Dan loves movies.
We met via his website dedicated to screenwriter Kevin Williamson, in college, he majored in film, worked for Williamson one summer and first three sites he checks online are Gmail, Aintitcoolnews.com and Boxofficereport.com.
I'm a bit of a movie fan too. I minored in cinema studies, can rattle off arcane trivia about assorted films and if prompted, can probably quote 85% of the dialogue from the Back To The Future trilogy (Dan can quote 100% which is why he is my hero).
We are movie geeks and that being the case, Dan and I have established a pick system in our house when it comes to watching movies. The rules are simple:
+ Alternating picks for each respective party.
+ If the movie in question is something both parties wish to view, it is a joint pick and therefore, is not subject to the rules of the pick system.
+ If either party wishes to concede their pick, they do so at their own risk.
Despite the obvious simplicity of the pick system, movie night at our house is never easy. Case in point, last night:
Dan: It's my pick.
Jaime: I know, I know.
Dan: That face. You'll like Rudy. It's a good movie.
Jaime: Yeah but I saw a bit on TV and his buddy dies and I don't want to spend the whole night bummed 'cause some fictional steel mill worker ate it.
Dan: Firstly, he's not fictional and secondly, it's not sad! It's uplifting!
Jaime: Yeah, but....
Dan: You like Sean Astin, you like football, you like Jon Favreau. Trust me, you'll like this movie.
Jaime: Yeah....
Dan: Fine! Fine! Pick a hand - left or right.
Jaime: Left
[Dan fidgets with his hands behind his back in a blatantly obvious move to switch DVDs around]
Dan: Rudy! Ha!
Jaime: You switched them! You're cheating!
Dan: Even if I did, it doesn't matter because it's my pick!
Damn him and his use of logic.
Now, imagine going through this every fifth time you wanted to watch a movie. I don't know how he puts up with it. Oh wait. Yes I do. It's because I never make him watch pablum like 27 Dresses or Made of Honor.
Anyway, last night we ended up watching Rudy. And just like with Jaws and The Prestige and about twenty other movies Dan has recommended and I've fought him on, he was right -- Rudy is a pretty good movie. Actually, it's a classic feel-good movie and what feels even better is that it's based on a true story and that men like Daniel 'Rudy' Ruettiger really do exist.
Not to get all Sean Hannity here (sidebar: I am officially old. I know this because I listen to Hannity on my drive home and spend a good half-hour yelling at the radio. I'm at a loss when it comes to guys like Hannity and Limbaugh, but the words, 'steaming sacks of shit' do come to mind), but I was struck at just how American Rudy is.
On the surface, Rudy is a movie about football -- a sport that very few besides Americans actually care about. The rest of the world may kick around a soccer ball, but that means nothing to the millions of Americans who spend their Sunday screaming at the running back to make it into the end zone. On a much deeper level though, Rudy is about the promise of America. the fulfillment of the American Dream and that inexorable Algerian ideal that if you work hard, if you sweat and bleed and really want something, it'll be yours.
Where else in the world would a story like Rudy's even be possible? Ever since he was a kid, Rudy was told he couldn't -- couldn't play football, couldn't go to Notre Dame. He believed these people. Listened to them and then, one day -- he decided he didn't want to do that anymore. Where else in the world could a man like Rudy live his dream? Only in America.
I straddle the line between naif and cynic and much like Fox Mulder, I want to believe.
I want to believe in the promise of America and a part of me does but I'm smart enough to know that for every Rudy, there's an executive with a golden parachute who made out like a bandit while his company (and lower-level employees) withered and died.
I want to believe that dogged determination and hard work lead to success, but I think I've seen one too many fourteen-year-old girls prancing around with designer handbags that cost more than my rent.
You get older and the world tries to beat you down and cynicism pervades all too easily. I guess that's one of the reasons I'm so thoroughly enamored with movies. They serve as reminders that hope is never lost. Rudy always runs out of the tunnel clad in gold and blue, George McFly always punches Biff and kisses Lorraine at the Enchantment Under The Sea dance, Andy Dufresne always ends up a free man in Mexico and if they can, you can too. When you've got nothing else, you've always got hope.
We met via his website dedicated to screenwriter Kevin Williamson, in college, he majored in film, worked for Williamson one summer and first three sites he checks online are Gmail, Aintitcoolnews.com and Boxofficereport.com.
I'm a bit of a movie fan too. I minored in cinema studies, can rattle off arcane trivia about assorted films and if prompted, can probably quote 85% of the dialogue from the Back To The Future trilogy (Dan can quote 100% which is why he is my hero).
We are movie geeks and that being the case, Dan and I have established a pick system in our house when it comes to watching movies. The rules are simple:
+ Alternating picks for each respective party.
+ If the movie in question is something both parties wish to view, it is a joint pick and therefore, is not subject to the rules of the pick system.
+ If either party wishes to concede their pick, they do so at their own risk.
+ Each party is allowed one permanent veto. Mine is Gremlins; Dan's is Dirty Dancing.
Despite the obvious simplicity of the pick system, movie night at our house is never easy. Case in point, last night:
Dan: It's my pick.
Jaime: I know, I know.
Dan: I'm thinking Rudy. It's a good fall football mo...Why are you making that face?
Jaime: What face?Dan: That face. You'll like Rudy. It's a good movie.
Jaime: Yeah but I saw a bit on TV and his buddy dies and I don't want to spend the whole night bummed 'cause some fictional steel mill worker ate it.
Dan: Firstly, he's not fictional and secondly, it's not sad! It's uplifting!
Jaime: Yeah, but....
Dan: You like Sean Astin, you like football, you like Jon Favreau. Trust me, you'll like this movie.
Jaime: Yeah....
Dan: Fine! Fine! Pick a hand - left or right.
Jaime: Left
[Dan fidgets with his hands behind his back in a blatantly obvious move to switch DVDs around]
Dan: Rudy! Ha!
Jaime: You switched them! You're cheating!
Dan: Even if I did, it doesn't matter because it's my pick!
Damn him and his use of logic.
Now, imagine going through this every fifth time you wanted to watch a movie. I don't know how he puts up with it. Oh wait. Yes I do. It's because I never make him watch pablum like 27 Dresses or Made of Honor.
Anyway, last night we ended up watching Rudy. And just like with Jaws and The Prestige and about twenty other movies Dan has recommended and I've fought him on, he was right -- Rudy is a pretty good movie. Actually, it's a classic feel-good movie and what feels even better is that it's based on a true story and that men like Daniel 'Rudy' Ruettiger really do exist.
Not to get all Sean Hannity here (sidebar: I am officially old. I know this because I listen to Hannity on my drive home and spend a good half-hour yelling at the radio. I'm at a loss when it comes to guys like Hannity and Limbaugh, but the words, 'steaming sacks of shit' do come to mind), but I was struck at just how American Rudy is.
On the surface, Rudy is a movie about football -- a sport that very few besides Americans actually care about. The rest of the world may kick around a soccer ball, but that means nothing to the millions of Americans who spend their Sunday screaming at the running back to make it into the end zone. On a much deeper level though, Rudy is about the promise of America. the fulfillment of the American Dream and that inexorable Algerian ideal that if you work hard, if you sweat and bleed and really want something, it'll be yours.
Where else in the world would a story like Rudy's even be possible? Ever since he was a kid, Rudy was told he couldn't -- couldn't play football, couldn't go to Notre Dame. He believed these people. Listened to them and then, one day -- he decided he didn't want to do that anymore. Where else in the world could a man like Rudy live his dream? Only in America.
I straddle the line between naif and cynic and much like Fox Mulder, I want to believe.
I want to believe in the promise of America and a part of me does but I'm smart enough to know that for every Rudy, there's an executive with a golden parachute who made out like a bandit while his company (and lower-level employees) withered and died.
I want to believe that dogged determination and hard work lead to success, but I think I've seen one too many fourteen-year-old girls prancing around with designer handbags that cost more than my rent.
You get older and the world tries to beat you down and cynicism pervades all too easily. I guess that's one of the reasons I'm so thoroughly enamored with movies. They serve as reminders that hope is never lost. Rudy always runs out of the tunnel clad in gold and blue, George McFly always punches Biff and kisses Lorraine at the Enchantment Under The Sea dance, Andy Dufresne always ends up a free man in Mexico and if they can, you can too. When you've got nothing else, you've always got hope.
3 comments on "Pretty as a picture, stubborn as a mule"
Besides the other 4.5 million feel good football movies (based on true stories of course!) out there, Rudy is definitely one of my faves. I can't believe you had never seen it because through my adolescent public school career they played it at least 4 times. Anyways, I agree that its a great story about achieving the American Dream against all odds, and honestly that's not the case for many Americans, but young people need that hope. Like you said, cynicism pervades but it isn't our right to impose our cynicism onto the next generation as some tend to do. Wow, that was a long comment. Good post!
I made my bf watch 27 Dresses AND Made of Honor...
man, I'm evil...
Ahhh I still love to read your posts. Your blog is the only one I actually still visit, lol. I miss you on the boards!
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