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The
Movielie
The Film Cynic's attempt to relate his
life to the movies.
8/21/05:
I haven't seen Monster-in-Law,
but if tension continues building in the month leading to my brother's
wedding, then I won't need to. It seems that a few miscommunications
could upset the relationship between my mother and our future in-law and
my immediate concerns were inspired by what I've witnessed in the recent
film's trailer.
But mostly I am recalling the
general stereotypes portrayed on screen since the beginning. Lately
we've seen a great deal of Meet the Parents set-ups and their
alterations of the conventional theme, but the basic idea has always focused
on the man and his sour relationship with his wife's mother. Going
back all the way to the 1st century AD, Roman poet Juvenal wrote in his
Satire VI that a man has no hope for peace as long as his mother-in-law
is alive. On film the theme was popular from the earliest comedic
shorts and when television arrived, it adapted very well to sitcoms like
The Honeymooners. And those who don't watch movies or TV
are sure to have heard Ernie K-Doe's hit song from 1961, "Mother-In-Law".
I can not imagine disliking
my mother-in-law, whenever the time comes that I may have one. I
absolutely love my girlfriend's mom, and I see in her many sources of
the traits that attracted me to her daughter. I haven't dated much
in my life but I have gotten along with the few girls' mothers pretty
well. One mother nearly got punched by my own mom for saying that
I'm not good enough for her daughter (I'm sure other mothers have problems
with my lack of future security), but otherwise my relationship with the
woman was civil.
I have no idea how well my brother
and his future mother-in-law get along, but he can be somewhat conventional
so the stereotype is likely to appear down the road as a matter of tradition.
As for my mother and his fiancée, I hope that no problems actually
surface, because unlike in the movies, real people don't have a third-act
heart-to-heart (aside from some reconciliations made by people who are
terminally aware).
8/16/05:
It may be difficult to win
money at craps unless you’re a great risk-taker, but learning the
game was a lot of fun, nonetheless. Now I know the origin of the title
to Paul Thomas Anderson’s first feature, Hard Eight. Now
I am not so ignorant when the tables show up in each casino-set film.
I also became so addicted that had I driven myself to Mohegan Sun last
Friday, I would have ended up like Philip Seymour Hoffman in Owning
Mahowney.
It would have been
great to win some money while attending my older brother’s bachelor
party. Before learning craps, my only attempt to gamble consisted of playing
$10 on the slots in Atlantic City and winning it back evenly. Occasionally
I’ve tried my luck at blackjack but the only thing I’ve won
is the ability to see a stripper take her clothes off on a porn site.
If I ever go to Vegas, I’m seeking out the bargain casino that Chevy
Chase and Randy Quaid go to in Vegas Vacation. I’m pretty
good at rocks, paper scissors.
My aversion
to and fear of gambling goes along with my frugality, or, as I like to
refer to it, my economic sense. In some ways penny-pinching is great,
as my savings have allowed me to go the past 90 days without a job in
my new Brooklyn home. But now that my bank account is emptying, my inability
to take risks kept me from winning a jackpot that would help me from going
homeless and hungry. It is hard for me to remember any movie characters
that have won anything in a gambling film, though. So my hopefulness was
not only as unrealistic as normal, it was also not fantastically based
on cinema as normal. It was a completely empty dream.
Anyway, I would
like to let everyone know that if you choose to visit Mohegan Sun or any
other casino in Connecticut, be aware that despite being on reservations,
they follow the state drinking laws which prohibit its being served after
1am on weekdays and after 2am on weekends.
Blog Archives:
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
September 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
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