"Spanglish" was another worthwhile movie; I watched it tonight. That
makes two in a row, counting "Ray," from yesterday. I felt every
moment. I have personally known those people. No, not the actors,
silly. But the people that they were portraying; I've known those exact
characters. And I've been more than one of them, in my life. It brought
back memories, regrets, moments of happiness and fear, as well as
confusion and loneliness. Maybe I'll need to watch it again to see why
it was called a "comedy." It didn't make me laugh much.
I think that the Tea Leoni character was supposed to make people laugh,
but I was seriously involved with a woman exactly like that, so it
wasn't funny. They seem all right at first, and then you realize that
they're so caught up in the "drama" (which isn't a catch phrase, by the
way; it's a real, horrible thing), that they can't actually deal with
real life. And the problems with translating between an
English-speaking world and a Spanish-speaking mind were also probably
supposed to draw some laughs, but I lived in San Antonio for nine
years. Seventy percent of the people I knew had Spanish as a first
language. They were hard workers, compassionate people, struggling to
understand our crazy world -- almost like another planet to them. So
that wasn't funny to me, either.
And maybe some people thought it was funny that Adam Sandler tried to
play a serious role, but, again.... no laughs. He was GOOD. This is a
brilliant man, somewhat like Jim Carrey, who can successfully make the
transition from silly comedy to serious drama, because he actually
understands life. The emotion was real, just as Carrey's was in
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."
Also, I have to disagree with the critics who said this was a failed
attempt by (director) James L. Brooks to recapture the acclaim he won
with "As Good As it Gets." I'm sorry, but did any of these critics
actually SEE "As Good As It Gets"? I did, and I wasn't impressed. THIS
film, though, took me to places, emotionally and mentally, that I
needed to go. It blew Brooks' other films out of the water, including
"Jerry Maguire." And it's a far cry from his shabby attempts at humor
on the old TV show "Taxi" (which many of you may be too young to
remember). He achieved a great deal of success with "The Simpsons," and
rightfully so, because that's brilliantly-written satirical piece of
animation.
"Spanglish," though was on another level entirely.
And yes, I'm enjoying my vacation, even though I won't actually miss a
day of work until I wake up in the morning. But I already feel more
relaxed, more at home with myself, less pressured, etc. I know I have
to go back in a week, but I'll deal with that when the time comes, and
I'll be much more ready for it after these few days to myself. I
accomplished several things on my checklist today (Yes, I have to have
a checklist, or I'll never get anything done.)
Tomorrow, I plan to spend most of the day completely rebuilding my
website, and when I'm finished, I'll let everyone know, and post a link
on here. Hopefully, it will be better, more functional, and more
productive than it is now.
You are the beautiful people.
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