Sunday, August 21, 2005

You Made Me Feel Shiny and New

And today we feature the sweet words of one Ms. Ciccone.

I went out tonight and saw The 40 Year-Old Virgin. Quite an entertaining romp. Aside from the myriad of ridiculous and unnecessary remakes/reinterpretations that have dominated the summer movie station, 2005 will be remembered for Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Wedding Crashers, and The 40-Year Old Virgin. Unfortunately we got there during the previews and had to sit in the 3rd row. I've never had the opportunity to see a movie that close up. I'm glad that it wasn't an action movie, because the screen is so big up close you actually have to turn your head to see everything. Steve Carrell is such an underrated comedic actor and it is nice to see him finally getting his due. He's been the bit player -- hilarious in Bruce Almighty and Anchorman, but now is the starring man, and he shines. His character walks the fine line between creepy-single-middle-aged-man and realistic lonely-single-middle-aged-man that makes his character all the more believeable. Yes he has his toy collection from a kid and reads comic books, which are all characteristic of the asexual/unsexual single male. But there is another side to him that does want to sleep with a woman and develop a meaningful relationship. And the viewer starts to see his view of things and while it may not be the most conventional or normal lifestyle, we understand how he got there and realize there are far worse characteristics he could have.

I was chatting with someone about the movie earlier and I brought up with someone prior to seeing the movie. I made an allusion to AC Green, the former NBA player who midway through his career revealed that he was still a virgin. This was a big deal. NBA players along with all other professional athletes have the stereotype of being able to score with lots of women. Especially in the NBA where teams are small (10-15 players) and players have been known to be especially promiscuous (see: Shawn Kemp). I think the immediate reaction is "OK, this is a bit strange." Looking at it on another level, however, the guy (and others like him) deserve a certain amount of respect. It's not easy on any terms (socially, culturally) to refrain from sexual activity, let alone as a professional athlete. A lot of people do it because of religous beliefs, but on the same token there are plenty of others that don't heed to the beliefs. Youngsters need more AC Greens and less Shawn Kemps. As a side note, Mr. Green is now married and I'm assuming, no longer a virgin.

If anything, the final scene of the movie is an absolute riot. I also got a The Graduate vibe when Andy (Steve Carrell) was in the bathroom with the girl from the bookstore. Aside from Mr. Carrell's success, it is nice to see Judd Apatow finally move away from critical success/commercial non-success to critical & commercial success. He was the brains behind the prematurely cancelled TV series Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared.

Lastly, I purchased an inflatable chair (color = blue) the other-day. It took me the better part of an hour to blow it up, but was well worth it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Faaaaag! Now you're caught.