BEFORE: It seems like I should be done with relationship-based films, since it's a long time until February rolls around again, but I'm using this film as a link to my next topic. An actor named John Harrington Bland had a small role in "Blue Jasmine" as a friend of the title character, and he appears in today's film in the same capacity, but this time his character is also a priest.
THE PLOT: Underachieving, overweight kindergarten teacher Dex finds a woman who forces him to reexamine his Zen-like system of seduction.
AFTER: It's as I feared - I watched too many Woody Allen films in a row, and I can't even remember a time when I wasn't watching Woody's films. My BFF Andy just quipped that I'm probably the only person who's more sick of Woody Allen than Mia Farrow is. So I've sort of lost my objectivity - my brain wondered why these people weren't living in New York and suffering from writer's block. I'll try to get over that...
But there is a certain amount of truthiness to this one, in that the rules for getting close to women are good ones, at least up until the point where they no longer work. I remember trying to date women in college, and I didn't have any success until I stopped trying so hard, and I felt there was a sort of Zen-like nature to the process. Oh, it's not supposed to be work, you're just supposed to kind of let it happen - there's nothing wrong with just being a girl's friend and letting things develop naturally, in other words.
To be clear, there is no one named "Steve" in this film - "Steve" is more of a state of mind, based around the nature of some famous Steves: McQueen, primarily, but also McGarrett and Austin. And "What would Steve McQueen do?" is not a bad philosophy if you're trying to look cool, steal a famous painting or even escaping from a Nazi prison camp. But you get the feeling he didn't have to go too far out of his way to get a girl, and that's the point.
Another point made is that you can have your own philosophy (or one borrowed from other sources) or your own systems for getting through life, and you may have it all together, or just be under the misconception that you have it all together, and then you might meet someone who throws everything into question, and forces you to re-examine. In some weird way, that's love.
"Tao" is one of those weird words that nobody seems to pronounce correctly. Or, I should say, nobody allows me to prounce correctly. If I say it with a "T" sound, people say, "You know, it's really pronounced DAO." And if I say it with a "D" sound, people say, "Isn't it pronounced TAO?"
Another great example is the Greek sandwich spelled G-Y-R-O. If I pronounce it as "Jy-ro", with a long I sound, people say, "Oh you mean a HEE-ro?" And if I call it a "HEE-ro", invariably the person I'm talking to will say, "Don't you mean a JY-ro?" Fine, I give up. It's easier just to never order one. What we need is a national board that standardizes the spellings and pronounciations of things so everyone knows what's being said. We already have hero sandwiches, so the Greek sandwich needs to be called a JY-ro. If we need to change the spelling to make that happen, then just freaking do it. Don't get me started on General Tso's Chicken, either.
And you people out West need to pronounce the final "E" sound in "coyotes".
Also starring Donal Logue (last seen in "The Patriot"), Greer Goodman, David Aaron Baker, Sue Cremin.
RATING: 4 out of 10 frisbees
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