diane chooses a movie based on word, not taste
The quote of the day:
And divorce is something they do only in England.
Running news:
10.6 miles.
But then I started reading a surprising number of positive reviews from places I normally trust: Salon, Roger Ebert, and Film.com. So I said, Hey, a romance wherein the heroine kicks butt: I am there.
I knew Darin didn't want to see this movie. I said to him, "Hey, I've been reading some good reviews of Ever After, so we'll go to the theater, and I'll see it while you go see There's Something About Mary or whatever and that's okay."
And he said, "No, hey, good reviews? I'll go too."
Can you believe that? I love this guy. And there is another one just like him still available, folks.
Fernando caught up with us to find out what the movie plans were. He goes to see flicks with us because Nancy doesn't like seeing movies in the theater--there are too many people around. He sounded a bit dubious that Ever After was today's movie choice, but between seeing a movie and not seeing a movie there was no choice. He said, "'Kay."
The movie is really, really good.
Fernando's comment afterwards: "One of the best movies I've seen all year."
It's great stuff: girl meets boy, girl and boy fall in love, girl turns out to be commoner. A great cast--Drew Barrymore is wonderful, the prince is darn cute, and Anjelica Huston does the patented Anjelica Huston Snarky Look like no one's business. Wonderful production values. And a story--I can't overemphasize this enough. It's a movie with a story.
Worth the price of admission alone, that.
It's not an earthshaking retelling of a romance, but as romances go it's a good one: you want these people to get together. It's sweet without being cloying. You want them to triumph over the forces working against them: not only the Wicked Stepmother, but also Henry's job (being Prince).
Another great thing was the audience reaction. Mid-afternoon on a Friday and these people--primarily teenaged girls--were into it. Cheering and clapping.
I say ignore the dopey trailer and go see it.
The producers of Ever After or whoever decided to film a commercial featuring "audience reaction" from our showing of the movie in the lobby of the theater. So we turned left rather than turning right and went further into the theater.
Fernando called Nancy and discovered he wasn't expected home for a while; Darin wanted to see There's Something About Mary; I took the car keys and bid the two of them adieu while they ducked into the Mary theater. (That's my doing, by the way--Darin said they should go back out and pay again.)
As I walked out of the theater I passed a huge line of audience members waiting in line to be interviewed. I wondered how many of them were hoping that this was their big break. Then I wondered how many of them were in line because their mother, standing next to them, insisted they do it.
Today I did 10.6 miles but they felt like crap. I'm not sure what various running experts mean when they use the term "junk miles" but these might have been some of them. My legs were stiff and my heart rate was all over the map--it spiked to 172 very early on, when I was on a straightaway. (Should have told me something, I guess.) I kept going, though, and my heart rate settled down a bit.
My toes are a little out-of-kilter now. The hard skin on the front of some of my toes continues to build up, and new callouses and blisters form everyday, despite the continual use of padded socks and application of a pumice stone.
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And despite this, despite my feet feeling funky and today's run not filling me with joy and the e-mail from Rob I got right after I returned telling me he'd done 5 miles in 40 minutes Goddamn him -- I'm thinking I'll go out tomorrow and Sunday: tomorrow for a short, fast run, and Sunday for the longest run I've done so far.
There definitely is something addictive about this.
Copyright 1998 Diane Patterson
Send comments and questions to diane@spies.com