Shayna reviews a silly movie

I went to a matinee of Without a Paddle on opening day. I've also done this with American Wedding and Darkness Falls, and I went out of my way to see The Italian Job and Austin Powers 3, as well. All of them (with the possible exception of The Italian Job) are mediocre movies, but I can't seem to stop myself. Those former Buffy actors draw me like a fly to honey.

This one was definitely targeted at the Goonies/Stand By Me generation. It's not going to be a classic like either of those, but it had some of the same heart going for it. I appreciated the references to Star Wars and other 70s and 80s movies and music, too. Seth Green's character mimics C3PO a couple of times (hee), and there's a four-wheeler chase through a redwood-like forest that's reminiscent of the speeders on Endor. There's also a bear who swallows a cell phone that seems to always ring at the right time to alert them to the bear's presence, which I'm taking as a nod to Peter Pan and the croc with a ticking clock in its belly.

Overall, the movie was a wobbly attempt to balance broad slapstick (which I expected, and which Cletus and his brother behind me in the theater thought was fabulous) and a genuinely warm buddy story (which I didn't expect). The the dialogue, as written, was half-assed and bland and the antagonists (with the exception of the bear) complete cartoons. But Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, and Dax Shepard had such good chemistry that it all came off okay for me. They seemed to really enjoy the movie and each other.

The opening sequence is a montage of four friends as children, playing at Ghostbusters and Indiana Jones. Twenty years later, one of the boys dies, an event that's treated with realistic gravity, which was my first clue that this wasn't going to be pure Austin Powers. It also launches the remaining three on their adventure, and these Lost Boys have never quite grown up. One is a businessman with a house and a live-in girlfriend, but his heart is still out surfing waves. Another is an M.D., but he's still afraid of the dark, among many other things. (He's fully as neurotic as C3PO.) And the third can't seem to pull together a responsible existence at all. They go on their quest, they face wacky obstacles, they find their Chester Copperpot, they get to open their Ark of the Covenant (a tackle box with the treasures of their youth, the covenant sealed with their blood--or earwax). But of course the real treasure is their lives and their friends. They learn to appreciate their lives, stop being afraid, trust themselves. Aw. I don't know. It's trite, but ultimately it overcame that and the more base humor and worked for me.

Plus, Seth Green got top billing and more screen time than I've ever seen him have. Music by Christophe Beck, and it was filmed in New Zealand. Sweet.

Trojan shirt

Several all-nighters up at the office building (creepy!), a gajillion pots of green tea and considerably more morning coffee than I usually drink, and I turned in the final-final draft of my thesis last week. I gave the oral defense on Thursday and took the final-final-final copy to the dean today for approval. The dean, however, is out, so I'm free for a week. I figure I'll pack up and go home tomorrow.

To celebrate, I thought I'd treat myself to some Ridiculously Overprised University Merchandise. The hoodie I really wanted turned out to be over 50 bucks, and that was more overpriced than I could stand. I went for a navy cap with grey embroidery, and the one I wanted only came bundled with a cheapish grey silkscreened tee-shirt. I was happier about the tee-shirt when I saw that it included the name of the university mascot, the Trojans. (My inner twelve-year-old boy thinks that's quite amusing. We have Trojan Week here and everything.)

Hamster in a secure, undisclosed location

MSNBC - GOP Questions Kerry's Hamster Heroism

Hee.

Dingoes!

Doggies ate my baby!

Cool.

New words

Words added to Webster

Teensploitation, pleather, MP3, IT. I'm really surprised "pleather" wasn't in it before now.