| Wednesday, June 06, 2007 |
| The tipping point |
"Knocked Up" -- is it too "cuddly"? Writing in the Huffington Post, Peter Bart finds it hard to believe that "a sleek TV career girl" would find "the 'a' word... truly unmentionable." First of all, if Alison had gotten an abortion, there wouldn't have been a movie... or at least not one called "Knocked Up." Secondly, there is a scene in the movie in which Alison's mother approvingly mentions a young woman who got pregnant at a non-advantageous time, had an abortion, and then had what she describes as "a real baby" years later. Is it really so hard to believe that Alison -- who had, after all, seen her tiny fetus in an ultrasound -- would stop and think to herself, "Hey, this is a real baby?" Even her glamorous TV life might pale in comparison to a human life growing inside her. Plus, a somewhat unambitious mate = killer househusband!
"[T]he guy (Ben) instantly commits to be the Perfect Father" -- no, actually, he doesn't; that's why Alison dumps him a few months into the pregnancy. (It is a romantic comedy, so I assume I'm not spoiling anything here. The path of true love in the movies can never be conflict-free.)
"Are we so 'values driven' that we're prepared to overlook the fact that the 'values' of this film defy credibility?" fumes Bart. Dammit, if there's one thing I hate, it's when movies "defy credibility"! When it comes to Hollywood entertainment, realism is obviously of primary importance. Like, say, when a young man is bitten by a radioactive spider and becomes a superhero -- that could totally happen! I don't know if "Knocked Up" is "credible," but I think it's at least plausible. Bart may call Ben "a chubby, emotionally stunted stoner," but I think he's kind of cute 'n cuddly. I'd actually take Seth Rogen over Brad Pitt any day. Surely I'm not the only female in the universe who feels this way?
On a different subject: I have an appointment for a haircut in a few days, which always makes me nervous. Not the haircutting itself, but what happens afterward. My hairdresser is self-employed and works out of her home. I started going to her when she worked at a salon. I always tipped her generously in cash at the salon, but when she started working on her own, I assumed I wouldn't have to tip anymore -- I'd always heard that you never tip business owners. However, her credit card receipts have a tipping table at the bottom (the kind that "helpfully" point out what 15% or 20% of your total is), so, oops, I guess that means I should tip. (I'm easily intimidated.) I don't want to be perceived as ungracious. But it kind of bugs me. I found an interesting thread on the subject here, and obviously opinions differ.
One pro-tipping respondent points out that even a salon owner has to pay for all her products, insurance, social security taxes, etc., and of course since they're self-employed, they don't get paid if they're sick or on vacation. Guess what? That applies to me too. I've got to pay for my computers, software upgrades, DSL, web hosting, fund my own retirement plan, etc. And none of my clients has ever tipped me. Then again, I don't tip the plumbers and painters who have worked for me over the years. I do give a generous tip to deliverypeople who have to tote furniture up to my apartment (something I'm sure the people who have visited this place will understand).
Bottom line: tipping is anxiety-provoking, confusing and bothersome, and I wish it could be done away with. |
posted by 125records @ 2:11 PM  |
|
| 1 Comments: |
-
As is my usual practice, I will comment on the content of this post - despite having neither read Bart's article nor seen the movie. Anyway: from what I can tell, having read many reviews (universally positive, somewhat to my surprise after seeing previews), the filmmakers do a fine job of setting up the plausibility both of Ben's one-night stand and of their eventual more-or-less getting-together. Plus - geez, you'd think that anyone not having an abortion automatically makes them a raving prolife zealot. For the record: I'm very pro-choice, but that doesn't mean that some women in some situations (even not married to a not-ideal guy) might not choose to have their child. That would be, you know, a choice. Which means I'm in favor of it (the choice). Someone's got their politics twisting their brain in a knot.
As far as I can tell, the movie is about (among other things) the way real-life, serious decisions (what should I do about this pregnancy? from both parties) can change people, can cause them to move beyond dumbass expectations of who gets together with whom. Really, the whole emphasis on who's the hottest is several levels of stupid: okay, granted, there's the turn-on factor - but beyond that, there's no necessary correlation between hotness and, uh, sexual skill (you could even posit that those who don't have to work hard don't have to develop any skill...) nor between hotness and long-term compatibility. Yeah, some attraction's necessary - but hey, open your mind and find something attractive other than what Maxim or Cosmo says is attractive.
There is a two-drink minimum on these comments, right?
|
| |
| << Home |
| |
|
|
|
| About Me |
Name: Sue
Home: San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States
About Me:
See my complete profile
|
| Previous Post |
|
| Archives |
|
| Links |
|
|
| Powered by |
|
|
As is my usual practice, I will comment on the content of this post - despite having neither read Bart's article nor seen the movie. Anyway: from what I can tell, having read many reviews (universally positive, somewhat to my surprise after seeing previews), the filmmakers do a fine job of setting up the plausibility both of Ben's one-night stand and of their eventual more-or-less getting-together. Plus - geez, you'd think that anyone not having an abortion automatically makes them a raving prolife zealot. For the record: I'm very pro-choice, but that doesn't mean that some women in some situations (even not married to a not-ideal guy) might not choose to have their child. That would be, you know, a choice. Which means I'm in favor of it (the choice). Someone's got their politics twisting their brain in a knot.
As far as I can tell, the movie is about (among other things) the way real-life, serious decisions (what should I do about this pregnancy? from both parties) can change people, can cause them to move beyond dumbass expectations of who gets together with whom. Really, the whole emphasis on who's the hottest is several levels of stupid: okay, granted, there's the turn-on factor - but beyond that, there's no necessary correlation between hotness and, uh, sexual skill (you could even posit that those who don't have to work hard don't have to develop any skill...) nor between hotness and long-term compatibility. Yeah, some attraction's necessary - but hey, open your mind and find something attractive other than what Maxim or Cosmo says is attractive.
There is a two-drink minimum on these comments, right?