"Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan - 2006

Two YA authors teamed up to write a he said/she said love story that happens over the course of one crazy NYC night.  Hollywood made it into a somewhat/kinda/not really entertaining movie. 

I saw the movie first, and had a heck of a time getting it out of my head while reading.  I now think casting of Michael Cera was pretty freaking terrible, yes, I'm just plain sick of him and his recent teen offerings - but, here's some proof,

p. 9 "...He's working the ironic punk boy-Johnny Cash angle too hard to be a 'mo."  

Sorry, George Michael, but I don't think so.  So, that threw me off a bit.  On the other hand the casting of Norah was spot-on.  Anyway this is about the book, not the film. 

A few nagging details that got under my skin:

p. 29 "...on another Green Day cover, "Time of Your Life."

That song is actually called, "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).  Now I once saw that mistake in a SEP romance - annoying, but kinda forgivable - she shouldn't be giving song shout outs anyways.  However, in a book about punk rock or a least people who love punk rock?  Unacceptable.

p. 40 Nick is talking to Norah's ex -  "Dude, nobody puts baby in a corner..."

Then later on p. 61 - "I have no idea who Johnny Castle is, but I definitely approve of the name."

Please don't reference/use a line from a movie you've never seen. Thanks.

and then the unforgivable line that killed the book for me and the line that sort-of saved it...

p. 176  - Norah to Nick - "I hate The Beatles," I state. "Except for that song 'Something....But The Beatles as a whole? Completely overrated." then later: 

"Did you really write a song for me?"

Nick to Norah: "Yeah.  But it's not finished.  And don't ever speak of The Beatles with such condescension again or I may never finish it."

This book sort-of grew on me, once they got out of the clubs and the sun started to come up, I started to like Nick and Norah.  Then Norah opened her big mouth and made that Beatles comment - and while I liked that Nick spoke up, it made me not like Norah anymore.  I would say I prefer the book to the movie, and I'm a tiny bit curious about this pair of YA authors' other offerings.  

A Letter to Rory Gilmore

Dear Alexis, 

If you ever want me to stop seeing you as Rory 

please make more films like "Sin City" 

and stop taking roles in movies that could be 

called, "The Good Guy" OR

"Rory Gilmore Lives in New York, Works as an Urban Conservationist, and finds Love."

Thank You,

Laci Hess

Alexis Bledel, a TV veteran herself, has now made two movies with quarterbacks from the TV show "Friday Night Lights."  "Post Grad" with Zach Gilford (Matt Saracen, the mumbling and sincere underdog) and "The Good Guy" with Scott Porter (the football star who lost the use of his legs in the pilot, Jason Street). This isn't terribly unusual, TV actors work on movies together all the time, such as "Can't Hardly Wait" during which I play the "Who Guest Starred on Buffy?/Do you remember their character's name?" game in my head.  Also any number of horror movies made in the mid to late 90's - (I Know What You Did Last...Season on the WB...) 

Anyway back to Ms. Gilmore - "Post Grad" was terrible (plus I saw it before FNL and didn't realize that's just how Zach Gilford speaks...) but I liked "The Good Guy" mainly because of the good guy in the film - who may or may not be Jason Street, I won't spoil it. 

"Whip It" (aka Derby Girl) - Shauna Cross - 2007

Roller Derby is awesome, and that's a straight up fact.  It's one of those things I just know I'd be great at in my own head (like riding a mechanical bull,  boxing, etc) but would suck at in reality.  Sadly, the Greater Johnstown area hasn't had a functional skating rink since the mid-90's when Skateland closed it's doors.  Some of my best elementary school memories reside in those dingy rental skates, I would love to see it come back.  However, even if we had a rink and a derby league (rooftop derby jokes aside) it's not a sport I'd attempt without health insurance or being in better shape, but I sure do admire the hell of those girls that live it.  

I found Drew Barrymore's film adaptation fun and spot-on, especially her role in it - laugh out loud hilarious.  They did an excellent job casting recognizable yet believable actresses.  I guess I related to the women in the film more than the novel, as I'm closer to 30 than 20... I appreciated Juliette Lewis's character talking about all the years she's fought to find something she excelled at, and Kristin Wiig's character being a mom.  The derby girls in the novel are college age, not too many years separate them from Bliss.  Someday those years will become nearly meaningless, 27 isn't all that different from 24, but 19 is pretty damn different from 16.  The novel's Derby Girls have their freedom from parental figures, but the freedom feels less of a lifestyle and more of a potential passing phase, than the women in the film version.  

I was so excited to read "Whip It" after finishing the "French Lieutenant's Woman" because it seemed like the perfect piece of contemporary teen angst to counterpoint the heavy Victorian/Postmodern language of Fowles classic.  Unfortunately it wasn't.  Overall, and as evidenced by how much I enjoyed the film, I enjoyed the coming-of-age story.  However, I found Cross's teen speak increasingly cloying and bothersome, in the end I found it hard to root for Bliss.  

 There's a large chunk of indie rock culture built on knowing the most obscure bands before anyone else does.  Now, I love a pop culture reference, I had a black eye from the Gilmore Girls drinking game to prove it...but honestly, is the pro tools vs. reel to reel comment necessary?  Cross tries just a little too hard - which is where the film trumps the novel - it's way easier to include a sweet song than write about one. And...

 Would a 16-year-old in 2007 really make out to Pinkerton?  

I sincerely doubt it.

1) It's not a great make out album. 

2) Bliss would have been 5 when that record came out. 

3) She doesn't know the Velvet Underground and Nico, but quotes, "Why Bother"?  

Where's her "two years" of musical education coming from? 

4) I'm not buying it.  

I buy that the author would know and love Weezer's second record, I do, almost everyone I know does - those people aren't 16.  Authors should remember that songs/albums beloved in the mid-90's probably don't correspond with beloved albums of teens in the 2000's.   

Oh, and I think "Sam's Town" surpassed the hype, and the reference seriously dated the book.  

Cross's screenplay surpasses the book, I think she really got the story right the second time around. Drew Barrymore nails her directorial debut, if you ignore the blatant Cover Girl product placement and Little Joy shout out, that is. 

"Alice" - Jan Svankmajer - 1988

 

  

We Did It!

Kate and I watched all of  Jan Svankmajer's

stop-motion/live action adaptation of Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland."

In honor of the Winter Olympic Games (and the final season of Lost):

“The Cutting Edge” (1992) remains my favorite film featuring the Olympics, figure skating, hockey, or D.B Sweeney.  Some people I know would argue in favor of “Fire in the Sky, but I will never watch it - alien abduction and giant needles - no way, man! 18 years later (holy shit - the actors are looking especially young during this viewing!) and still one of my all time favorite romantic comedies.   It features a pitch perfect “Opposites Attract” storyline, done a lot better than most romance novels, I might add.  With a novel the chemistry has to leap off the page – if the author isn’t selling, the reader certainly isn’t buying.  Too often I feel that the H/H don’t actually like each other; no matter how much hot sex they have.  Kate and Doug fight their attraction by fighting with each other.   Now for a favorite scene I didn't completely understand as a 10-year-old:

"You're falling for him."
"What?"
"Doug."
"Yes. (rolling eyes)"
"You are, you're falling for him."
"...that's crazy."
"You think so?"
"You're nuts!"
"Am I?"
"Well, you see how we act together..."
"Yes, I do."
"...we never get along, I mean we're always fighting."
"foreplay."
  
They fight, they skate, she breaks his nose, he declares his love, they skate, they kiss, they (presumably ) win Olympic Gold .

Bon appetit, Baby Fishmouth!

"Wonderful!"  This movie was great.  Good for Nora Ephron.  Good for Meryl Streep - she (of course) kills it!  Good for Amy Adams for being utterly likeable and adorable all the damn time.

My Favorite Nora Ephron Films In Order:

• When Harry Met Sally - 
• Sleepless in Seattle (tied for first)
• Julie & Julia 
• You've Got Mail
• Bewitched

I just can't decide between my top two.  I consider both classics, near perfect romantic comedies.  I like Tom Hanks more than Billy Crystal, but I love the supporting cast of "When Harry Met Sally."  The Pictionary game makes me laugh out loud every viewing.  I do like "You've Got Mail" but I'm not sure I should, and "Bewitched" is good, not great, but has one of my favorite lines in any movie.

Julie & Julia is a better film than Ephron has made in years.  I loved how it switched time periods with little visual cues, for example, the heroines use the same orange pot.  I loved both couples, especially their strong supportive husbands.  Also, I will admit to cooking tofu with butter, instead of my usual olive oil, after watching this movie, I wouldn't recommend it.

I can't help thinking about the other Nora Ephron movies I really love, how they revolve around writers and each film keeps up with current technology.  Meg Ryan's character in "You've Got Mail" owns a bookstore, loves "Pride and Prejudice," and writes a children's book after her store closes.   The characters Annie and Sally are both journalists.  Sally writes for The New Yorker,  while Annie is a reporter for the Baltimore Sun.  Nicole Kidman plays a witch turned actress - she does not fit in with this observation.  Ignore her.  Amy Adams plays a would-be writer who starts a blog which is eventually published.  Which leads me to the thing about technology and Ephron.  She keeps up pretty well.

Julia Child's has a pen pal she's never met in person but has corresponded with for years. Forty years later, 1989 era NYC, Sally's love grows through autumn walks in Central Park and late-night phone conversations.  Four years after that we find Annie in her sweats and French braid plugging away on her typewriter compelled to make contact with a stranger's voice heard only on the radio.  Enter the Internet and AOL in 1998, who provide the ultimate modern twist on an old story - love through (dial-up) instant messages. Times change and forms of communication change with it.  Blogs are common and instant forms of expression - anyone can have one, not just the pros.  Julie Powell's blog became a best-selling book and who else but Nora could have translated it so well into film?

Type Hard

I'm pretty sure that, at least as it's portrayed in the film, pirate radio a la “Pump Up the Volume” is to the early 90’s what blogging is to today. Blogs are for expressing your opinions, sharing music, and especially, entertaining your friends – Just like, “Happy-Harry-Hard-On.” He’s [Christian Slater as Mark Hunter] saying whatever he wants, unsure if anyone's listening, except his "3 fans", but actually builds a fanatic following of repressed and angry teens. I don’t know if any teens actually had pirate radio stations at any point in time - including Arizona circa 1990 – however, nearly everyone I know has an internet presence. Basically it's really easy to put yourself out there these days, and you don't run the risk of an FCC car chase. Bonus.


Talk Hard

I get nostalgic over the land lines in any 80’s or 90’s films – I had a mock payphone in my room for all of middle school (which just so happens to be for sale a Urban Outfitters today) it’s why the Hamburger phone from Juno was such a surprise hit. They were fun and clunky and also tied you down. Look at the teens in “Pump Up the Volume” sitting on their beds holding out their phones to their friends on the other end of the line – the whole length of the show, listening to the radio but on the phone. You can also tell a bit about the kids by how they listen – the “bad kids” park on the football field, no apparent adult influence preventing them from listening to the show loudly on car speakers. The “good kids” who turn down the volume when parents enter their bedroom. The exception is Nora – the love interest, in her bedroom taking notes and writing them.

Look Hard
You’ll spot a long-haired, “Airborne” era Seth Green. Pause the shot of labels on those stacks of cassettes, “Ice-T” “Henry Rollins” - “Bad Brains” – just to name a few. Listen Hard to Leonard Cohen and the UK Surf version of “Wave of Mutilation.” Yes, it’s the early 90’s – and yes it’s pretty cheesy. But I am happy to give in to nostalgia to enjoy it now, 20 years later if you can believe it. And just disregard everything you know about the Christian Slater of now and enjoy bad-ass teenage Christian Slater.

Talk Fashion
I won’t deny how much of an influence 80’s/very early 90’s costume design has had on me, I can’t -- I’m wearing bracelets half-way up my arm this very moment.

Man, I love the cool (i.e. bad) kids in “Pump Up the Volume.” From Nora’s dyed black hair, tights and enormous sweaters to the layers of thrift store finds on Nora’s best friend, not to mention the scores of ripped jeans and of course, pearls…



Teen-angst, Ellen Greene, a sexy love story, great songs, and a chase scene with the dad from Teen Wolf. Sounds pretty good to me.

"The Virgin Suicides" - Jeffrey Eugenides - 1993

Beautiful suburban girls don't hang around...

"Stardust" - Neil Gaiman - 1998

Finished up Stardust, the novel, earlier this week, spent the past two days watching Stardust, the movie, but not for the first time. Now that I can compare the two, I have to say I enjoyed them both very much, however I do wish I had read the book first. Gaiman's voice is wonderful, his words bring Fairie to life, the film uses CGI quite well to do the same. The movie is much more dramatic, which some might claim as a downfall, but I don't mind at all. The romance exists in the novel of course, but I'm a sucker for big proclamations and kisses it's perfect in the film version. The book and film end much the same, they simply take different paths to get there.