Danny ChaiI watched Parenthood last night. I was surprised at how much I liked it. There was some big flaws with it. It was about 20 minutes too long. There was almost no music, which also added to the feeling of a really slow pace. So, I don’t know if I could watch it over and over again. But, besides these two things, I actually liked it a lot.
For the same reason I liked Pleasantville, actually. The two movies have essentially the same message (to me). Which can be summed up in the following exchange (I guess you shouldn’t read it if you plan to watch the movie):
[Gil has been complaining about his complicated life; Grandma wanders into the room.]
Grandma
-
- : You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster.
Gil Buckman
-
- : Oh?
Grandma
-
- : Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride!
(A long pause. The delivery here is great because you just think she’s senile.)
Gil Buckman
-
- : What a great story.
Grandma
- : I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn’t like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it.
The movie threw me for a loop because it was nothing like I was expecting. Just, I was expecting a comedy. That’s how it was sold. But it was surprisingly, I don’t want to say deep exactly, but more affecting. A lot deeper than I expected, at least. And all the storylines came together in a surprisingly affecting way. Affecting. That’s the right word, I think.
But yeah, once I realized it wasn’t a comedy I enjoyed the movie a great deal. I liked it a lot. Were it 20 minutes shorter and with better music, I would have loved it.
Expected reaction by Keith: Watch Dazed and Confused. Anger.