Dear Friends,
For the past couple of days, I have been fighting a cold. It sucks that every time you get sick now you have to worry about whether or not you have Covid. The worst of this is thinking about who might have given it to you and who you might have exposed. Luckily, I do not have Covid. I just work with a bunch of snotty children who need you to bend down to their level so you can hear them.
Laying around gave me the opportunity to watch a few of the things I have been saving on the DVR lately. The most interesting of the things I have watched was a movie from 2014 called Frank. It was quite fascinating and if you’ve seen it, you know why. Basically, Frank is a musician (played by Michael Fassbender) who is based on a British comedian’s character, Frankie Sidebottom.
Chris Sievey was the name of the comedian and he died of cancer back in 2010. A friend of his wrote a book about the experience of being in the band with him and they made a movie about it. I had to look up the real story and learned, sadly, that they veered away from the real story of Chris Sievey, but that’s Hollywood, right? The film they made, though, is glorious and weird and tragic and fun.
I couldn’t take my eyes off it, for the most part and really enjoyed the bizarre music they made in the film. Maggie Gyllenhaal is pretty killer in it, too, and Domhnall Gleeson is great, too. I highly recommend it if you are in the mood for something different but prepare yourself. The movie is a strong take on mental illness and pulls very few punches. Prepare thyself for some sads.
I also got caught up on The Walking Dead and The Rookie. I don’t know if I can honestly say that I enjoy The Walking Dead very much anymore, but I’ve come this far so I feel compelled to finish it. Plus, if you tape them, you can fast forward through the many commercials and watch an episode in about half an hour. It seems like they are gearing up for a strong ending and I’m sure some people will be bummed because how can it be a happy ending? If they Hollywood that shit up, I’m going to be pissed. We’re talking about an apocalypse.
The Rookie, which I believe I have mentioned before, is one of the only cop shows I have enjoyed for a long time. I like how this season they are getting away from the superhero formula a bit and letting story lines play out longer. The characters are likeable, and it is a nice brain break. I enjoyed spending a few hours in their world while I laid on the couch and felt cruddy.
I’m not embarrassed to admit I like the spinoff, too. The Rookie: Feds is a fun show as well. I am almost caught up on that one, but I do admit that I occasionally spend more time looking at a game of backgammon on my phone than I do at the screen. I’m guessing it will be a hit for ABC, though, unless the Republicans win and can’t handle a bisexual main character.
In a recent episode, I think they did a really good job of explaining that it’s okay for people to be attracted to who they are attracted to, regardless of gender. I have known a few people who were just as happy being with a male or a female and I think, in a way, that must be harder than being primarily attracted to one gender or the other. I fear for all my peeps who don’t fit into the forward-facing Christo/Trumpo mold of sexuality right now. As allies, we must step up and fight for everyone’s rights.
Hopefully shows like The Rookie: Feds will be allowed to continue to spread the word that love is love, no matter what. I don’t know much about Niecy Nash, who is the star, but I understand that she is a person that chooses to love the person, not the gender, so I salute her for sticking to her guns. She’s pretty fucking funny, too.
I believe the show is on Tuesday nights if you want to give it a try.
I think those are two of the four network TV shows I still watch. In addition to the two Rookie shows, I watch Home Economics which is light and funny and pretty clever, too, and The Neighborhood which falls into the same category. I can watch all the edgy stuff on cable or streaming services. I’ve given up on everything else. I used to like The Goldbergs, but I can’t stomach it anymore. The DVR still records them, but I don’t watch them. I think I like the idea of deleting them.
The other night I couldn’t sleep so I started watching Heathers again. I remember seeing it in the theater at Camelview, I think, when it came out in 1989 and loving the shit out of it. I watch it every so often and it still entertains me, although I’m sure it would highly offend most of the younger people today. Maybe I am being too judgmental about this and underestimate the ability of our youth to look beyond cancel culture and appreciate a dark comedy, but I don’t think I am.
My how the world has changed since the late 80s, though. I went with my friend, Jay, and we both laughed out loud during the entire film at things people would probably stop themselves from laughing at today. It was fun to watch Christian Slater viciously ape Jack Nicholson, too. I hope he had a good time doing the film. It certainly seems like he did from where I sit.
I also love how Winona Ryder is like the anti-Molly Ringwald in the movie, too. She craps all over the John Hughes version of a high school girl, and when you look at it through that lens, it opens a whole new way of seeing the movie. I have to believe that was part of the point. At least I hope it was.
See you tomorrow.
I stole this from Yahoo. There. I said it.
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