Masculinity, deuxième livret
Went to a small housewarming party in Lasalle last night: a couple of aquaintances had moved into a spacious 3-bedroom apartment earlier this summer and we hadn't had a chance to check it out yet. Days and days of oppressive heat + the promise of a quiet, breezy balcony and good company made it a sure bet.
(Socializing two days in a row--will wonders never cease? Our delicate cocktail [one part misanthropy, one part agoraphobia and two parts exhaustion] is getting a good shaking this weekend and so far, I have no complaints.)
I don't stun easily but wow -- Google Earth is seriously cool.
So we rented The Assassination Of Richard Nixon a few weeks ago and were profoundly underwhelmed. Sean Penn delivered a solid performance, but the role's not really a big stretch for him: stubbornly miserable angry white male. Cue the vaguely thoughtful frown. Thanks, but one Willy Loman's enough for me and stirring in a little Travis Bickle doesn't make the script "edgy" or lend it any sense of foreboding... it just makes the character seem more pathetic.
The supporting cast... well, they support well enough but no-one really stands out in any way, with the exception of Don Cheadle. Playing Penn's best friend Bonny Simmons (the voice of grounded wisdom in this picture) Cheadle stands in as a kind of lucky everyman: lucky because he recognizes his good fortune (good marriage, nice kids, house of his own, self-employed) but isn't duped by the American Dream. Cheadle plays Simmons with a kind of wary exasperation, hitching his plans to Bicke's even though he knows it's a bad idea.
Billed as "the mad story of a true man," Assassination tries to establish Bicke as a disaffected dude in the vein of Michael Douglas in Falling Down or "Jack." Yawn. Spare me the white-dude angst, please. I'm full--couldn't eat another bite.
Female Score: 590
Male Score: 736
(Socializing two days in a row--will wonders never cease? Our delicate cocktail [one part misanthropy, one part agoraphobia and two parts exhaustion] is getting a good shaking this weekend and so far, I have no complaints.)
* * *
I don't stun easily but wow -- Google Earth is seriously cool.
* * *
So we rented The Assassination Of Richard Nixon a few weeks ago and were profoundly underwhelmed. Sean Penn delivered a solid performance, but the role's not really a big stretch for him: stubbornly miserable angry white male. Cue the vaguely thoughtful frown. Thanks, but one Willy Loman's enough for me and stirring in a little Travis Bickle doesn't make the script "edgy" or lend it any sense of foreboding... it just makes the character seem more pathetic.
The supporting cast... well, they support well enough but no-one really stands out in any way, with the exception of Don Cheadle. Playing Penn's best friend Bonny Simmons (the voice of grounded wisdom in this picture) Cheadle stands in as a kind of lucky everyman: lucky because he recognizes his good fortune (good marriage, nice kids, house of his own, self-employed) but isn't duped by the American Dream. Cheadle plays Simmons with a kind of wary exasperation, hitching his plans to Bicke's even though he knows it's a bad idea.
Billed as "the mad story of a true man," Assassination tries to establish Bicke as a disaffected dude in the vein of Michael Douglas in Falling Down or "Jack." Yawn. Spare me the white-dude angst, please. I'm full--couldn't eat another bite.
Female Score: 590
Male Score: 736
The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
posted by Labris @ 12:30 p.m.
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