BEFORE: I've been working at a movie theater for about six weeks now, and it's just a few blocks from NYU, where I went to college. That sort of justifies watching this one tonight, though it's not June (graduation time) or August (back-to-school time) when I might normally program something like this. Anyway, I need to make the connection to get where I want to be for Big Movie #3,900 this weekend.
I had a job interview yesterday, fingers crossed - I'm very motivated to get out of my current job for several reasons, among them the fact that working at the movie theater is drastically cutting into my movie-watching time, which seems very ironic and inappropriate. I should know by the end of next week if I can hand in my notice there - I mean, I can quit any time but I'd rather have another job lined up first, for safety's sake. I was unemployed or under-employed for over a year and I don't want to backslide.
Zoe Chao carries over from "Downhill" - she is NOT the director of "Nomadland", that's Chloe Zhao, different person. I have to pay closer attention to names, especially the subtle differences, as I'm busy straightening out the IMDB listing for a composer that I worked with - his name was off by one letter on the IMDB and I didn't notice, but now I'm working on fixing that. Thankfully we spelled his name in the credits of a short film correctly, and that's been helpful in getting the main record adjusted.
FOLLOW-UP TO: "Liberal Arts" (Movie #3,654)
THE PLOT: Following the launch of her new novel, 35-year-old writer Kate is invited by her former professor to speak at her alma mater. After accepting the invitation, Kate finds herself deeply enmeshed in the lives of a group of college students.
AFTER: This is one of those films that cherishes all those little awkward moments in life, like when you've got a thing for your Creative Writing professor, or you find out that he's got a thing for you. Or you find out your girlfriend is hooking up with someone else, or your ex-fiancé is posting pictures on Instagram of himself with his new partner. Or you have to make conversation with your roommate's mother and you end up really bonding, and what is THAT all about?
The whole thing starts when author Kate Conklin has her book tour cancelled by her publisher, due to lagging sales, or lack of funding, or maybe it's the rise in eBooks. The whole point of the book tour is to increase sales, so she doesn't quite understand it (it couldn't POSSIBLY be because the book is, you know, terrible...) but at least this does free up her schedule so she can accept that invitation from her old professor to speak at Illinois University. What else is she going to do that week, besides cyber-stalk her ex on Instagram and then needily text him? So she's off to Carbondale to re-visit her roots.
She ends up learning that she still has so much to learn - like the fact that a bed and breakfast comes with breakfast (umm, how could she not know that?) and that her old off-campus house is now populated by a group of three male students, all with their own unique problems and hang-ups. But, those glow-in-the-dark stars she put on the ceiling are still THERE, so it's like an awkward walk through her own past, parts of which are still visible, just in different forms. After giving her lecture she ends up spending time with these three young men, awkwardly, of course, and gets caught up in their personal problems - well, at least that's something to do.
Her old professor claims to be her biggest fan, but has he even READ her book? And he's married now, so there's no chance of rekindling whatever attraction they may have felt when she was a student, but is he seeing a younger student on the side? Super awkward, but part of her needs to know. Sure, this is more than a bit contrived, especially when losing her keys is the thing that forces her over to the frat house to sleep, and you can practically see the dominoes tipping each other over to get the plot to where somebody felt it needed to go. Same goes for the iPhone needing to be charged...
Speaking of complicated data issues with the IMDB, the director of this film is Kris Rey, formerly known as Kris Williams (her birth name) and Kris Swanberg (her married name). See, this is why I'm opposed to women changing their names when they get married, not because of the patriarchal system or because it's an archaic system that implies the women are the properly of their husbands, but because it's just too confusing, from a record-keeping point of view. If somebody wants to change their name, that's fine, like if they don't like their birth surname, but why should there be any pressure forcing someone to change their name to their spouse's, which is generally confusing and another meaningless thing that then everybody else has to keep track of? Unless you're a celebrity, just keep the last name you were born with and learn to live with it - I'll make an exception for Duncan Jones, formerly known as "Zowie Bowie".
Off to work today, 5 pm to 1:30 am, so I can watch another movie on Friday night, and i'll report back in on Saturday.
Also starring Gillian Jacobs (last seen in "Dean"), Jemaine Clement (last seen in "What We Do in the Shadows"), Hannah Marks (last seen in "The Amazing Spider-Man"), Forrest Goodluck (last seen in "The Revenant"), Josh Wiggins, Jorma Taccone (last seen in "An American Pickle"), Kate Micucci (last seen in "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot"), Brandon Daley, Khloe Janel, Rammel Chan, Jennifer Joan Taylor (last seen in "The Weather Man"), Cindy Gold, Kristina Valada-Viars, Nik Whitcomb.
RATING: 6 out of 10 weed gummies
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