BEFORE: It's Thursday, Day 2 of Comic-Con (if you count Preview Night, and I do...). I've observed a lot, but there's not much to report... I bought my weekly Wednesday comics - out of hundreds of booths, there are only 2 or 3 that sell this week's comics, and fortunately I know where to find them. Other than that, I've been selling DVDs, taking some pictures, and dining out at some of my favorite restaurants - there's a 5-block area of San Diego that I know very well by now, my 8th trip here.
Choosing this film tonight gives me a chance to send a shout-out to the men and women of Elite Security, who patrol the convention center at night, which allows us to leave our merchandise at our booth, making our set-up and breakdown each day much, much easier. Thanks, guys and gals, if not for you I'd be trucking merch back and forth to my hotel every day, putting a strain on the old back...
THE PLOT: Bi-polar mall security guard Ronnie Barnhardt is called into action to stop a flasher from turning shopper's paradise into his personal peep show. But when Barnhardt can't bring the culprit to justice, a surly police detective is recruited to close the case.
AFTER: I think I'm going to reserve most of my judgment until after viewing tomorrow night's film, which looks to be very similar. I do like Seth Rogen, but I don't know if I can build a chain of films around him. And I'm not sure if he can carry a picture, without a James Franco or a Jason Segel or a Bill Hader to play off of.
There's a fine line between making a character naive, and making them delusional - the main character her seems to be more in the delusional category. He also has bad luck with women, largely because he ignores the quiet, dependable girl in favor of the more flashy, yet obnoxious bombshell (Anna Faris). Dating is like prize-fighting - don't try to hit outside your weight class, that's how you get hurt.
There are some funny moments here, but it's all a bit more slice-of-life comedy than laugh-out-loud comedy. Maybe you'd call this a dark comedy? Still, too much male nudity for my taste.
Also starring Ray Liotta (last seen in "Turbulence"), Michael Pena (last seen in "My Fellow Americans"), Dan Bakkedahl, Aziz Ansari (of NBC's "Parks & Recreation"), and Celia Weston (last seen in "The Village"?), with cameos from Patton Oswalt (last seen in "Zoolander"), and Danny McBride (last seen in "Land of the Lost").
More of my report from Comic-Con: We had to scramble for a new hotel this year, since my regular hotel for the last 4 years went out of business in November. I got an internet deal on a place that used to be a YMCA, and was converted to a hotel 6 years ago. Although the price is right, this meant I was staying in something just one step above a youth hostel, with shared (but private) bathrooms and showers down the hall. Turns out the Village People were wrong - it's not much fun to stay at the YMCA. There were a lot of slamming doors all the time, and I left the lights on all night just in case - though I was so exhausted that getting to sleep at 11 wasn't a problem. Admittedly I don't need many amenities during Comic-Con, since I'll be out most of the day, and eating at restaurants at night - I just need a room with a bed, a closet and a phone, and that's essentially what I got. I had a TV, but I never even turned it on - since I chose to watch movies on the laptop I brought.
But it occurred to me that my room was much, much smaller than even a tiny New York apartment - it was more like the size of a jail cell. Come to think of it, take away the phone and the TV, and add a toilet, and that's pretty much what it was. But with my bathroom down the hall, a jail cell might have even been more convenient, except for the fact that I could go outside whenever I wanted.
Oh well, it's not the Ritz, and I'm not here for luxury, I'm here to work the con (in both senses of the word...) make some money for the company, and grab a beer float when I can. Andy's 5-2-1 Rule of Comic-Con is in effect, which means that every day I should try to get 5 hours of sleep, 2 full meals, and 1 shower. No exceptions, no excuses. But I do prefer at least 6 hours sleep, 3 meals, 1 shower if possible, and I also try to add 2 beers each day, or at least 1 beer float.
Tonight (Thursday) our booth staff went out to eat - unfortunately the Broken Yolk Diner was closed, or I might have attempted the 12-egg omelette challenge. Instead we went down the road to a new place (for me), Brian's 24, where I had a peanut butter and bacon cheeseburger, and a beer float with vanilla ice cream in Guinness. Fantastic!
Photos available on my Flickr site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/66064297@N00/
RATING: 5 out of 10 cups of coffee
No comments:
Post a Comment