or even (shudder) his own age.
Bridges' character, Bad Blake, is 60-ish, washed up and puking into garbage cans -- but still has that certain something that causes a 32-year-old woman (Maggie Gyllenhaal) to pretty much immediately fall in love with him. And, to its credit, I would say the movie makes that prospect semi-credible. But it also implies that women of Bad Blake's own age, or even much younger -- women who by all appearances are nice and well-groomed and aren't late-stage alcoholics -- are not only inadequate to be Bad Blake's redemption-supplying girlfriends, but are by their very presence proof of how much his life has slid downhill.
In an early couple of scenes, he winds up in a one-night stand with a woman in the audience played by actress Beth Grant, who is about a month and a half older than Jeff Bridges:
Then he meets Maggie Gyllenhaal, who thankfully is 28 years younger and therefore suggests the possibility of redemption. First, though, he has to rebuff an overly strong come-on from this woman, played by Debrianna Mansini (whose age is not listed on IMDb). Having met Maggie, Bad Blake obviously would not be interested in anyone this ridiculously old:
Other than that, the movie was good. Really. But that was a pretty big problem.
oilgun:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on February 05, 2010, 01:13:04 am ---OK, nobody asked, so I guess I've got to tell you. Early in the movie, Jeff Bridge's character is established as a loser -- a raging alcoholic, playing in bowling alleys and two-bit clubs, having sex with women over 40 or even (shudder) his own age.
Bridges' character, Bad Blake, is 60-ish, washed up and puking into garbage cans -- but still has that certain something that causes a 32-year-old woman (Maggie Gyllenhaal) to pretty much immediately fall in love with him. And, to its credit, I would say the movie makes that prospect semi-credible. But it also turns around and implies that women of Bad Blake's own age, or even much younger, women who by all appearances are nice and well-groomed and aren't late-stage alcoholics, that these women are not only not adequate to be Bad Blake's redemption-supplying girlfriends, but are by their very presence proof of how much the protagonist's life has slid downhill.
In an early couple of scenes, he winds up in a one-night stand with a woman in the audience played by actress Beth Grant, who is about a month and a half older than Jeff Bridges:
Then he meets Maggie Gyllenhaal, who thankfully is 28 years younger and suggests the possibility of redemption. First, though, he has to rebuff an overly strong come-on from this woman, played by Debrianna Mansini (whose age is not listed on IMDb). By now, Bad Blake has already met Maggie and would therefore would obviously not be interested in anyone this ridiculously old:
Other than that, the movie was good. Really. But that was a pretty bit problem.
--- End quote ---
Thanks for telling us SC. I didn't ask because I assumed it was a spoiler. I would have the same problem with this plot point. You'd think that as a society, an aging one, we would have moved passed these negative depictions of middle-aged women. I guess watching these films it becomes clear that narcissistic old white guys rule in Hollywood.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: oilgun on February 05, 2010, 11:23:47 am ---Thanks for telling us SC. I didn't ask because I assumed it was a spoiler. I would have the same problem with this plot point. You'd think that as a society, an aging one, we would have moved passed these negative depictions of middle-aged women. I guess watching these films it becomes clear that narcissistic old white guys rule in Hollywood.
--- End quote ---
Glad you agree, oilgun! So did the people with whom I saw the movie, which was nice to hear. As a woman whose age is probably somewhere between those two actresses', this seriously hindered my enjoyment of what was otherwise a good film. Neither of their characters is established as being particularly unappealing aside from their age. I don't think Beth Grant's character even has any lines, but the movie shows Bad Blake sneaking out while she's still asleep, less to portray him (as I interpreted it) as a one-night-standing weasel than to indicate his shame at how far he has to stoop for sex. Debrianna Mansini's character does have some lines, and she is depicted as a groupie who comes on too strong. But Maggie Gyllenhaal is basically a groupie, too, just operating under the guise of a sort of semi-journalist.
Ellemeno:
Beth Grant played Dwight's occasional carnal partner on The Office. She's funny.
K, do his friends actually call him, "Bad?" Does the name come across as dumb in the movie as it does to me?
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