Movie Review


I am one of 40 great grandchildren on my mother’s side. My great-grandmother had 17 children, and had 50 immediate grandchildren. Needless to say, I’ve got a lot of crazy aunts and uncles.
My favorite crazy aunt never forgets my birthday. She always sends a $2 bill, and a movie that she buys at the gas station up the street from her house. For the most part, these movies are second-rate comedy attempts that end up at Goodwill. Last year, though, my aunt sent me a movie called American Splendor, and it has become one of my favorites.
American Splendor is a dry comedy about a regular guy named Harvey Pekar. Harvey has a mundane job, and lives a somewhat mundane life. He collects albums, and comic books, and he lives alone. One day, Harvey begins realizing that he can find comedy in his everyday life, and starts writing his own comic books. They are a success in the underground comic book circle. The best part of this movie is that it is based on a true story. The real Harvey Pekar helped write the movie.
This film was incredibly inspiring and depressing at the same time. Pekar, played by Paul Giamatti, is the cookie-cut image of the ‘common man.’ The tag line of the movie, “Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff,” describes how many people feel on a daily basis.
We have all though about what it would be like to make a television series based on our own lives, but this man actually did it, and instead of television used a form of entertainment that only few can appreciate. After doing the research on the comic books, I found that the last issue of American Splendor was written and released in September 2008. Simplicity is a trend that never fades.
There are many stories that are brilliant, but because of the delivery, the full effect is not seen, heard, or felt. This is not the case in American Splendor. Beautiful shot composition, and lighting, mixed with some animation make for a very enjoyable experience. The commentaries in the film also add to the story as a whole.
Another thing that makes this story enjoyable is that the main character was not a hero who changed the world as we know it. He was a little-known V.A. Hospital file clerk. His story is not well known. I asked many people who lived during the time that the comic book was in circulation, and only a few people had a clue as to what I was talking about. The people that did know the American Splendor comic book knew it well.
While the movie tells a story, the real-life Harvey Pekar, and his wife Joyce narrate the story themselves. Having these two telling their own story in their own voices make it much more than a documentary or a typical “based on true events” tale. The casting was also on-point. Giamatti does such a justice to Harvey Pekar from his facial expressions, to his hunchback walk. His mannerisms mimic the real Pekar perfectly.
While this film was in independent film, it won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and the International Critics Award at the Cannes Film Festival, both in 2003.
American Splendor is a good, clean, movie about a series of simple events. This is a movie worth buying and watching over and over again. It delivers hope in a rare form, and makes the viewer appreciate the simplicities of everyday life. My favorite part of the movie though, was in the packaging. Upon opening my birthday present, I found a copy of an American Splendor comic book entitled, My Movie Year.

I'm here to eat, like anybody else

As a waitress, there are many a thing that piss me off (slow cooks, overbearing bosses, conservative tippers, CHILDREN, and sleep deprivation, just to name a few.) But believe it or not, as a customer, I am not very sensitive. I have gone out to eat with other servers and been embarrassed, not only because of the way they treated our server, but because of the way they tipped. There are only a few things that irk me and I typically won't even comment on these things to the server or let it affect their tip, (I will just go home and blog about them.)
One thing that really bothers me is when I go out to eat, and my server knows that I am server, and he/she the takes this as the cue to unleash the night's problems on me. I know that serving sucks. I am a server, so why would you want to bitch about things that happen at a serving job the one night I am not serving? If I cared at all about the ten top that you didn't get, or the guy that left you $6 on an $80 ticket, I'd be at work and experience those things myself. I am out to eat to enjoy a quiet evening with my friends or my dude, not to hear about the fact that you requested not to work doubles anymore, yet you're still scheduled for doubles for the next two weeks.
Regardless of your profession, you should find joy in dining out and as a server, regardless of the profession of your customer, you should not bombard them with your problems. I guess it is a good tactic if you are trying to stress your fellow server out and get him/her to have a couple extra beers during the meal, but for the most part, it is pretty insensitive.

Strange how a phonecall can change your day

I used to do things that I loved on a daily basis, but now it seems that I do things to please or meet the needs of others. While I'm not proud of this fact, I do understand that it is part of being part of this society. I received a phone call that changed my entire day Saturday afternoon. I spoke on the phone for nearly three hours, which is nowhere near typical for me. I'm the type of person who makes excuses to get off the phone with my mother (I know, I know, she makes me feel guilty enough, you don't need to). This was a different type of phone call, though. This was a phone call from one of the people I love most in the world. Someone who brings out the best in me. This person has known me for years, and still manages to love me.
While a phone call doesn't seem like much at face value, the day, and week, and month, have been putting stress on my life that I've never encountered before, and this friend's voice seemed to take me back to a more peaceful, serene time. I realized part way through this call, though, that this peaceful, serene, time is now. My life is perfect. Sure there are snags here and there, but for the most part, I am happy for the bulk of the day/week/month. Sometimes it takes a friend who wants to hear you talk, to hear yourself talk about how good life really is. Ironically enough, I was letting my i-pod control my mood by putting it on shuffle during this talk, and immediately following my phone dying, this song shuffled in.

She Dreamed A Dream

Susan Boyle wants to be a professional singer. She went on the television show, Britain's Got Talent, and was basically laughed at upon arrival.



While this woman doesn't look like a typical pop-star, she has the voice of an opera starlet. She shocked audiences when she began singing "I Dreamed a Dream," from the musical Les Miserables. Although I know this song, and this musical, an outsider looking in and hearing a little bit about this story and this woman would say that the lyrics in this song were very fitting to Susan's situation.

"Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted"

"I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed."

This woman said that since she was twelve years old, she has dreamed of becoming a professional singer. She now lives alone with her cat. She has never been married, nor has she ever been kissed.

Going on national television took a lot of courage. There are many people who are too worried about criticism to even compete, and this woman faced it with grace, and boldness. While she didn't do anything profound, that will change the world as we know it forever, she did something that took a lot of guts. She stood in front of a large audience and she lived her dream. There has been quite a bit of media coverage over this, I believe, because it inspires average people. Her fan site's motto is to never judge a book by it's cover. It's a tale as old as time. In case you haven't caught this, here she is....

Susan's performance

Although her popularity will surely fade with time (our attention spans don't allow for long-term stardom), today Susan Boyle is famous. She dreamed a dream and chased that dream. At 47, she is getting the recognition that a person with a gift like hers deserves.

The whole truth and nothing but the truth...

There are certain stand-up comedians who make phenomenal points. While this might not be the case, it still can deliver a laugh.

*****WARNING*****EXPLICIT LANGUAGE*****



Now, Mr. Rock talks about women wearing make-up, heels, and Wonderbras when they meet men...luring them in. He has a point. While not every woman does this, and not every man is dumb enough to fall for tricks like this, there are exceptions. I had a conversation with a male friend of mine who said that he fell in love with a girl's representative. He met her, he dated her, and he fell madly in love with her. Six months went by, and he met the real her. Needless to say, the real her was nothing like her representative. The real her was opinionated, and had bad days from time to time. The real her made (gasp) bowel movements! Now, this male friend of mine is pretty shallow and full of himself, but I keep him around for educational purposes, and he had a point.

As women, we shouldn't dress/act/smell/talk one way if that's not who we truly are. It is incredibly hard to be yourself sometimes because you know that people may disagree with you, or even make you feel like a total outcast. That is not a reason to compromise your beliefs, though. This is not as common in college as it is in high school, but I definitely still see it at times. I have a friend who is going to school to become a doctor. This girl has more personality and wit in her pinkie finger, than most do in their entire body, but I'm the only one who knows this about her. I have seen her talk to guys, and I am almost embarrassed for her. She acts very docile and agreeable, when I know she is anything but. To be honest, this blog post was inspired by her (and Chris Rock).

Be yourselves ladies! It is hard to discover that a guy likes you for the wrong reasons. It is even harder if you can't blame the guy, though, because you introduced him to your representative instead of yourself.

Means to an end

I feel like a loser on a day-to-day basis. There is always someone who puts me in my place and makes me feel like I’m just not quite good enough. I walk away smiling, though, because I know the truth. I know who I am, and who I love, and that’s good enough for me.
As a waitress, I am ‘the help.’ Regardless of my hairstyle or make-up for the evening, I am still the one who cleans your child’s chicken strips up off the floor, and also the one who responds to snapping fingers, and raised eyebrows
Until recently, I cursed my job the entire time I was there. Whether you were part of the five-o–clock elderly rush, or part of the posh couple that dines at nine, I hated you. Please forgive me though, because I didn’t know any better. Until recently.
Sad to say, but I have been serving for five years, and I didn’t pay attention closely enough to realize exactly how enjoyable my job really is.
A person named Kelly came to my restaurant looking for a job a few months back. I saw the application, and actually felt sorry for him. In my eyes, this was a middle-aged man who’d had to resort to working in a kitchen once again (a job I was sure he thought he was too old/good for.) When I met Kelly though, I was surprised. This person came into work the first day wearing a Grateful Dead t-shirt and whistling a uplifting Otis Redding tune (not ‘Dock of the Bay’ but ‘Try a Little Tenderness’.) Now, humming and work are synonymous for most, but the thing about Kelly’s humming is that it didn’t cease when the dinner rush came; it amplified. The humming soon turned into singing, and the singing into dancing.
I felt an instant gravitation to this person’s happiness, because I didn’t have much within myself. Work was work, and play was play, and never the two shall meet. Right? Wrong.
I have been working with this person for a few months now, and the genuine excitement has not faded a bit. This person truly enjoys his job. Why, you might ask? Well, you are not alone; I have asked the same.
“Because I have worked a truly shit-job, and this is nowhere near a truly shit-job,” Kelly responded when asked how he sports a grin at all times. “I know what it is like to have to provide for a family, and compromise your beliefs to do so; this job is nowhere near that.”
I have not had a bad day at work since. His words to me were simple, but his actions were incredibly difficult. To genuinely enjoy work seems so foreign to most, but to this person, it seems almost natural.
It is easy to fabricate reasons as to why a job sucks, and it is even easier to justify those reasons, but to truly find joy in a mundane job is a gift that must be recognized.
Thank you Kelly. You make my nights more enjoyable on so many levels. From the playlists and CD’s you make, to the excitement and care that you put into even the most mundane task, it is appreciated.
Although my serving days are numbered, there are always people I wish I could work with throughout my life, and Kelly is definitely one of those people. We all know when a job is only a means to an end, but we also know the people at these jobs who make us realize that life is much bigger than a restaurant.

On the lighter side....

Who would I be if I didn't get back to my ranting waitress persona? Here ya go Blake.

5 April Fool's Day Jokes that servers can play on their patrons (aside from the typical spit in the food that we do anyway)

1) "Sir, actually there won't be a bill tonight....someone else picked up the tab for you....HA! April Fool's!!!"

2) "Of course this is fat-free ranch ma'am....HA!!!"

3) Serving "virgin" drinks and seeing who starts acting tipsy

4) "You'd like a burger with ketchup only?" then bring out ketchup between two buns

5) "Como? No habla ingles aqui"


Have fun tonight guys, this is our day....

My review of a review

I recently read a book entitled Revolutionary Road, which is also now a major motion picture. Obviously, I had my own thoughts and feelings about this book, but I thought I would see what others thought as well. I read a few reviews that I could relate to, but I also read one that I thought was lazily-written, and extremely revealing. Spoiler Alert: this link pretty much tells every climactic point of the book, and also the ending. Thanks John Marcel, Resident Scholar. I think the reason I struggled reading Marcel's review is because it wasn't really a review. It was a re-enactment. Reviewing a book is not only giving a brief glimpse as to what happens, but saying your opinion on the book as a whole. It is hardly opinionated, and a review should be. Also, it is a total buzz kill to read a review, then lose desire to read a book because the critic has already given away the ending, and the beginning, and the climax. They were also basic grammar mistakes on this review, and that causes a writer to lose credibility, in my mind. A teacher once told me that if you aren't getting a rise out of someone, then you aren't writing. This review did absolutely nothing for me. It ticked me off because it was so dull, but not because of the content. I believe if you are brave enough to review a book, you should make your opinion known. Don't hide behind the book itself. Don't just tell us what happened and when. Wet our lips a little bit, and make us want to read a book or tell us not to waste our time. Either way, take a side!