NRKANGEL'S BLOG

nRkangel

Meatballs, Robots and the other similar concepts...
Saturday, July 24, 2004

You know, when I was twelve, I remember watching "Meatballs" starring an unknown Bill Murray. At the time, I thought that that was the funniest movie that I'd ever seen. What it said to me as a pre-teen was so right on the mark I had to see it five more times just to be sure. (Of course, my parents didn't know I was seeing the same movie over and over, I told them it was a different movie each time.) Strangely, my brother, who was a year and a half older, never seemed to be as enthralled with it as I was. He only saw it when I did the first time.

Flashforward almost twenty years and I felt the need to see it again for the first time in decades... DVD's weren't around, so I got it on tape from Blockbuster and popped some popcorn fully expecting to sink into the warm memories of late childhood.

Fifteen minutes into the film and I was flabbergasted at how much the movie had changed. (well, ok, it was me that changed.) The movie I remembered was sharply witty, emotionally engaging and well plotted. (Yeah, like a twelve year old thinks that way... i just thought it was too cool for words...) Now, however, I found myself so disappointed.

The clever repartee was little more than heavy belching and dumb set-ups for one-liners. The emotions were bare manipulations and little else, and the plot was thinner than wet toilet paper tied together with that alien mucus...

In short, I was so disappointed that I wondered what I had seen in this movie and I found myself thinking that maybe my brother was right all that time ago.

But then... but then....

I realized that I was frowning my adult frown and thinking my adult thoughts. Maybe this wasn't the approach to take... I stopped the tape and re-wound it. I told myself to just watch the damned movie and stop being so judgemental.

I soon found myself watching a stupid, juvenile comedy and thoroughly enjoying it... I laughed as a young Bill Murray subtly stuck it to the rich kids's camp... I saw the losers of Camp Northstar brave their way through love and lust and watched as they fought the good fight in a futile decathalon against the same rich kids. I won't say more in case you haven't seen it.

The movie would never be as good as it was when I was twelve, but then, neither would I. But at least the kid inside still thought it was funny...

Flash further forward...
I saw "I, Robot" yesterday and, going in, I was ready to not like it. I worshipped the original book and the previews looked nothing like it. All the precious in the world won't make a mule a thoroughbred. Still, my preconceptions have been wrong before (Titanic for one). So I went with a couple of friends in order to be able to say that I gave it a fair shot.

Well, I gave it a fair shot...and wound up liking it. A lot. I wanted to say that it wasn't anything special but it kept me entertained, slightly puzzled and happily amused. (The Alan Tudyk voice was very well done even though I had to try like the devil to get the image of Wash reading the lines out of my head. Fortunately seeing the movie "Dodge Ball" really helped.)

I know I wanted the book in movie form. I know that I wanted to dislike this, but the movie I saw was like the best of the Sunday Serials that old fogeys talk about. The Buck Rodgers and Flash Gordon stuff. It was cool and hip (sometimes a little too much) and Will Smith will never pull off a character filled with pathos like Denzel Washington, but that said, anyone who saw this and picked it apart for flaws wasn't going to see a movie, they were going to do a job or serve an agenda.

"I, Robot" is a good summer movie in a year with a lot of good summer movies so far. "Shrek2", "Day After Tomorrow", "Spiderman2", all these have really entertained. It's seriously been one of the best summers for movies in years. (well, to me anyway...) That said, this is a good, fun movie that won't disappoint if you try not to take it or yourself too seriously. (Hey, at least you don't know how it ends, right? Can you say that going into "Titanic"?) Be silly. Go see it.

Roll to Me
-Del Amitri
(Is it just me, or was this their only decent song?)





COMMENTS

Sunday, July 25, 2004 8:55 PM

QUICKSAND


In keeping with the same "turn off one's brain" theme, I saw Catwoman and it was great, stupid fun.

Better than I Robot, in my opinion... I love Alan and all, but I'd never have sex with him. No offense.

Oh, and...

"I did not murder him!!"


POST YOUR COMMENTS

You must log in to post comments.

YOUR OPTIONS

THIS MONTH'S ENTRIES

ARCHIVES

2005 March

2004 November

2004 October

2004 September

2004 August

2004 July

2004 June

OUR SPONSOR