Wiendish Fitch

I finished Homecoming, the latest by Kate Morton, last night and, I gotta say, I was not impressed. Without getting too deep into spoilers, I figured out a major twist very, very, very early on (considering what a dumb-dumb I am about twists, that is not good). The conclusion, both where the past mystery and the present mother/daughter relationship are concerned, felt incredibly unsatisfying to me. I like Morton's stuff, but this is far from her best work. I don't recommend.

Yeeeeeesssshhhh. It's like a perverted parody of Ariel's wedding dress!

Completely agree. I try to keep an open mind, but there are some things I don't want a critical reevaluation of, and that loathsome sack dress is one of them!

The Wiz (1978) How dare they-how DARE they- take a stunningly beautiful, fabulous legend like Lena Horne, and dress her up like a mutant Christmas tree angel?

Caution: Unmarked spoilers ahead. Classic Hollywood UO : I adore Barbara Stanwyck to bits, but I hate Stella Dallas. I can handle some melodrama, I can live with old-fashioned plot contrivances, I can even shrug off questionable character choices, but I find the penultimate climax of Stella Dallas is just too egregiously absurd and frustrating. Stella doesn't come off as noble and self-sacrificing by pretending to reject her daughter, she comes off as stupid and selfish. And, even taking old-school class divides into consideration, just how necessary was this? While we're on the subject, I love that fabulous legend Bette Davis, but I never liked Dark Victory, even though it's considered one of her definitive roles. Again, the melodrama is laid on way too thick, and our protagonist comes off more like a solipsistic martyr than a noble heroine (to me, anyway). It's also just too damned long. I felt like Elaine from Seinfeld watching The English Patient: "Just DIE already!"

Word to all of that. And why do we all but canonize the protagonist who "lied to save their love"? Take Stella Dallas: she pretends to reject her daughter Laurel, so that Laurel can marry her rich boyfriend, and live a better life. The movie frames Stella as this secular saint who put her daughter first and sacrificed her own happiness, blah blah blah. Um, no?! Laurel may have married her rich boyfriend, but she's going to spend the rest of her life thinking her mom doesn't love her anymore! Her kids will never know their grandmother! Maybe she'll get over this, but maybe not! And, honestly, just how necessary was all this? I find self-martyrdom to be little more than a unique form of narcissism. You're just making yourself out to be the walking wounded so that you don't have to reckon with how your actions truly affect others.

Ooooh, this one makes me spit nails. It's not always a terminal illness, sometimes our protagonist is injured, or think they know what's best for their loved one, or whatever. Way, way, way too many films from the Golden Age of Hollywood are guilty of this: Camille (which I otherwise like), An Affair to Remember, Tomorrow is Forever, Stella Dallas, Dark Victory, and that's just to name a few. I get it, we want that sweet, sweet drama and tension, I'm all for it, but must this particular drama be so... infuriating?! Level with your loved ones! Give them a chance! Maybe they're stronger than you give them credit for! Maybe you don't know everything!

Oooh, I could absolutely see Judy Garland as Auntie Mame! I'm now sad that never happened. She could do warm and wacky equally well. I agree that The Harvey Girls is underrated. "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe" is so damned epic and catchy! I love Virginia O'Brien in this, and Garland is reunited with Ray Bolger! Too bad John Hodiak is an utter charisma vacuum. It's funny how Angela Lansbury actually started in bad girl roles, but then aged into lovable old lady parts.

I hate how The Notebook misrepresents Alzheimer's just as I hate A Beautiful Mind for misrepresenting... well, everything about John Nash (seriously, why'd they even bother?!). I'm sure the songs Ingrid Michaelson (whom I love) wrote for The Notebook musical are nice (I've heard "If This is Love" and it's pretty good), but I will not be checking the show itself out.

Bolded mine, and to answer your question, heck yes, it is! I love The Remains of the Day, but you are 100% entitled to your opinion. If I disagree, I can either state a rebuttal in a civilized fashion, or say nothing. Lord knows I have a veritable mental warehouse of opinions, so I ain't gonna stop anyone from stating theirs.

I get peeved at myself when I forget to be grateful. I get so frustrated with my professional life, I can sometimes overlook how blessed I really am. I always have to remind myself: My job is a living, not my life.

I recently watched Eddie Murphy: Raw on blu ray, all the better to enjoy his iconic leather outfit in high definition! I think Murphy, in his 1980s prime, is still the only person who can wear something like this and not look utterly absurd. It takes a staggering level of confidence and je ne sais quoi to decide to wear neck to toe purple leather, and a long scarf (he loses it early on in the concert), and gloves (so 80s! I love 'em)!), and still have people remember your comedy routines decades later, not just your ensemble. You wear something like this not because you think you can pull it off, but because you know you can pull it off. And, if I may be so shallow, Murphy cuts a nice silhouette.

How much are you willing to bet that John Schneider thinks the song "Harper Valley PTA" is "woke nonsense" and sides with the titular PTA?

Re: John Schneider You know what? I can't top this. Well said, Salacious Kitty.

I'm now wondering if I should take online classes to earn my bachelor's degree. On one hand, I sort of don't want to, because I'm concerned about the expense. On the other hand, I fear that having my bachelor's is the only way to look like a more attractive hire for full time.

Same. I think the biggest reason some people (myself included) struggle with saying "no" is that people never take their "no" for answer, or question it. If you're taught early on that your "no" doesn't matter, well... My advice? Forget everything you've been told, ALWAYS take "no" for an answer*. *Rare exceptions notwithstanding.

Maybe I'm just heartless and humorless, but I hate Big Fish. I am really fed up with the "lovable liar/con artist/tall tale weaver" character type (with the exception of The Music Man). Without getting specific, I don't like the notion that tall tales are more important than the truth if they make people feel good, bring them together, blah, blah, blah... NO! The truth is definitely important! People need the truth! I don't care about the feels or togetherness or any of that crap, because the truth is what matters! I can pick up a novel or watch a movie if I want fiction, but if someone is interacting with me, person to person, you better give me the truth! But even if I'm wrong and reading too much into this, I honestly find people like Edward Bloom insufferable. You know the ones: the type of person who all but withers when the spotlight isn't on them, the one who never shuts up, and who goes out of their way to be the most memorable person you've ever met*, when in reality they just want everyone around them to feel boring and invisible. No wonder Will pulled away from him, I would have, too. Plus, I thought the love story between Edward and Sandra was awful (yes, it's a tall tale, but it doesn't negate my point). Edward is a pushy stalker, and Sandra is a dullard. *paraphrasing Roger Ebert

I have never read The Catcher in the Rye, and I've never regretted it. I have read Love Story. I thought it was nauseatingly bad. Never read Jonathan Livingston Seagull, because I know I'll never be able to take it seriously (it makes me think of Mr. Dickey from Beavis and Butthead).

Right?! I find him more punchable than anything else.

Hey, anyone who gets my obscure 1940s film references is all right by me!

I agree. A million years ago, back on TWoP, someone had this to say about mean comedy: does the target have it coming? If the answer is yes, then I'll gladly laugh at their misery. If not, then it feels like Genovese syndrome, and I feel complicit somehow, even if it's only fictional. I can also expand on this point: does the bullied victim get their own back? Get revenge, triumph in some way, anything? Does someone stand up for them? Do the bullies get any kind of comeuppance? Showing my age, but I remember a brilliant episode of Tiny Toon Adventures where Babs subjects Shirley's bullying ballet classmates to a hilariously humiliating routine of slapstick violence during a recital. The mean girls suffer brutal indignities, but Shirley comes out on top, earning enthusiastic applause. Or, taking the more complex, adult route, is the victim actually sympathetic? Take Greg from Succession. I agree it's appalling and wrong how Tom abuses him... but it's only because Tom is taking his gross, petty insecurities out on a weaker man. That is horrid behavior, and I don't condone it one bit. On the other hand, Greg is assuredly not sympathetic; he's a grasping, weaselly little social climber. He doesn't get pushed around because he lacks confidence, he gets pushed around because he lacks character. That's a crucial difference, and it creates layers in the interactions between him and Tom. In fact, that's true with the majority of the characters, which is what I admired about the show. Yes, I made references to both Tiny Toons and Succession. That's just the kind of hairpin I am.

Bit of a tangent, but I hate the idea of "favorite son/daughters" in small towns* (is this a thing IRL? Because if so, that's awful). This is based less on "I think everyone is special" than "I think everyone matters". Rory Gilmore could not possibly have been the only good student with a promising future (*snort*) in Stars Hollow, and it's frankly unsettling that everyone cared so damn much about what she did or didn't do. Let me also remind everyone that, at this point, Rory is basically just some kid. There are real life small towns that advertise being the birth place of a notable figure... but those figures are notable. Rory is nobody, but they're treating her like the Second Coming despite her not even being alive that long, over-inflating her ego as a result. Even a science dumb-dumb like me knows what happens when you over-inflate a balloon; it inevitably pops, leaving behind a sad, wilted piece of nothing. Putting random kids on sky-high pedestals like that is not only setting them up for failure, but is unfair to other kids, whose hard work and talents matter, too. *And don't even get me started on the movie The Majestic.

That's what I'll start doing.

This is embarrassing, but I'm getting increasingly annoyed by this trend of communication (especially beloved by people who outrank me at work): Person: "Wiendish!" Me: "Yes?" Person: "Hi." Yeah, they never have anything to ask or tell me, and there's always that obnoxious, accompanying smirk, like "I just made you think I had something to tell you, but I didn't, and I successfully wasted your time, you stupid peon". It just strikes me as such a petty power move, and I hate how dumb it makes me look. I just need to be on my guard, I guess.

What a legend and talent Hinton Battle was. His Broadway resume was something else. My introduction to the great Mr. Battle was as Sweet in the Buffy the Vampire musical episode "Once More, With Feeling". True, I became disenchanted with Buffy ages ago, but who could ever be disenchanted with these moves??