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today:
8.23.99 "The next screw that falls out is gonna be you." Hotel rooms offer no refuge from the powers of cable television. I mention this only because it seems that cable television has become an important part of these uploads. There are many other things to talk about, if sharing were my agenda, but why bother when pay TV is such a rich mine of pop cultural opinion-making? (Somehow, even with that hollow justification, I still feel unaccomplished and slovenly for watching and reporting exclusively on cable television these days -- like that bloated gentleman who needed to be airlifted out of bed every time he wanted to hit the ATM.) The Breakfast Club, from which the quote leading this transmission was lifted, is wonderful and uncomplicated, but that pleasant simplicity is being spoiled for me, courtesy of TBS' program, Movie Lounge. It is a sort of a Politically Incorrect for movies, in which a hee-larious roundtable composed of actors, comedians and skin doctors bumper commercial breaks with upbeat commentary on whichever movie is being aired. Very meta. Here is a sample of their witty repartee: Moon Zappa: "I was home-schooled!" Fatty McQuippy: "Hey, I was in the Breakfast club in high school. How do ya think I got this figure? (group laughter) Oh! I nailed that one!!" The Wizened Prospector: "What kinda consarn movie is this anyway? I been watchin' it fer nearly 20 dad-burn minutes and I ain't seen hide nor hare of gold yeet!!" Archie the Jack Russel: (puts head down and places paws over eyes -- laughter erupts, causing The Wizened Prospector to spit a mouthful of franks and beans across table) And so on. It's a little disappointing (actually, it's a lot disappointing) that entertainment isn't served straight very often these days. I suppose entertainment industry types believe the only way to extend the shelf life of an entertainment property is by passing it through post-modern filters like Movie Lounge. Does a movie like Day of the Triffids seem outdated and implausible now? Air it on Mystery Science Theater 3000 -- mmmm….smells fresh to me. Can't rent Footloose at your neighborhood Blockbuster or sleep too late to catch it on one of 20 cable stations broadcasting it Sunday afternoons? Why not take the whole family to see it on Broadway? (Advance tickets are only $65 - $85. Cut loose!) I just read that back and felt guilty of negative-nancydom. Listen: The Breakfast Club was a charming film and it still is. For that matter, Day of the Triffids is a charming film and, if there's irony to be found in a viewing today, I hope that can be discovered by the viewer. I don't know if it's necessary to take us to school for lessons in irony and unintentional comedy. If I want a lesson in unintentional comedy, I'll read this.
This entry marks the beginning (and, possibly, end) of an era of proper capitalization on tremble.com. Bring in the Noise, Bring in the Strunk. (In Mexico, I would be drawn and quartered for that pun. Oh! I nailed that one, too!)
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these words © 1999 todd levin. |
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