Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Corn Dogs and Weeping


Remember when I couldn't sleep and I watched part of a strange movie on TV? Sure you do! It is probably all you talk about with your little buddies! Well, then, you will be thrilled to hear this: I couldn't sleep again and the same movie was on again! This time I saw the beginning, and was surprised to discover that a lot of the "first act" consisted of wildly broad comedy. Like, a guy goes to a fancy restaurant and sardonically orders corn dogs and Tater Tots. And then the waiter actually brings him corn dogs and Tater Tots, moments later! And the mustard on the plate has been squirted into the shape of a smiley face. That kind of thing. And the guy isn't even surprised. He blithely tosses out the line, "Where's the mayonnaise?" Ha ha ha! That'll show that snooty waiter who's boss! Plus the waiter wasn't even snooty when you think about it. Pretty soon the movie had reached the point at which I had come in last time, so I changed channels (not before confirming the unusual amount of reaction shots in the middle section: at one point I counted SEVEN REACTION SHOTS BY SEVEN DIFFERENT CHARACTERS IN SEVEN SECONDS!). But I must admit that as time wore on I became curious, so I flipped back to the movie when it was almost over (as I am sure you recall, previously I missed both the beginning and the end). Let me preface this by saying that I am sure the emotion I am about to describe was both heartfelt and dramatically cathartic, and I don't mean to belittle it. Okay. When I came back to the movie, there were reaction shots of PRACTICALLY EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER IN THE MOVIE WEEPING! I mean BAWLING! One young woman is holding a rose and crying for some reason. An amiable looking dude has tears streaming down his face! I could give many more examples. Here's one: there's a shot of three women standing in a perfect row, just sobbing. Please let me emphasize that the comedy portion of the movie is over at this juncture, and the weeping is solemn and sincere. I missed some important plot point, obviously, but that's what was going on when I came back. By the way, I have no idea why the photograph above popped up during my "Google Image Search" for an illustration to go with this "post." Oh, and I don't want to blow your mind, but the waiter who served the corn dogs was Jacob from LOST!