Monday, April 22, 2013

Who Needs a Happy Ending? ***

Some weeks it feels like the world is a scary place filled with potential dangers everywhere you go. Turning on the news is deeply disturbing and I have to constantly remind myself that I believe in the goodness in humanity, oh and look at adorable animals doing adorable things (like this sloth grooming a kitty or an entire pinterest board of panda butts).
I find it cathartic to watch  movies that if done another way would be the saddest movies ever but somehow manage to make you laugh hysterically. These movies are not for everyone and definitely not for just any mood.


As soon as I saw the early press for this movie I knew I had to see it. Anything Diablo Cody does (Juno, Candy Girl), I am going to watch or read. This came out in 2011 but it’s streaming on Netflix now if you haven’t already seen it or just want to revisit it. Charlize Theron stars as a single, young adult series writer who is miserable and lonely in her big city life in Minneapolis. When she receives a photo of her small town first love’s new baby, she sees it as a sign that she should go back to her hometown and win him back. The movie is both incredibly tragic, hilarious and strangely relatable (if you grew up in a small town and ran away to conquer a big city, it’s also pretty impossible not to see yourself in her character a bit).


It’s rare to walk out of a movie wondering if it was the worst movie ever or the best movie ever but that was how I felt about Spring Breakers. Filmmaker Harmony Korine (Kids) definitely has an extremely dark sensibility. There were points where I wasn’t sure if I was watching a movie or an hour plus music video/girls gone wild/state of our youth documentary.  The Skillex soundtrack and neon color palette definitely sets the tone well for the wildness of the movie. There were many funny moments and James Franco plays possibly one of my favorite characters in an film, Alien, a white rapper/thug/drug dealer with a full grill and lots of stuff. Like Young Adult, this movie doesn’t redeem itself in the end it just leaves you feeling vaguely uncomfortable and unsure how to feel about this movie.

Best explanation of how I felt about this movie in a review



Don’t let the name of this movie fool you into thinking you are going to see Bridesmaids, where good person hits bottom at the center of the movie. Bachelorette features three incredibly awful girls who peaked in high school and are incredibly bitter to find their fat friend being the first to be married. After they accidentally tear her dress while mocking her, they have a series of adventures trying to get it fixed before the wedding, running into the men from their past along the way. The movie had a lot of laughs and was an all too real portrayal of the dark side of female friendship and the insecurities of young women.


***Just to be clear, I still love happy endings!

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