Movies I have watched lately

This is a blog post. I’m just going to stop promising to try to be better about posting because we all know that’s a load of bologna. I just wanted to write bologna because it looks so strange.

Anyway, I’m just going to write about movies I’ve watched lately.

Maybe I’ll actually write about my life one day. Or something interesting. Who knows, I’ll keep you on your toes.

The two best compliments I’ve ever received:

 My friend Danii just said this on Facebook today while we were discussing how awesome Leslie Knope is: “If you went blonde, I think you would look like Amy Poehler. I think that when I watch the show because you and her make a lot of the same faces.”

Which makes me so happy and thrilled and just …. Yeah. Amy’s amazing and beautiful and a lady hero.

The second one is last summer on tour, my friend Matt Maggiacomo and I were talking about Tina Fey and he said that when he was watching Date Night, he saw a lot of similarities between my sense of humor and Tina’s. I literally almost peed my pants. I don’t think Matt realized the power of what he had said to me. I thanked him a lot and he was confused, probably. But Tina is another lady hero and being anything like her is a goal.

Sorry, that just happened so I had to toss it in. Now to the movies.

Movies I have watched recently:

Crazy Stupid Love

Rating: 5 Stars

You guys, I hate romantic comedies and here’s the proof. And I feel weird about Ryan Gosling being such a mega-star now—not because I’m not happy about it because I am, but because I’ve been a fan of his since, well, way before The Notebook. I used to rush home from school so that I could see Young Hercules on WAM. And I also watched Breaker High, which I think says a lot. It’s also strange seeing him look totally different now—buff with short hair. No complaints, just different. Anyway, the movie was really great. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just say that it was surprisingly clever, refreshing and hilarious. Also, so many beautiful people. I need Emma Stone’s face and body. I would see this movie again and enjoy it just as much.

Winter’s Bone

Rating: 4 Stars

So, I decided to watch this because it was on Instant View and a long time ago, a professor told me that he really enjoyed it and thought I would too (because you know, I’m totally into hunting down meth cookers and skinning squirrels). Also, I wanted to see Jennifer Lawrence in action. Apparently I’ve seen her before on Monk, but I don’t remember that. I just had to see if she could pull off Katniss. Even though she’s not who I pictured for the part (Effy from Skins is), I think she’s going to be actually amazing. If you have doubts about her, watch this movie. I don’t really support the whole cast (seriously, why isn’t Kristin Chenoweth Effie? Why isn’t Jason Schwarztman Cinna? I would also accept NPH. I do really like Stanley Tucci’s casting though. Also, scuffy Andrew Garfield for Gale. That is all). It’s a dark, gritty film that kind just rips out your heart and doesn’t bother calling it in the morning. It’s not happy. It ends better than it began, but it doesn’t end well. It’s intense, make sure you’re in the mood to watch it cause … yeah. This review is awesome, obviously.

The Shape of Things

Rating: 3.5 stars

This gets a lower rating just because it starts off a little slow and takes a little while to develop. It’s not bad, just slow. And sometimes you can tell Paul Rudd (dreamy, dreamy man who is also Benjamin Button, let’s be real) is wearing “fat make up.” I really love that this was originally a play and that the film uses the same cast. It’s hard to see what’s happening until the end, and then you’re just so ANGRY. I flipped out. I was legitimately upset, hurt and embarrassed. But it’s a very interesting look at relationships and the power someone you love can have over you. How unquestioningly you do something for someone else just because you love him/her. Sometimes the acting feels like it’s a play from some of the other characters (Jenny, namely), but Paul Rudd really carries it as the nerdy hero and Rachel Weiz is almost unrecognizable. She isn’t glowing like she is in a lot of her other films. It’s intense and slow burning until the end.

Freezer Burn

Rating: 2 Stars

I put this in my queue because I thought the concept was interesting, but it is so slow. It doesn’t pick up and the supporting character Rex is what makes this movie at all tolerable. It’s creepy, actually. And I hate when marriages just fall apart as a plot point. It’s cheap. There are a couple funny moments, but mostly I was bored and kept going on the Internet to do other things.

Wet Hot American Summer

Rating: 4 Stars

I don’t know why I didn’t watch this earlier cause it has a lot of people I love in it. I think I thought it was a raunchy movie for a long time. I mean, it kind of is but not in the way I thought. It’s hilarious and has a ton of familiar comedy faces in it. I think the main story is one that we’ve all experienced and is the base of most stories: You’re in love with someone who loves someone else (Paul Rudd, as per usual) and then there’s a glimmer of hope before the summer is over. For as silly as it is sometimes, I think it says some good stuff about friendship and heartbreak. Also, Bradley Cooper is a fabulous gay man. I like him way better as that than the douche in the Hangover.

The Ten

Rating: 4 Stars

Okay, this one is raunchy. It also stars Paul Rudd (HE HAS A SWEET FACE AND I JUST LOVE HIM, OKAY?!). It’s a take on the Ten Commandments with stories that converge in different ways. It stars a ton of familiar faces (Adam Brody, remember him?) and it’s just such a twisted way to look at something religious. It’s crude but awesome. I laughed out loud a lot and I think it’s very well shot cinematically.

The Fighter

Rating: 5 Stars

Just watch this movie. I can’t even describe it. I don’t like boxing, but so many of my favorite movies are boxing-centric. This isn’t Rocky. It’s raw, somewhat terrifying and real. Christian Bale is insane(ly talented). We all knew this, but it becomes obvious yet again in this film. This ain’t Newsies.

The Vicious Kind

Rating: 2 Stars

I only watched this because Adam Scott was in it and he had a beard. I spent a lot of time wondering why Adam Scott always plays douches in films and why was Brittany Snow’s wig so bad?

TiMER

Rating: 4 Stars

Okay, so I definitely only put this in my queue because Emma Caulfield (Anya from Buffy) was in it. But I ended up really enjoying it. It’s an interesting concept, it’s funny and it’s not predictable in a boring way. I at least didn’t feel like I shouldn’t tell anyone I hadn’t watched it, so that’s a good thing, probably.

Runaway Daughters

Rating: 3 Stars

Paul Rudd is in this one too. So is Julie Bowen. This film is a remake and kind of a Grease type throwback to the 50s. It’s funny, silly and kind of over the top. It’s ridiculous but you go with it and kind of love it in the end. Also, Paul Rudd.

That’s all. For probably four months.

A numerical list of neat stuff

1. Colin Quinn (legendary SNL player) was at the show Friday night. I saw him standing off to the side and thought he looked familiar, but couldn’t place him. Then the other girl who works on the show mentioned Colin Quinn was there, and I realized why he looked familiar. Mike introduced us in the green room. Just a quick hello, but it was still pretty awesome even just saying hello to him. He was pretty nice and super funny (that’s probably an obvious statement).

2. I’m probably going to be doing a little more work — at least for this week– so Mike and the producer asked what my commitments were during the week. I was doing something so I was a little distracted. I said, “None … well, except for watching Full House.” There was a second of silence and  I realized what I said and added, “But, um, I can probably miss that.” Mostly everyone was surprised Full House still came on though, not the fact I watch it.

3. I managed to go uptown to run an errand, but the guy who I was picking up stuff from was weird and kept talking. I was basically closing the door and he was still trying to carry on a conversation. It was kind of a mess because he didn’t take credit cards (which he could have mentioned when the order was placed over the phone and he could have added he has a free delivery service) and I didn’t have enough cash to pay him. So I had to open an account and blah blah blah. It was a five minute process that took about 40 minutes. But I did it by myself (after I was told which subway to take) and I think that’s what really matters.

4. I got to do a little camera work. Only about 15 minutes, but hey. It was terrifying and cool. There are a couple sticky spots but I doubt that Gregg Toland (Citizen Kane, Wuthering Heights, The Grapes of Wrath) was awesome his first time out either.

5. I’m training for a 5K. That doesn’t really have anything to do with my job, but I thought I’d toss it out there to round the list out.

Post-Graduation Job

Hello, readers! It’s been awhile, I know. I always promise you I’m going to pay attention to you and write you stories and then I never do.

But let me tell you what’s going on now.

So I graduated from college and I moved to New Jersey to accept an internship in New York City. The internship is with a comedian currently doing a one-man show at the Barrow Street Theater called “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend.” Here’s a really high quality picture of the shirt you should buy when you come see it:

Yeah, I know. It’s awesome. I’ll be the one you buy it from, so just look for me.

I got the position out of pure luck and happenstance. It all happened because of The Cluster, my college paper. I work as a production assistant now and it’s really interesting, fun and is just something I enjoy doing. It’s a good start to my adventures in being the not-famous Tina Fey.

Basically I’m the show’s intern, so I do the general errands, sell merchandise and help set up the show. I’m going to learn sound next week, I think. Daunting. I set up the stage, which means that I move the stool to its mark and then put a string to the projector screen into a paper clip. Yeah. Pretty important. (Not sarcasm, they’re the show’s two props). I also help with light and sound checks, but I don’t know enough about either one to “run” them on my own. Maybe in a couple weeks.

Anyway, it’s been a lot of fun. Mike’s really great and so is the rest of the team. They’re all really nice and patient with me when I’m confused or nervous.

One funny story is that when I met Mike for the first time in the green room, he was really distracted: he had just come from some benefit, he was on the phone and was running behind. A little earlier, I had been sent down there to find a flashlight but I couldn’t. It was my first day and I was so scared everyone was going to be mad at me, so I was freaking out. I heard Mike’s voice coming down the stairs and I was in his dressing room. Which I thought might be awkward, so to alleviate that awkwardness I ran out into the middle of the green room and just stood there, doing nothing. When Mike and the producer opened the door, the producer introduced us and the distracted Mike said hello and I just immediately went, “I couldn’t find the flashlight. I’m sorry. I found a broken one, but I don’t know enough about flashlights to fix it.” And the producer was like, “It’s fine,” in this really confused (but kind of amused) way.

And that was how I met Mike again. (We met briefly in Atlanta back in November, but it was just as rushed).

But now everything’s cool, and I’m getting more confident as it goes along. It’s interesting to see who comes to see the show – and I’ve seen the show seven times and I’m still cracking up. It’s hilarious. Mike’s a great comedian. I’m not just saying that. I’ve been a fan for awhile.

Come see the show.

I’ll try to write some more stories about my internship here when I think of them or as they happen.

My attempt to be healthy and start blogging again.

I knew it would happen. I totally just bailed on this blog. It’s not that I didn’t think about it, but I just didn’t feel like writing anything — or didn’t have anything to write.

The whole “examination of pop culture” thing turned into my award-winning column, “Listen Up, Nerds!” (Check it out! And comment! Or not. You don’t have to).

This morning I read my friend Nina’s blog about her attempt to revamp her life to be more healthy and organic-like. Which is awesome and something I’m kind of trying to do but also not really.

I’ve decided that I need to suck it up and start exercising. Not just to lose weight, though I want to, but because I just need be more healthy. And stuff. I don’t know. I got tired of feeling gross all the time and complaining about it, so I did something about it.

I’m exercising every day now using P90X. It’s awesome, I love it. I don’t know why people complain about it. I mean, yeah, it’s hard but it’s supposed to be, and it’s not impossible. You just have to try.

I’m also tracking my food here. It’s helped, I’m seeing changes already and it’s only been three weeks.

I’ll be done with P90X a couple days before I see all my friends again, so I’m hoping that it’s going to work out really well. Yeah, there’s some vanity involved. Whatever.

Also, I’m graduating and stuff. I’m getting nervous about not having a job yet. Potential employers, I’m a really good choice.

I plan to move to Chicago immediately after graduation. I’ve become set on that city for some reason. I just really, really love it. I loved it when it went four years ago, and then it was confirmed all over again when I went over Spring Break. It’s just the city for me, I think. I wouldn’t mind moving to New York after a few years in Chicago if Lorne Michaels wants me to write for Saturday Night Live. Oh, right, did I mention that I’m taking the Tina Fey route? Unintentional happenstance. I read her book earlier this week and I realized how similar this stage of our lives is. Which makes me happy and that maybe I don’t have to be so scared. She went to Chicago without a job too.

But if you happen to need someone to work for you in the Chicago area, hit me up.

‘Leap Year’ Review

Leap Year

Netflix’s prediction: 2.2 stars

My rating: 2.0 stars

Let me preface this review with this: the reason I rented this movie was because Adam Scott is in it, along with the fact I adore Amy Adams. Yes, it’s shallow, but so is the movie.

Amy Adams’ character has the extraordinarily Irish name Anna. (Hint: It’s not an Irish name). Anna works as a decorator for apartments that haven’t been, or can’t be, sold yet. She makes them look like something people want when it’s all just a show, a trick. I think that’s an unintentional commentary on the whole genre of these types of movies.

She is dating Jeremy (Adam Scott) who works as a cardiologist. They’ve been dating for years, but they aren’t engaged yet. Obviously this is just crazy. Before Jeremy leaves for Ireland for a cardiology conference (what?), he takes Anna to a fancy dinner. Prior to the dinner, we see Anna buying a pretty purple dress and being very particular (read: annoying) about the length (requesting it be a ¼ of an inch longer, or maybe a 1/3 of an inch? Seriously).

I guess there isn’t any canon to RomComs, just clichés. Anna and her friend played by Kaitlin Oslon (Oh, Sweet Dee, why?) are convinced Jeremy is going to propose, and Anna practices her surprise face. This clearly means that he won’t propose—we learned this from Legally Blonde.

Finally, at the restaurant, Jeremy gives Anna a pair of diamond earrings, which upsets her very much. Little selfish, but whatever. It’s not like these things are shabby pieces of junk. Jeremy suddenly is called into work (“He says, ‘Aorta go in.’” Anna does not appreciate this joke. Rude), and before he leaves, he kisses Anna on the cheek. This is the second time in the film that he has kissed her on the cheek. I think at this point, if he’s kissing you on the cheek all the time, that should tell you something too.

Anna impulsively decides to go to Ireland to propose to Jeremy. Apparently this decision is based on the Irish legend that a woman can propose to her fiancé on Leap Day. I don’t know why a woman needs a particular day to assert herself, but okay. Also, I’m fairly positive this myth-legend-folktale does not exist. My extremely Irish family has never heard of it.

Money apparently isn’t an issue to Anna. While having a fairly decent job and a boyfriend who has a well-paying job (but who knows if they share funds?), the money Anna is spending just isn’t believable. Booking a flight to Ireland that day? And then all the money she drops once she’s across the pond.

The weather in Ireland detains Anna—who comes off the plane wearing four inch heels and continues throughout the movie wearing only high heeled shoes. Walking on cobblestone. No, absolutely not. That’s how you know this is all contrived—if you couldn’t tell already.

Anna eventually finds a little pub and inn. The owner/bartender is played by Matthew Goode (who is very handsome, but the worst part of Watchmen, and I will continue to hold this against him forever) and his name is Decklan. He teases Anna a bit before haggling some money out of her and agrees to drive her to Dublin.

They don’t get along, and they argue all the time. So I guess this makes them have sexual tension? I’m not really sure, but that’s the idea I suppose. I hate using the fact people don’t get along as a ploy—that’s a cheap way of creating tension rather than developing your characters.

Mishaps happen, people fall down and it’s supposed to be funny,  and they stay in a house  with a traditional family where they have to pretend to be married. They kiss and it changes everything. But not really since they’ve been checking each other out the whole time. Finally, after an hour of events that detain Anna from reaching Dublin, she arrives there.  Jeremy—who wasn’t that surprised to see Anna since she told him she was coming to Ireland, not making it a surprise anymore—finds Anna, and he proposes to her. Anna says yes, and they return to Boston. Declan is sad. So … the one day of the year that Anna is apparently allowed to assert herself, she can’t even do that. Great. And then she’s forced to say yes since Jeremy did it in front of a bunch of people and they were being filmed.

In their fancy new apartment, they have an engagement party where Jeremy reveals that he and Anna had to be married to live in this particular building. This affects Anna, who apparently just realized Jeremy is kind of a douche. She sets off the fire alarm, remembering the question Declan had asked her about what she would save from a fire. Jeremy grabs his computer, camera and other big money items, telling Anna to do the same. Anna stands still, now fully realizing she actually doesn’t want to marry Jeremy.

The scene cuts to Declan saving his bar from … someone. It was never really explained, he just needed to save it. Then the bar is running well, but someone sends back her chicken, upsetting Declan. He goes out into the dining room, demanding to know who sent it back. Anna stands up, saying it was her and then she asks him to be her boyfriend. Declan walks away and Anna runs out, humiliated.

Declan finds Anna standing on a moor (of course), and said he had just gone to get something. Anna, frustrated, said it wasn’t a good time. Deklan believes it was a good time since it was his mother’s ring. He proposes to Anna and she says yes.

They knew each other for three days, but I guess it’s serious because those three days were filled with arguing. And then after she left Ireland with her boyfriend/fiancé, she flies back to Ireland to ask a guy out who might not even be available. Oh, right.

I don’t understand how any of that film was romantic. I don’t see how it was relatable, and I don’t see how it was real. Not that movies are expected to be real, but I think characters should be relatable. None of these characters were relatable, sympathetic or even nice. They were all just selfish, but since they’re good looking, it’s a little more forgivable?

Do you like Leap Year? What did you see that I didn’t?

Romantic Comedies

This blog has changed from being about my boring days as a student at a private school who is majoring in a dying profession to my seemingly feminist commentary. I say feminist commentary because several of my friends who have kindly read through my blogs say that they are about feminism. I don’t think it’s feminist though, I think my blogs are just pointing out that I’m aware of what’s wrong with the media. If being intelligent and seeing flaws in society is feminist, then I guess I’m a feminist. I’d rather just be Kathleen though.

Anyway, since my blog has shifted, I have decided to continue in that direction. After reading through the brilliant Seventeen Magazine Project, I was reminded of an old idea I had to review Romantic Comedies and point out their faults outside of the clichés throughout the genre. (I hate that RomComs are even given the privilege of being called a genre).

So, I’m going to do that. I hate watching Romantic Comedies, I avoid them. I guess I could call them ‘chick flicks’ since of course only females like films that don’t have much of a plot and predictable endings—males definitely like high-brow films of the action-adventure genre. And of course, you can only like certain types of films based on your gender. Duh.

I really do avoid RomComs though, and I haven’t seen a large majority of them. I only saw ‘The Proposal’ because it was on Netflix Instant View and I had two hours between classes without anything significant to do. And I was tired of people being shocked I hadn’t seen it. (Conversely, I’m shocked some of my peers haven’t seen ‘Newsies’ or, you know, ‘Psycho’). I should have taken a nap instead.

One of my problems with RomComs is that many of them make it this laborious issue that the quirky female lead (you know, she’s an artist/baker/bookstore keeper/etc) is in love with her male best friend. Well, I don’t think that’s much of a problem. While I’ve never been in love, from what I understand about it and what I want my own experience with love to be, is that you’re supposed to be in love with your best friend. Your best friend knows everything about you, know the ‘real’ you and not the ‘you’ that you present to make him/her like you. I guess I just imagine that love is rooted in friendship and that the natural process is to fall in love with your best friend, but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it really is just one big issue.

Another problem I have with RomComs is the time it takes for these people fall in ‘love.’ I understand that 90 minutes is not a lot of time to develop at least two characters and their relationship, but isn’t that what montages are for?

Lastly, I hate that the women in these movies are defined by the male lead. They live their lives around the men instead of living for themselves. Really? Really. Their whole story is centered around the male character. (Sidebar, that’s why I like Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon so much. She has her own ambitions that have nothing to do with Hiccup, and she’s independent of his story. It’s not a love story, they just happen to get together at the end). But then again, maybe I’m just living my whole life wrong. I don’t know.

So far my list of RomComs to review is this:

Leap Year

Kate & Leopold

Grease/Grease 2

Alex & Emma

The Proposal

If you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments. I’m excited about this. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a lot of commentary on just about any subject.

The Gang Gets Crippled

One time, my AP Art History class went to DisneyWorld for three days. When my two best friends (Matt and David) and I were in the Animal Kingdom, there was an abandoned wheelchair sitting to the side of the walkway. David immediately sat down in it and asked me to push him. I said that someone might have left it and was probably coming back soon. Matt and David told me to stop being a jerk, and David began to wheel away.

We walked through the park for about an hour with David in a wheelchair. When we reached the exit, David stood up and walked out, leaving the wheelchair by the turnstiles. Several shocked faces, angry shouts and “Excuse me, sir!”s followed us, but Matt and David kept walking while I tried to keep enough distance between us so I wasn’t associated with them. I just didn’t want these people I didn’t know to think badly of me.

This is probably why one of my favorite episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is “Charlie Gets Crippled.” I relate to their horribleness a little bit.

Quote.

What is the craziest thing you ever did to get a guy to notice you?
I had no idea how to get guys to notice me. I still don’t. Who cares?

— Amy Poehler

I like you, Amy Poehler. I am happy you are married to Will Arnett.

Disney Princesses

Belle is the best Disney princess.

I don’t think it needs to be explained, but I will explain it.

While most of the princess stories are based on fairy tales, Disney did not develop them into powerful characters. Nearly every single story consists of the girl waiting for the boy to save her, and then she can marry him to repay him. They don’t really have hobbies, and the older princesses are stuck in stereotypes.

Snow White has absolutely no personality. I think very few people actually like her. She’s pretty, and that’s about it. Like a good little woman, she enjoys cleaning, cooking and taking care of other people. True love’s kiss – from someone she does not know at all – is what wakes her up from, you know, death and she marries the prince. Her song is “Someday my Prince Will Come,” so that sums up all her aspirations rather nicely. Housework is okay because a man will come take her away from it. Until then, she will fill her ‘natural’ role as mother.

Like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty is woken up from a deep sleep (rather than death) by her true love she barely knows. Despite being the title character, Sleeping Beauty/Aurora is hardly in the film. She doesn’t do anything but prick her finger, talk to strangers and get married.

Cinderella is slightly more likeable than the other two, but, like a good woman, she knows how to clean the home and take care of others—it’s her entire purpose. She is saved, yet again, by the man and falls into marriage with the prince she met once (even the mice who save her are male). She wasn’t an active role in her own story – she didn’t even wow the prince with her personality, it was her looks and – I don’t know—mystery that caught his attention.

Ariel has more of a personality than the other princesses before her—maybe because she’s in the late 80s rather than the 50s, or maybe Disney just wanted more relatable characters for little girls. At any rate, Ariel is physically different from the others since she’s half fish. She’s outgoing and energetic, but her only wish is to be a human so that she can meet Prince Eric and marry him. She’s really ambitious. While Ariel is a more “modern” girl, she isn’t any better than the older princesses. What the film teaches its audiences is that women are supposed to be objectified—they have to be beautiful to find love, true love especially. Being smart and interesting is not as important as being physically attractive. Even though she disobeys her father and pretty much puts both of her worlds in danger, Ariel still winds up getting exactly what she wants. So, I don’t know what lesson that teaches to young girls—shut up and be pretty? It’s okay to lose everything as long as you get your man?

Jasmine, like Ariel, is outgoing and sneaks out of her contrained life. (What’s up with all their hair, by the way? I guess it’s just another representation of feminine ideals—long, thick hair and perfect figures with exposed midriffs). She meets Aladdin (who looks a lot like Ariel’s Eric), but since the film is about Aladdin, we get to know her through him. It’s also unusual that the audience gets to know the male character at all since the princes before Aladdin (who, I know, isn’t technically a prince) are not developed at all. Walt Disney believed it was better to idealize the unknown (that being the prince) rather than to show it, which is why the princes were all stock characters who look very similar to one another (Philip and Prince Charming[Snow White], Eric and Aladdin, etc).  Anyway, Jasmine’s pretty smart and at least has some hand in helping take down Jafar. But what’s most annoying about the Disney Princesses is that they never want to be princesses, and they can never be happy – at least until they find a man. Which is exactly what happened to Jasmine. (Also, Jasmine and Aladdin look alike, and that’s always been weird). Despite being very picky with who she wants to marry, she finds her true love within a matter of days – interestingly enough, they both lied to each other about who they were originally. But what’s that matter in true love?

Pocahontas’ story is just wrong historically. But anyway, she has all that hair too. She doesn’t have her own smarts either, she listens to what other people tell her, be it John Smith, a tree or a raccoon. She does bring two cultures together, so I guess that’s cool. But she’s flat, maybe it’s because of the limited dialogue she can exchange with John Smith or because she just wasn’t developed. It’s a typical Disney story: a princess in love with a guy who isn’t attainable right away. It just tosses in some multiculturalism. It exploits Native American beliefs while faking history—just an FYI, after Pocahontas was held hostage and married off, she called John Smith ‘Father’ when she saw him again. There wasn’t any romance between them as she was a little girl when they took her. Also, the colonists and the Native Americans didn’t live harmoniously like the film implies. But that’s off topic.

Then comes Belle. She’s pretty AND smart. Crazy, right? She takes care of her father, and the town considers her odd because she enjoys reading. Once her father is kidnapped, Belle doesn’t wait around for a man to fix it – She goes to rescue her father herself. She sacrifices herself and becomes the Beast’s prisoner. I know that it is creepy that she falls in love with a Dog-Man, but the power of reading makes him nice! That’s good. Also, that library is hot. Unlike the other girls, Belle isn’t originally a princess and her life isn’t defined by wanting to get married. She wants to experience things outside of her hometown and she doesn’t jump at the opportunity of marrying Gaston, a man she doesn’t know but could possibly be her true love. Belle doesn’t let the Beast boss her around, and she stands up for herself. Yeah, he does save her from the wolves, but I mean, he’s a dog too so that’s only fair. It also shows that her personality had made him compassionate. (Belle’s hair is shorter and pulled back, and she has a shirt on under her dress). Belle’s the most selfless female character, living for her father and sacrificing herself, which in turn allows her to love someone who doesn’t seem to deserve it at first, but ultimately changes him. So, bsasically, the boy has to change for the girl. That’s craziness, Disney.

Giselle, played by Amy Adams, is cartoon and real person. The beginning of “Enchanted” starts as a parody of the Classic Disney films, showing her as friends with the animals, living comfortably in the woods while waiting for her prince. When Giselle enters the “real world,” her misguided and innocent thinking gets her into all sorts of hijinks—people aren’t great, things don’t work out and people don’t sing their feelings. But her convictions change and at the end of the film, she’s the one saving the man. And she doesn’t marry the prince, who she thought was her true love. When she actually has to spend time with him, Giselle realizes that he’s flat and there’s nothing to know about him despite how perfect he appears to be.

Tiana was a big deal because she is the first black Disney princess. I really enjoyed “The Princess and the Frog,” I saw it twice. Disney changed its “wish upon a star” motto, saying that you could wish but you also had to work really hard to get your dreams. Tiana worked all the time and she wasn’t focused on getting married or becoming a princess. She wants to work and run her own business. Of course, she did marry in the end and he provided her with her dream restaurant. But Tiana does save everyone because she makes a selfless choice, so there is a change in the Disney characters starting, I think. I don’t really get why the film is hailed as a milestone though, since the first black Disney princess spent the majority of the film as a frog, not a woman. Also – Tiana looks just like Belle, just colored in with a darker pencil, but that’s neither here nor there. The story revamped a classic tale while tossing in aspects of the “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast” in there, but it’s still pretty good. Like Belle, Tiana did not want to become a princess, it just happened.

Obviously, Disney creates ideal and glamorized stories, but they still send out messages to the audience, especially little girls to look and act a certain way, to aspire to be a princess by marrying a wealthy man they don’t really know. Belle is awesome because she acts on her own—and she likes to read. Seriously, that library is awesome. Belle actually takes the time to get to know the person she marries, which is different from most of the other stories. Newer Disney stories though are showing a shift towards more Belle-like characters, which is good. Belle is just awesome, and that’s pretty much all I have to say.

Quote: All love that has not friendship for its base, is like a mansion built upon sand. – Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Driveway

One day, about six years ago, a guy knocked on our door and asked if we wanted him to pave our driveway. He had been paving another driveway in the area and had extra leftover. He only had enough for half of the drive, but he promised he would come back with the rest and we could just pay him then.

He never came back. We never paid him, but we did have half a paved driveway.

A couple of weeks ago, my dad finally decides that it is time for the drive to be finished. Today they paved the rest of our driveway. They never came to get the check though.

Even if they do come back though, we still have half a free driveway.