I've watched it several times and it's still funny. What's with me?

There's good reasons why Your Moment of Zen is one of my favorite blogs. First, I know that weirdo blogger personally and he's good eye for good stuff as well a fine acting talent. Second, he somehow finds stuff like "Closer to Spock." I don't know why I find it so funny and why it's funny every time I watch it. It probably has to do with nerd deconstruction, which I absolutely love. See for yourself.

Little Miss Sunshine (My second review, semi-requested)

UPDATE: This post won an award. A small one, but still an award. DETAILS.

The Oscar race is heating up, and I have to push for Little Miss Sunshine. Why? Primarily because this could have been an awful movie. The script has very treacle content that could easily turn into emotionally overblown performances. Not that the writing is bad, but there is a high degree of sentimentality, requiring great skill of the directors and actors to avoid melodramatic pitfalls. Fortunately, the ensemble is blessed with gifted actors who can dance between the comedic and dramatic with enviable ease and directors who know how to showcase their actors.

This is the story of a family and the challenges to its unity. Make no mistake, this is a comedy (and an extremely funny one) but serious issues abound: family dissolution, suicide, lost love, bankruptcy, and exploitation. The joy of the movie for me was the continuing escape from the ever present threat of total family ruin. The family faces one crisis after another, yet as an audience, we're given the gift of invested detachment in the action as one thing after another goes wrong for the beautifully hapless family. We're given the ability to live that familiar crisis response trope of "one day we'll look back on this and laugh" from a safe distance. The action moves smoothly and the movie moves fluidly through its plot. The actors invest so much commitment and life to their characters that they're lovable even when life brings out the worst in them. We've known and faced the disappointments that the characters experience, and its refreshing to see their hilarious lack of a smooth, gracious response to life's problems. Family implosion under stress seen through honesty and humor is one of the many strengths of this movie.

The previously-mentioned strengths (sweet but not overly sentimental story, powerful cast, equal parts hilarity and gravity, smart directors) are enough to make this film an oscar-worthy jewel. However, the wonderfully funny satire of the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant is what catapults this movie to an elite place for me. The subtle commentary on perceptions of beauty and its disturbing influences is realized so well that I still hurt from laughing at it on my third viewing. This is a beautiful little movie of the highest quality. I hope it's rewarded as such.

Revising a Draft

It's been a good long time since I first published the "Clarity in Amsterdam" series here, and I've been revising and revamping it for a while now. I wanted to post the updated changes. There will be another part added eventually (part five is no longer the conclusion). So, if you've read it before, take another look and see if you like it better. If you've never read it, give it a first look-see. I'll be posting the conclusion soon.

I always sermonize to my students about the value of revision, so I'm doing my best to practice what I preach.

The series is posted in the sidebar or you can start reading here.