2003-12-22 - 11:01 a.m.
Movie Bundle
So I watched two movies this weekend: Return of the King and Legally Blonde 2. I loved them both in their own ways. I’d like to tell you why.
Return of the King
This movie had its flaws but DAMN was it a great piece of filmmaking. I don’t know I had such a group experience with a movie audience since I saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon where in the first fight scene people held their breaths until the resolution and then promptly and loudly clapped. I went with Lord and Lady Lancaster and Lady Lancaster is hella funny to go to movies with. She is so interactive. Anyway Return of the King. EXCELLENT movie. My only complaints is that there were so many resolutions you got sick of them and that the dwarves never joined the fight. Flaws aside, Return of the Kings if definitely the best GAY ROMANCE ever made. It got to the point where whenever Sam gazed longingly into Frodo’s eyes and pledged his “loyalty,” I yelled “KISS!!!” And noone told me to shut up, ever after the sixth time I yelled it. It seems to me that a lot of the inconsistencies in the previous two Lord of the Rings movies were corrected in this one. For example, King Theoden pretty much screwed over Rohan in the Two Towers, leading them to Helms Deep. But in this movie, he’s a commanding, inspirational and strategic leader. You understand why he’s a king. To me the true Return of the King was the return of Theoden as a commander. The other inconsistency RofTK corrected was the power of the ring on Sam. In the first Two movies, I always wondered why Sam didn’t carry the ring since he never expresses any interest in having the ring. In RofTK, that get shown in a really subtle and well acted scene where Sam’s good intentions makes giving up the ring difficult. The other thing this movie did so movingly was to mature Merry and Pippin and bring the audience in their journey. I loved that the war and the madness around them affected both of them in profound ways. I was so invested in their friendship as they both matured separately. The most poignant and moving thing about the movie for me was Eowyn and Merry stepping up to battle. What I loved about the movie was it’s inherent message about unlikely people who change the world. We were SHOWN that over and over again without ever being told. This was best shown by Merry and Eowyn. Both were marginalized and kept from battle. In order to create change, they had to rely on and support each other. In the end, they were responsible for one of the turning points of the battle. The woman and the Hobbit. I was bawl-bawl-bawling. A truly great movie.
Legally Blonde 2
While not well directed or scripted, I ended up loving Legally Blonde 2 for similar reasons as RofTK. It is about unlikely people making a difference. Surprisingly enough, it’s a pretty damn accurate view of how things work in Washington. What they got RIGHT about the process really made me overlook what they got wrong. You have a find a champion for your cause in the correct committee. You do that by appealing to both their interest in their constituents but also their own personal ties and connections. Elle Woods did all of this. Of course, if she were a Representative’s aide for a particular issue for a particular time, she’d be called a Legislative Fellow. And I was sad that Elle testified in the committee because a staffer would NEVER testify. They’d get their own experts to counter the experts on the opposition’s side. And when she tries the insider track and fails, she builds a movement. She mobilizes, organizes and gets allies. No, really, that’s how it’s done. Not only that, she believes in the system and gets others to as well. She’s a combination of Cher Horowitz and Howard Dean. I was inspired. I woke up this morning ready to go to work and kick some ass.
So now I’m writing my diaryland entry. Yay empowerment.
