Art imitating Life imitating Art...wait what?

There are a small group of people in the film industry you can safely namedrop around film students without being judged (Gus van Sant, P.T. Anderson, Kubrick, Godard...to name a few), and then there is an even smaller number of people where the mere mention of their name triggers exclamations of adulation and in depth discussions about the quality of their films. Charlie Kaufman is one such person. As the bff so eloquently put it..."film students masturbate to Charlie Kaufman." Well film students...get ready to rub one out with the release of Kaufman's newest film (and directorial debut) - Synecdoche, New York.

Set for limited release (NY, LA) on Oct. 24th, I got a sneak peek of the film at the cast and crew screening Tuesday night. No, I was not cast or crew, but the bff was and invited me to be his plus one. And although I had a lab report due the next morning that I hadn't even started, I decided I could not pass up the chance to meet the wet dream of so many film students. (And by "meet," I mean awkwardly sidle up next to and stare. Yes, that is what happened.)

Needless to say, Synecdoche, New York is Kaufman to the tee. Maybe a little too much. Quirky. Funny. Deep. Convoluted. Beautiful. Essentially, this film is Kaufman's stream of consciousness and as writer and director, there was just no one there to edit his mind. And you know the mind behind films such as Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, while brilliant, is probably not the most coherent and easiest to follow (you know the saying about how there's a thin line between insanity and genius? yea...) Of course this makes it nearly impossible to adequately summarize this film in a couple sentences, but I'll do my best.

Philip Seymour Hoffman plays theater director Caden Cotard (apparently the name comes from Cotard syndrome which is having delusions of already being dead) who is struggling with his health, all the women in his life and his desire to create the ultimate play- a life-size replica of New York City and the people who reside there, including himself. I guess you can say it's the ultimate example of art imitating life (see title of post) except much more complex.

It is impossible to take this film literally and to try would mean missing the beauty of it. The plot skips rapidly through Cotard's earlier years but slows down dramatically in the end as he nears death - an event he spends most of his life fearing. It is packed with ideas and metaphors (some seeming obvious, others much more subtle and up for interpretation). Unfortunately, the pacing makes the film difficult to follow at times (wait...his daughter is how old now? his wife is where now? he's married to who now? he's working on what now?), but eventually you realize it's not the actual events that are important but how the characters interact and cope with each situation. Or more importantly, how you, as a viewer, react to every setback, achievement, loss or failure. It's forcing you to face your own mortality. The inevitability of death. The unrelenting desire to leave your mark on the world before you are no longer a part of it. The futile quest to understand the meaning of your life. Finally discovering how to do it all and realizing it might be too late. Or is it?

Supposedly, Kaufman wanted to make a movie with all his favorite actors so just kept writing in roles, assembling an amazing cast. It probably helps that actors see a Kaufman script and their eyes glaze over with little dancing Oscars. Philip Seymour Hoffman. Catherine Keener. Samantha Morton. Michelle Williams. Emily Watson. Dianne Wiest. Hope Davis. Jennifer Jason Leigh. All provide stellar performances and to go into each one would probably be incredibly boring, even for the nonexistent reader. But in my eyes, Phil Hoffman can do no wrong, I would swing the other way for Catherine Keener, and I don't know where Samantha Morton has been hiding all this time, but I'm definitely welcoming her back with open arms.

Ultimately, I have to believe that what Kaufman intends from his viewers is a visceral, emotional response rather than a logical analysis of the plot events. Everything being up for interpretation. Although filled with moments of dark humor, I cannot in good sense call this film light by any means. Be prepared for something intense (I've been told I use this word wrong but I swear it's appropriate in this case) and thought-provoking. Love it or hate it, it's the kind of film film students love to discuss to no end. But not being a film student, I'm just going to call it quits right....now.

"Fistful of Assholes."

So I'm sitting here in class eating Halloween shaped gummies for dinner and counting down the minutes til I can go home and stuff my face with some real food, and I figure the best way to make this class go by faster is to not pay attention in it. That's where the blogging comes in.

Mostly because the bff is one of those hipster types who takes a certain pride in listening to music that no one else has actually heard of, I find myself knowing more about the indie music scene than I ever thought possible. Unfortunately, not nearly enough to appreciate Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Simply put: the music is good, the movie is not.

For anyone who hasn't seen the trailer (which means you probably don't watch tv given that it runs every 30 seconds), Michael Cera and Kat Dennings play titular characters Nick and Norah in a quest to locate the band Where's Fluffy's latest show as well as Norah's lost drunk friend Caroline (Ari Graynor) in Manhattan. Nick is the only straight member of a band, The Jerkoffs, and is pining for his ex-gf who recently broke up with him. Norah has an on-and-off again ex-bf and a famous daddy (but the details are kept real hush-hush til the end for some reason). They're musical soulmates of course and what follows goes something like...boy gets girl. boy loses girl. boy gets girl back. yay. (and by yay I mean yawn.)

There's a strange pride that comes with seeing your hometown in a film. Of course when your current hometown happens to be downtown Manhattan, this tends to happen a quite a bit. But there is still something satisfying about seeing so many of the hangouts I frequent being used in the film (it's like my life...if I actually had one). Unfortunately, nothing else about this film really satisfied me at all.

First off, I'm pretty sure a snail race could've moved faster than this movie. Long awkward conversations (I think it was flirting but who knows) in Nick's car made me physically uncomfortable and the semi-climactic scene when Nick and Norah finally get together almost put me to sleep (though I was jolted awake by an unexpected onscreen activity...let's just say it involves fingers). It might just be me, but cutesy romantic comedies bore me - especially when the leads are somewhat pathetic. I know we're supposed to be rooting for male and female leads in romantic comedies to get together but it's so inevitable that I generally just save myself the trouble.

The actors were business as usual which wasn't always a bad thing but not anything worth talking about. Kat Dennings as the rebellious teen? Check. Michael Cera as George Michael? Check. I assume Dennings will outgrow this role eventually...people do get older right? And it's her character that utters the classy quote that is the title to this post. (Don't ask me the relevance...I don't know. I just like it.) Apparently many believe she's got big things ahead of her. I'd have to agree. Two big things. Right in front of her (see photo). Seriously kids, when did they get so big??!! Ok moving on. Cera really plays no other character but George Michael no matter what movie he's in. (No complaints here...I want GM to be my bffl as well.) His bumbling awkwardness and gentle sarcasm DID provide some of the film's more amusing moments. Hm...I suppose the one exception would have to be Ari Graynor. Her portrayal of the drunk mess was so spot-on, she must have been drinking on set. Though how she manages to remain that messed up for the entire night without refueling is a mystery I've been trying to solve for the past few years.

Overall, I was over it before it was over. I guess if you're looking for a makeout movie (you know the kind that gives you the warm fuzzies but doesn't require much attention to get the gist of what's going on), then Nick and Norah just might do the trick. Otherwise, I'd just stick with the soundtrack.