Mastering the Art of Summer Movies

Funny People, Julie & Julia, (500) Days of Summer

Nora Ephron has said movies are the literature of this generation, and I have done more than my fair share of summer reading.

Summer movies aren't just for Trekkies and Megan Fox enthusiasts (though one and the same, I suppose). I frankly had no interest in going to Comic Con (or The Con, as it's affectionately known) nor did I have any desire to see Star Trek, Transformers 2 or Harry Potter and the Christ, are these movies still being made; and I feel no shame or guilt (and I'm Catholic).

This summer, my favorite movies have spoken to me directly. Funny People , get your act together. Julie & Julia , learn how to cook already. (500) Days of Summer , it's about time you found a boyfriend.

Ok, I know, I know. It's hard to look at your shortcomings head on but these films made me realize it's okay to not have it all figured out, and just enjoy life and its experiences as they come to you. Was it Emerson or Steven Tyler who first opined "Life's a journey not a destination?" Either way, that phrase always bothered me for some reason. YOU HAVE TO BE NUMBER ONE. (Sorry, can't help quoting the Emilio Estevez monologue from The Breakfast Club as seen in my short film Catholic High School Musical).

I recently posted a fabulous article on Facebook (friend me)/Twitter (follow me) called 11 Famous People Who Were In The Completely Wrong Career at Age 30 and it was one of my more popular posts among my fellow quarter-lifer fanbase/friendbase of recent recollection. (By the way, I need to start sharing my Facebook/Twitter musings on my blog. I haven't forgotten you, The Houlywood Reporter!) Even Julia Child, the latter namesake of Julie & Julia worked as a high-ranking spy for the OSS before she charmed us with her clumsy albeit contagious joie de vivre and her oft-parodied accent. (Thank you, Nora Ephron, for including Dan Akroyd's SNL spoof to show how beloved Child was.) Anyway, enough about me (for now). Here are my top summer movie recommendations.



Funny People
I am a huuuuuuge Sandler fan. I even went to see You Don't Mess with the Zohan, so you know I don't play around. (Remember that review?) Anyway, this movie really touched me because I just started performing standup and it's incredible to see the paths former roommates Sandler and Apatow have forged with their wholly unique comedic sensibilities starting first in the standup world, with Sandler going on to SNL infamy and movie stardom pre-Ferrell, and Apatow writing for some of the most cutting edge television shows of the past two decades including for The Ben Stiller Show, The Larry Sanders Show, and of course the treasure trove that is Freaks and Geeks and the often overlooked Undeclared (which featured a Sandler cameo, natch) before he went on to be known as "the guy who brought you 'The 40 Year Old Virgin' and 'Knocked Up'". (It's okay, Apatow. We approve!)

Anyway, I was so pleased to have a movie speak to the exact journey I'm going through right now, in the form of Seth Rogen’s character. I have friends on cheesy TV shows and friends that wish they were on cheesy TV shows, and friends (like me) that wish they were writing for any TV show, heck, even a cheesy one just like any twenty-something living in LA. It was almost as if Emma Thompson were typing the inner monologue of my protagonist's journey in Stranger Than Fiction come to life.

I'm also glad Sandler had a shot at showing his softer side. Sure, he's done so before, first in P.T. Anderson's Punch Drunk Love which I admittedly wasn't a fan of (nor am I a fan of most of P.T.’s work- sorry, I know, sacrilege!) and in James L. Brooks' Spanglish which was hard to watch, but as improv guru Del Close espoused, there must be truth in comedy, and there was truth aplenty in Funny People . Like Deepak Chopra once said, “There is a-ha in haha”.

There was something personal, revealing even about Sandler's work in Funny People that I've never seen before. I know waaaah, it must be lonely at the top, but the story goes beyond one's need for acclaim or congratulations, but rather the importance of happiness and love. Maybe George Simmons (Sandler's character) should have consulted Mr. Chopra, but then again, he'd be glad he avoided the bomb that was The Love Guru. (I don't care, I still saw it. Cringed throughout, but I saw it. I love you Mike Myers!)

I am actually surprised Funny People is getting mixed reviews. Sure, Leslie Mann's voice is beyond annoying (There's a reason Joey Lauren Adams hasn't worked since Chasing Amy; Leslie Mann already married Apatow.) and sorry, there was no must-see chest wax scene or crowning moment (but are we really that bummed out, guys and gals?) but I'm glad I saw it. Funny People was a mature musing on what matters most in life. And I'm glad Mr. Apatow made a film his mentor Hal Ashby would have been proud of. (This is what the re-do of Mr. Deeds should have been like. By the way, Gary Cooper is one of my favorite actors. You should see the original.) Anyway...I look forward to seeing more Sandler, and a return to smart comedies. Please no more baby-headed CGI graphics movies!



Julie & Julia

Herlo, I'm Jurlia Child. Bon appetit! I never would have expected a biopic on famed French chef Julia Child would have enticed me this much. Her story, remarkable, of course and Julie Powell's blog-turned book-turned Nora Ephron film adaptation made for a delightful blend of 3 cups juliepowell.blogspot.com and 4 cups My Life in France for good measure. What an interesting never-been-done way to tell a story. Delicious and nutritious!

I've always been a fan of Gonzo journalism and throwing oneself into whatever one wants to do, headfirst unaware of what unruly havoc it might bring upon one’s life. (Hello, moving to Los Angeles without a job in sight.) My favorite Gonzo-lite book of recent years being Maria Dahvana Headley's "The Year of Yes," in which the author accepted every date that came her way for an entire year, even from a peculiar homeless man. Weird, hideous and hilarious all at once. And of course, “The Year of Living Biblically,” a favorite of Jersey-bred Joel Stein, authored by A.J. Jacobs, which is in active development with Marlon Wayans attached to star.

When I first read about Julie & Julia: The Book in The New York Times Book Review, I felt well-fed from the home cooked, expertly prepared version of events described instead of picking up the actual book or attempting such a, as Julie Powell put it, “deranged assignment.” (But didn't Ms. Ephron say movies are this generation's literature? Phew, I’m not as dumb as I think I am.)

Even though my not-so-secret best friend is named George Foreman, there is something satisfying about avoiding short cuts in life and making a commitment to teach oneself a new skill (never mind the fact that I’ve quit every instrument I’ve set out to play) but thanks to Ms. Ephron, I luckily didn't have to master the art of French cooking, just yet at least. Sometimes a really juicy movie, if only for an hour and a half, can enthrall and inspire the idea of trying something new. And that’s okay. 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen. It is pretty deranged.

But I’d be remiss if I didn’t give mad props, or heapings of praise to the divine Miss Meryl. Of course, my admiration of Meryl Streep comes not only from my more-than-a-passing resemblance of Streep (according to one “it’s definitely the shnoz” and another “you have the mouth of Meryl Streep,” whatever that means) but for her effortless transformation into the 6’2” Child, nailing her unwieldy physicality and spontaneity with aplomb. Not to mention that accent. My God, that accent. And this from the woman who went Out of Africa and won an Oscar for Sophie’s Choice. How fun must this transformation have been?

Seconds of praise must go to the deserving Stanley Tucci. Of course, the best part was Streep’s reunion with Tucci, her cohort in Prada, who played her loving, supportive husband Paul Child. What a mensch was he. Their love story was quite unique, from supporting one another overseas as OSS spies to her rise to the top of the food chain as the original Martha Stewart. And I’m glad Julie & Julia paired Amy Adams with Streep again, albeit in her shadow, as in Doubt. Though Adams does hold her own. She always gives rich strokes to seemingly precocious, girl-like characters one would otherwise dismiss as whiney or annoying. Junebug, her first Oscar nominated role, finely portrays a blissfully ignorant young Southern mom-to-be, with much more intelligence and heart than one would first observe.



I must also give a shout out to my new friend Henry Wolfe whose swingy-blues song “Stop The Train” is featured prominently in the emotional arc of the Julie character. Henry is a fantastic Los Angeles singer-songwriter who just released an EP Wolfe Sings Field (Undermountain 2009), featuring beautifully twisted lyrics and a full string accompaniment. His earlier EP The Blue House, recorded in the Berkshires, is more pop-folk centric but I am a fan of all that is Wolfe. You can buy “Stop The Train” and its B-side “The Other Man” on iTunes, along with both EPs.

Also look out for Jane Lynch, a Christopher Guest favorite who plays Streep’s sister, equally tall and the perfect doubles partner to Child’s adorable bizarreness. (And for my extra-geeky comedy friends, look for Jerri Blank’s evil mother from Strangers with Candy here playing Child’s best friend, Avis by the magnificent Deborah Rush.)

C’est tout. I’m hungry.



(500) Days of Summer

Please, please, please, let me get what I want. Not just a Smiths song but a mantra of the me, me, woe is me generation I belong to and the city I live in, the city of Angels. Lonely as I am, I enjoyed (500) Days of Summer. I believe I twittered upon exiting the theatre this exact tweet: I want to see (500) Days of Summer, (500) Days of (500) Weeks of my life. And that’s pretty good for a film that claims it is not a love story. But I loved the story.

So often women are told He’s Just Not That Into You or are "painted…as shrews.” (Sorry, Apatow, but Heigl did have a point there.) Finally, a movie for the love-challenged, strung along men (they exist?) that pine over women the way Lloyd Dobler once proclaimed the light, the heat from a ghettoblaster. Though I’ve never encountered this before, I’m sure it does happen. It must!

Joseph Gordon-Levitt reprising his lovesick puppy who lost his way from 10 Things I Hate About You, one of the best movies of the ‘90s, sweetly displays the (501) emotions of what happens when She’s Just Not That Into You.

Refreshingly honest and full of attention-grabbing sequences stretching beyond a typical rom-com, especially the Hall & Oates song and dance sequence, wherein JGL attracts an animated bluebird on his finger, a nod to the Cinderella fantasy world he has created out of his casual (to her) relationship with Summer, I melted throughout, gushing “I want a boyfriend like that!”

To paraphrase Muriel’s Wedding, life is not always as good as a Hall & Oates song. It takes two to tango, and he lets his idea of who Summer is obscure his tunnel vision of love, which is flooded in a sea of her blue eyes everywhere he goes, from who she really is. (Editor’s note: I wish a production designer would create a world around my hazel eyes, though sea-scum green isn't as easy on the eyes as Zooey Deschanel’s baby blues.)

In the end, we learn that you can’t obsess over a boyfriend or girlfriend like an infectious Smiths song. Timing is everything, and nothing lasts forever. Even Morrissey and Johnny Marr know that.

*Bonus: Map out the sights of (500) Days of Summer!