Entry Archive: September 17, 2005
Heaven
Tonight I went to a showing of Just Like Heaven with some friends from work. I was the only guy in the theater. For a chick-flick, it was a pleasant surprise. Mainly due to stars Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo, who waltz their way through this romantic comedy almost effortlessly.
The story revolves around Ruffalo's character "David" who moves into an apartment only to discover that it is already occupied by Reese's character "Elizabeth." Problem is... she's a ghost... or is she?
The first half of the film is a bit cliched, but entertaining. The last half a bit sappy, but also entertaining. So overall not such a bad flick, and the dialogue is fairly snappy which is always a plus. Even if you can see the ending coming from miles away, there's always Reese to look at, so some fumbling in the plot is excusable.
The title of the film, Just Like Heaven is from a song by The Cure. I was a bit upset when they opened the movie with some other singer interpreting the song in a very different way, but the Robert Smith original played over the closing credits, so I guess it's all good. What's not so good is that they have the song Brass in Pocket in the film which is not sung by Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders... instead they got somebody else to sing it just like Hynde which leaves me asking "what's the point?" Why not just use the original if you want it to sound the same? Probably a money thing, but whatever.
If they're looking for another song by The Cure to base a movie on... I suggest Fascination Street. That would be a sick bit of deliciously naughty cinema!
Comments
Put me down for a movie based on Kyoto Song. Paging David Cronenberg...
Fascination Street is one of those songs where, if I hear it, no matter where I am, I just become awash with 80's angst and Must. Dance. Now. Seriously, once I just started 80's dancing right there in the middle of an HMV in London...all arms a swishing and angst a-go-go.
No one even looked at me. It was COOL. OH! Good meme: Songs you Must.Dance.To.....
PS Reese Withersppon kinda bugs me. She's too calculating, or something, and I can never get into her performances because i always feel like she's all "Look at me! I'm a clever actress! See that? That was my "naughty clever girl smile". I so RULE!".
Now that I think about it... MOST songs from The Cure would make excellent movies, a Kyoto Song horror flick included.
I am a complete spaz when dancing, so I guarantee people would notice me. Then somebody would capture it in video on their camera phone, upload it to the internet, and I'd be more famous than "Star Wars Kid."
I don't get that from Reese... but I do notice that at some angles her face is all jacked up, and that sometimes draws me out of her performances. She's a beautiful woman, but every once in a while, the expression on her face, the angle it's shot, and the way her hair frames it is scary.
I saw that yesterday, and i turned to my sister and said "the music isn't very subtle, is it?" songs about heaven and being under someone's spell and magic...and a beck song, how hip. the Brass in Heaven song was sung by Kelis, according to the soundtrack listing at amazon.
I like Reese way better than Renee Z. and some other actresses, that's for sure.
I agree, I would pay double the ticket price for a Fascination Street movie!
For the record, the theater I went to this weekend was full of men, and I even saw two guys there together with no women, and neither appeared gay. Of course, this is L.A., they could have worked on the film and missed the cast & crew. :)
And you didn't mention that Jon Heder from Napoleon Dynamite! I really enjoyed him.
All and all, I thought it was pretty solid. SO SO SO much better than the drivel usually served to romantic comedy fans.
I didn't think the song choices were as overt as the first Charlie's Angels film where every song had "angel" in it... but yeah, it kind of was.
I keep wondering what a Fascination Street film would have as a plot! I look over the lyrics and there are so many naughty possibilities.
I thought Heder was kind of a one-note character... Napoleon Dynamite without the 'fro or something? I wonder if he is even capable of doing a different character type? Still... for what he was... he handled it well.
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