3/24/2017: On+Off Topic: HOLIDAY for me

Today, March 24th, 2017 is sort of a significant day in terms of a number of things happening.

#1 it is both the 6-month Wedding and 6-year (unofficially) Anniversaries for me and my wife. The 6th month was the wedding 9/24/16. Something her and I labored over for literally 18 months or more. And the truth is, there's still a few things to take care of (Thank You notes, gift storage, Photo prints, etc). The 6-Year anniversary is unlikely the date 3/24/11, that we went on our 1st date. It's close, and we hung out outside of KFAI at least twice (1 being at Cheapo+Davanni's in Uptown on a Saturday or Sunday, the other being 1 week night at Memory Lanes and then KFAI to practice for her Board Cerification). But months later and in 2012, we stuck with 3/24/11, even though I think the official 1st date was on a Saturday or possibly Sunday (I'm pretty sure a Saturday) in March of 2011 which looking at the Calendar, was likely the 26th. It may have been the 19th. But we went to a movie at the late Block E theater in downtown. The movie: Take Me Home Tonight (Topher Grace). Then we had dinner at The late Cafeteria in Uptown.  Sad how both venues are *late* aka gone/done, etc.

#2 The 22 album You Are Creating: Limb 1 is released along with the Tuxedo II. Tuxedo I can check out, but 22? I preordered the Vinyl, and would hope it would include a download link, but no dice as of right now. Why I have next to no faith in Preorders, even though I pass them along. I do them namely if the artist is small/underground, etc and genuinely needs my help ($). But the idea to expect an early or even on-the-release-date download link if you preorder a physical copy (Vinyl or CD), is really not something I expect. But it still sucks. It has been almost 7 year since the 22 debut album, having to wait a few more hours/days won't kill me. But it still seems unfair and silly on principal. If I ever did it, I would make sure to send the preorders a link, a few days before the release.

#3 The premiere of Wilson, the Daniel Clowes movie based on the Graphic Novel and his adapted screenplay. I'm not sure when I will get to see it. Maybe this weekend, maybe next week. It likely will be soon. It was of course filmed in the Twin Cities including down the street in St.Paul from my wife's place. And I met Woody Harrelson and a couple of other cast from it back in 2015. And last year I met Clowes himself, although he was in town doing a q and a and signing for his new book, not so much for Wilson. But it was very cool to finally meet him.

Where are the reviews? no idea. Chris Stuckmann, What the Flick? Collider Videos, Richard Roeper, Michael Phillips?..can't find them at this point.

It is only showing at Lagoon and Willow Creek in the Northwest Metro suburbs right now. Quite sad. Let's hope it receives more distribution soon; per the known reviews I've seen including at Sundance, have been very positive.

Take Me Home Tonight (2011)

I went to see this Romantic Comedy yesterday afternoon (with fittingly, someone special), not really expecting it to be all that much more than a typical Hollywood RomCom.

Well, it was a little better than many of those.

For one, it did live up to its name, with 80's music. There were a ton of memorable, nostalgic songs included in it. In fact, almost to the point, the movie seemed like one long music video. Which I might be more critical of, but credit the director, editor, for synchronizing them well.

I guess, just take a look at the soundtrack. imdb link

INXS, Wang-Chung, The Buggles, NWA, and there's many in there that are songs I don't think of by name, but when I hear them, I totally remember hearing them on the radio on Casey Casem's top 40, or on Friday Night Videos.

So, right away, that ended up being a positive about this movie.

Another thing was the cast, namely Dan Fogler. He was definitely the funniest/most entertaining part of this movie. I know him best from his role in 2009's Fanboys. Although in this, he doesn't have a beard. But the guy reminds me at times, of people like Jack Black, Tyler Labine, or maybe a friend of mine described him best by saying he's this generations Sam Kinison.

The guy has great comedic timing, at times. And in a handful of scenes, he more or less made them work. The one on the dance floor, despite the joke of kicking his opponent in the balls a few times. The scene with Angie Everhart and her *other* partner "who likes to watch" lol. The jokes with the cocaine. Even just when he steals the car from his former employer.

Topher Grace, while I guess he can be a bit of a heal in real life, did a reasonable job in this, playing the guy you want to root for even though he doesn't seem to know how to root for himself. Many people can relate to his circumstances, myself included in some ways. Facing your old high school peers, years later. The lying part, I guess was understandable, given he would not have been taken seriously had he told everyone he was working at Suncoast Video.

His sister, Anna Faris, honestly, I kept thinking was Drew Barrymore until about the end of the movie. Why she was with the preppie guy she was, who knows. Maybe due to late 80's Southern California suburban stereotypes.

The same goes a bit for Teresa Palmer's character Tori Frederking. But the hot girl you have a crush on, seeing years later and getting your chance to say the things you never got to say. Definitely relate-able to a point.

It was nice to even see Michael Ian Black in a cameo, although the character he played, was not as typical with the sarcastic wit. He approaches Topher Grace's character at a party and asks him about working for Goldman-Sax. In a way, it was nice to see him do something a little different and straight-forward. But the Michael Ian Black fan in me still desired for him to go into comedic MIB-mode.

But this movie was not entirely without flaw. For one, being set in the late 80's, there would not have been Car Alarms. At least I don't recall car alarms becoming in vogue at least until the mid 90's. I know, given I went to private school with a lot of well-off families with children whose car would have those installed if available, and they weren't.

Even Suncoast Video, my recollection of that franchise showing up in malls, was not until Sam Goody was as well. 1988? I don't know if that was vaguely when those showed up in Minnesota. I worked at a Sam Goody 1 summer in 1993. Sam Goody and Suncoast were owned by the same company. Again, perhaps in Southern California, their history dates further back.

And this being X number of years after Topher Grace was done with not only High School, but college. His age makes sense, as he's probably around my age now (34). But being set in 1988, that would mean he went to high school in the late 70's or early 80's. I didn't notice much if any references to things of the 70's. But being "an 80's movie" maybe they didn't mean to.

The director, Michael Dowse, I don't recognize any of his work on imdb. The 2 screenwriters are related I'd presume. Jeff and Jackie Filgo. Their work includes the terrible Julia Luise-Dreyfuss Old Christine show, along with the Topher Grace-included sitcom That 70's Show. But this movie at times felt like a Judd Apatow picture. The line Teresa Palmer has "girls can always tell when guys look at their boobs" or the *penis* yelling game.

I suspect Apatow's influence is almost everywhere in Hollywood RomCom's now. Which overall, isn't a bad thing.

What is a bad, or at least surprising thing is, this movie opened like 2 or 3 weeks ago I thought. Yet, it was only showing at 1 theater in the Twin Cities this weekend, being Block E in downtown Minneapolis. Why is that? It got a lot of advertising as I probably saw the trailer for it about a dozen times on tv over the last month. So maybe it did horribly it's 1st weekend and the big multiplexes pulled it?

I guess I'm a little surprised by that. Or maybe its distribution got delayed, and it'll be in most of the large cinemas in April. It's unclear still, but whatever. Perhaps it'll do better on the Itunes/Netflix sales than it did initially at the box office. The 80's music fans certainly will be rooting for it.

73/100