Doctor Plog is 13 minutes away

... from ushering in her thirty-sixth birthday alone, accompanied only by the 1955 film "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes" (it happened to be on, I'm not some crazy Havishamesque figure) and a bottle o' Baileys.

(Pah! I preferred the original. At least Jane Russell got to play smart!)

Movie Trailer

Thanks to my lovely friend Austin for the link. And congratzel tov on the latest addition ... x

Away We Went.

Dr. P's Inaugural, Possibly One-Off, DVD Recommendation:

Away We Go

The music clip above has nothing, I repeat NOTHING, to do with the film (dir: Sam Mendes; script: Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida; starring: Maya Rudolph, John Krasinski, Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gylleanhaal). I really liked the music in it, so Mr P went to find a track that was in it, and it turns out this wasn't in it but I really liked it anyway

Hope you do too ...

Last Night I Watched "27 Dresses" ...

... (the last hour of it, anyway) and realised why suicide is triggering for me.

I'm not sure how, or indeed if , the two are related.

Keeping Up With The Stereotypes

I watched this today, for research purposes only, expecting to hate it. Not only did I find it oddly moving (and cry) but it was also one of the only "Jewish" movies that comes to mind where someone is asked "What do you like about being Jewish?". "Jewish" in this context is not just a punchline, shorthand for signifying "wealthy" or "greedy" or whatever ("Choose Your Own Assumption!") but an actual, lived identity explored as deeply as possible within the limitations of a little comedy, which is very sweet, if not a bit too obviously chasing the Little Miss Sunshine mantle.

And although the stereotypes are there and women are paid scant attention, there is a warmth in large part due to its phenomenal cast: Cheryl Hines, Larry Miller, Jami Gertz (yay! childhood girlcrush! so pretty!), Garry Marshall and Doris Roberts (who both play very convincing Jews), Jeremy Piven. I do like the Pivs onscreen, in spite of the anti-himness on the interwebz -- but who ever knows anything really, right? It's so childish, this hegemonic consensus on who it's cool to like and who it's cool to bag. It sometimes shocks me how much hostility and anger people direct at strangers, especially in the case of one blog I read where a bunch of otherwise savvy, intelligent commentators who seem to GET the role of the media in creating these false contrived personae, weigh in so vehemently on people and relationships we know nothing really about.

So, yeah. For defying expectations:

Keeping Up With The Steins (2006) *** (3 Plogs)

RIP Dom DeLuise

One of my favourite films of all time:



My favourite actors are often those who work in an ensemble: the Christopher Guest/ Harry Shearer/ Catherine O'Hara crew; the early Woody - Diane Keaton - Tony Roberts brigade, but my first and most favoured are those Mel Brooks Mischief Makers: Madeleine Kahn, Harvey Korman, Marty Feldman ... and a big beautiful bear of a man sadly lost to us on May 4th. (And thanks to Spaceballs, May the fourth always be with him ...)

Not only was Dom DeLuise a comic genius in his own right (Silent Movie, History of the World, Part One), but he left a wonderful legacy to the world in the form of his sons Peter (readers of a certain age may remember him as Johnny Depp's partner-in-preventing-crime-while-looking-young in 21 Jump Street) and the lesser known Michael (Jess' stepfather on Gilmore Girls) and David (one of Dick's students in 3rd Rock From The Sun). Unlike Baldwins, there can never be enough DeLuises in the Holly 'hood.

Also touching is the statement released by his family: "It's easy to mourn his death, but easier to remember a time when he made you laugh." That's how I try to recall my main (funny, burly, bearded) man. Hoping that Dom and my dad are sharing a few giggles and guffaws somewhere fabulous.

xxx