the ultimate lawyer joke.
The quote of the day:
"Who are you?"
"I have so many names. Call me Dad."
Running news:
Not today. I'm going to see a doctor tomorrow.
I watched The Devil's Advocate on HBO this weekend. Boy, I really like that movie. Definitely Keanu Reeves' finest hour (overlook the whole Southern accent thing). It fits the 3 Act structure so completely perfectly it makes my teeth ache.
Act I
- Keanu, unstoppable lawyer, in action.
inciting incident: Keanu decides to go ahead and win the case, even though he knows his client is guilty.
- Keanu gets wined and dined by a high-powered law firm.
point of no return: Keanu accepts their job offer.
That's it. Keanu's locked in to whatever's going to happen now. He's made a choice that affects his whole life.
Act II
- Keanu joins the firm. Things are looking good. Keanu wins his first case.
- Things begin to be a bit...how shall we say...strange? The wife isn't happy. What is this firm up to, anyhow?
midpoint: Keanu gets the big case: a multimillionaire accused of murder
- Things are falling apart at home. Al tells him to take care of his wife. Keanu forges ahead.
- Keanu goes ahead and wins the big case, even though he knows his client is guilty. He knows his life is screwed at this point.
climax: Keanu's wife offs herself.
Keanu is now locked in--there is no getting away from dealing with the central question of the movie: what has Keanu willingly signed himself up for? It is now life-and-death: either Keanu wins, or Al wins.
Act III
- Things just keep getting worse: Keanu finds out who his father is, who Dad expects him to start dating now, and what Dad's plans for the family are.
twist: Keanu gets out of his predicament in a way no one probably expected.
- Keanu decides to make some radical changes in his life...but are they enough?
I remembered someone complaining the trailer for the movie gave away the spoiler that Al Pacino is the Devil. Darin laughed and said, "Spoiler? That's the logline."
No, I didn't watched the taped testimony. I love it that we've reached a place where everyone will drop what they're doing to watch the President's testimony. Actually, I don't love it; I rather loathe it. I think we've reached a new low. I hope the American people can see that. I hope they've begun to wonder what it is that we're being distracted from.
I understand that Clinton acquitted himself well, though. And if it backfired on the right-wing posse that was slavering to see Clinton get angry and testy and say naughty words...so much the better. I'd be really bummed if the coup d'etat worked, I hasten to add.
By the way: it is possible to be anti-Starr without being pro-Clinton. I've heard lots of people say they think Clinton is one of the best Presidents, if not ever, then certainly of the past few decades. I don't happen to agree--I'm trying to think of one thing he's done that I think is remotely acceptable and I can't. He's pro-death penalty, he caved on the CDA and the Defense of Marriage Act, he buckled on socialized medicine.
On the other hand, he's not George Bush or Bob Dole, so that's been something.
Linda said to me the other day that she knows he's dirty, because of Whitewater. I said, "There is nothing to Whitewater, there never has been." She dismissed my comment as being naive. She knows, you see.
I, on the other hand, think it's a total crime that the complete and total uninvolvement of the Clintons in the crimes of Whitewater--which always were Jim McDougal's and Jim Guy Tucker's and David Hale's--has never been explained by the media. Because the public isn't interested, you see.
And shame on you if you're hearing for the first time that there isn't anything to stick to the Clintons on Whitewater in someone's online journal.
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Copyright 1998 Diane Patterson
Send comments and questions to diane@spies.com