Fumarama

It is like they took every quirky indie comedy cliche and put it into a bowl and mixed it. (the academic into an obscure author, the precocious kid, the grandparent who behaves inappropriately, the strange mode of transportation, the wierd teenager who is really into something retro). That is how Eric summed up the movie the day after I saw it. (obscure author was Eric's term, I was not sure if Proust is obscure, is he? Isn't he kind of famous?) And it was funny because in the 12 hours since I had seen the movie, I had not thought of that yet. And I mean he is right. It is like the movie was driven more out of its own need to be quirky than by the characters or the needs of the narrative. Usually such things annoy me. But it has been like 2 weeks since i saw the movie and I still think of the movie fondly, so i guess they did cliche quirkiness well.

Also, I was really glad the actors won the SAG (Screen Actors Guild, which is the actors' union) award for best ensemble. I thought the acting in that movie was fantastic. And I love Steve Carell. Although I am with Stephen Colbert, I am very sad he left the news business. He was so great in this movie. His character was touching and funny.

The primary thing that was off for me was the marriage between the parents. They seemed so mismatched. I was confused as to what they had ever seen in eachother.