BEFORE: In a happy accident, James Rebhorn carries over from last night's substitution film. But the real impetus is to give Birthday SHOUT-out #35 to Al Pacino (last seen in "Heat"). The count of films left on my list remains at 300, due to the fact that I'm still adding to the list, at a rate of about 1 film every 2 days. So despite watching 845 films, the original count of 435 has not been reduced as much as I'd planned, and I've got no hope of finishing once I reach #1,000 - or this year, for that matter.
THE PLOT: A prep school student needing money agrees to "babysit" a blind man, but the job is not at all what he anticipated.
AFTER: I took the day off today, because my cat Merlin seemed to be having trouble breathing, and didn't each much food all weekend. Merlin's two months over 20 years old, which in cat years is...well, mighty old, and over the years he's had a number of health problems, including a broken paw, a heart murmur, bad teeth, high blood sugar (followed by low blood sugar), kidney problems, and a slow-growing tumor near his thyroid. Each time I take him to the vet, they're pleasantly surprised to find out that he's still alive, and I worry that he won't be coming home with me afterwards. Today's x-ray revealed fluid in his lungs, kidney stones (just like me!) and a heart condition.
The vets drained his lungs and gave us heart meds, but the question once again came up about whether we're doing the right thing by prolonging his life. I'm fortunate that I haven't had to make the dreadful decision - even if he was in pain, I'd still want to take him home and make his last days comfortable, but I'm not sure that's the right call. A more appropriate tribute to the world's greatest cat (in my opinion, of course) will be forthcoming at a later date - for now, he's back home and breathing easier.
So it's weird that a similar topic came up in tonight's film - as Al Pacino's character plans a fantasy weekend in New York, as his way of going out with a bang. He's a blinded veteran who's haunted by his disability, and drags his hired helper to his brother's Thanksgiving dinner, and then wine, women and tangoing in the Big Apple. Meanwhile, his prep-student aide faces a crisis of conscience at this school - you don't suppose this crazy pair could find some way to help each other out? Or at least some common ground?
Obviously the main reason to watch this film is for Pacino's Oscar-winning performance - but my mind is on the quality-of-life issue, and that will figure in to a few other movies coming up this week.
Also starring Chris O'Donnell (last seen in "The Chamber"), Philip Seymour Hoffman (last seen in "Pirate Radio"), with cameos from Bradley Whitford (last seen in "A Perfect World"), Gabrielle Anwar, Ron Eldard (last seen in "The Last Supper"), Frances Conroy (last heard in "The Tale of Despereaux").
RATING: 7 out of 10 limousines
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