I Saw the TV Glow

The second movie in my double feature at the Broadway last night was I Saw the TV Glow.  I wasn't able to fit this in at Sundance, where it was very well received, so I was really excited to have a chance to see it now that it is in wide release.  Ninth grader Owen (Justice Smith) and eleventh grader Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) are alienated from their possibly abusive families and struggle to fit in at their suburban high school.  They bond over a late night TV show called The Pink Opaque which follows two friends named Isabel (Helena Howard) and Tara (Lindsey Jordan) who meet at sleepaway camp and discover that they have a psychic connection, manifested by tattoos on their necks, which they use to fight monsters, sent by Mr. Melancholy (Emma Portner), who try to bury them underground each week.  They both feel more connected to the show than they do to reality and, when it is canceled, Maddy disappears.  Ten years later Owen is still living at home and working a dead-end job when Maddy suddenly reappears and tells him that she has been living in the world of the show.  She pleads with him to follow her there because he is being buried underground by Mr. Melancholy in this world but he refuses with tragic consequences.  I really loved the fun neon aesthetic used in the trippy visuals that blur the lines between fantasy and reality as well as the original soundtrack featuring songs full of teenage angst but, more than anything else, I loved the incredibly powerful message (which is never overtly mentioned but brilliantly implied in the subtext) about the dangers of repressing who you really are.  Both Smith and Lundy-Paine give incredibly transformative performances and I was particularly struck by how Maddy becomes more confident as Owen seems to disappear within himself.  I think this is a movie that will resonate with a lot of people for a lot of different reasons and I highly recommend it.

Evil Does Not Exist

Last night I went to the Broadway for a double feature that I was really excited about.  I started with Evil Does Not Exist because I had heard a lot about it from the fall film festivals and I am a fan of Ryusuke Hamaguchi's previous movie Drive My Car.  It is extremely slow and meditative and I am still trying to wrap my head around the shocking ending but it is beautifully shot and it definitely kept me invested.  Takumi (Hitoshi Omika) and his young daughter Hana (Ryo Nishikawa) live in a small rural village within driving distance of Tokyo.  He has a deep reverence for nature and tries to impart his knowledge to his daughter, particularly the habits of animals who generally avoid people but attack when they are threatened.  A company buys land in the area to build a glamping resort and they send two representatives, Takahashi (Ryuji Kosaka) and Mayuzumi (Ayaka Shibutani), to hold a meeting in order to convince the locals of the economic benefits to their village.  They oppose the proposal because of the danger it poses to the environment, especially the water supply, and demand that changes be made.  The company only cares about taking advantage of subsidies from the government and making a quick profit so they send Takaheshi and Mayuzumi back to the village to meet with Takumi again to get him on their side.  However, Takumi attempts to show them what it means to live in balance with nature instead.  I really loved the deliberate and measured way in which Hamaguchi introduces the characters and shows how they interact with the environment, the mesmerizing cinematography (especially the four minute tracking shot looking up at trees at the beginning), and the ethereal score which sometimes stops very abruptly (to replicate how man disrupts the natural order).  I also enjoyed the fact that my expectations were completely subverted in the third act despite, upon further reflection, all of the foreshadowing that precedes it.  I left the theater feeling a bit confused and very unnerved (but in the best possible way) and I definitely recommend this to fans of Hamaguchi.

Tashena's Wedding

Tashena and Tucker got married last Saturday and the wedding was beautiful!  They held the ceremony and the reception on some property owned by neighbors and life-long friends of Tucker's family and I think Tashena did an amazing job with the decor.

I loved the rustic theme!

It was overcast and a bit cold and windy but the sun came out right before the ceremony!

It was a really special moment seeing Trent walk Tashena down the aisle.  She was a beautiful bride!

The ceremony was lovely but the reception was a great party!  There was a full bar and an Italian cream soda bar that was really fun and the owners of the property barbecued pulled pork sandwiches and chicken along with the best baked beans I've ever had, coleslaw, and cornbread muffins for dinner.  After dinner there were speeches (which were highly amusing but Tashena's biological uncle got everyone crying), a champagne toast, and the couple's first dance (it was choreographed and Tucker did a great job) before everyone started dancing.  Marilyn, Sean, and I left just as the dancing got started (and sadly before the cake was cut) because we were really cold but we had a great time!

I am so proud of Tashena and I hope she and Tucker have a very happy life together (they were so happy at the wedding).

Washington Road Trip

Tashena's wedding was in Washington last weekend and, of course, we all wanted to be there to support her!  Most people would fly and stay at a nice hotel but not us!  We decided to make a road trip of it (the trip took eleven hours to drive each way) and stay in a deluxe cabin at a KOA. It was a long day driving to get there (and it felt even longer driving home) but we actually had so much fun and there were many times when we were laughing so hard we couldn't breathe.  The cabin was really nice with a full kitchen, a full bathroom with a shower, a seating area, and enough bedrooms to sleep eight (with lots of amenities provided such as dishes and linens).  There was also a patio outside with a table and chairs, benches, a fire pit, and a barbecue.  Marilyn and I spent a lot of time out there relaxing and reading while Trent, Kristine, and Sean helped with wedding preparations and it was lovely.

The part of Washington where Tashena lives is incredibly beautiful, especially the Wenatchee National Forest.  We all really enjoyed staying at this KOA and would definitely recommend the deluxe cabins.

Pride and Prejudice at the Grand Theatre

I absolutely adored the adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by Melissa Leilani Larson that I saw at HCTO last year so I was really excited to get to see another production at the Grand Theatre last night.  It was just delightful!  This adaptation does not include everything from the novel by Jane Austen and there are subtle changes in characterization but I think it brilliantly captures its essence in a way that feels very fresh and very funny (the crowd was laughing out loud all night).  When Mr. Bingley (Alex Smith), a single man in possession of a good fortune (there is a hilarious spoof on this famous opening line), lets Netherfield Hall, Mrs. Bennett (Liz Whittaker) immediately sets her sights on him as a possible husband for one of her five daughters.  Bingley falls in love with the beautiful Jane (Lauren Pope) but her sister Elizabeth (Niki Rahimi) takes an immediate dislike to his friend Mr. Darcy (Gordon Dunn) because he is so aloof and disdainful.  Elizabeth must overcome her prejudice and Mr. Darcy must overcome his pride for them to realize that they belong together.  Last night I was really struck by how well the letters written between characters are used to advance the narrative instead of dialogue, especially Jane's visit to Pemberley, without losing any impact and I enjoyed seeing the characters pantomime what is happening in the letters on large platforms upstage while they are read aloud.  Every member of the cast is very well-suited to their role but I especially enjoyed how uptight Ellie Otis is as Mary, how histrionic Whittaker is as Mrs. Bennett, and how goofy Smith is as Bingley.  Rahimi and Dunn (who is especially swoon-worthy) have great chemistry when they are sparring back and forth and Darrin Burnett steals the show as Mr. Collins (I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe when he was dancing at the Netherfield Ball, when he dropped to his knees while proposing to Elizabeth, and when he chased after Lady Catherine's carriage).  The staging is a bit different from HCTO because, instead of a small and intimate thrust stage, the Grand has a large proscenium stage but I really liked how they kept the minimal vibe with modular cubes made with sheets of patterned plastic that form a multi-level platform with some that are also moved and reconfigured to form multiple locations.  I also really loved the framed silhouettes of the characters, made from the same patterned plastic, that are hanging in the background (there are new silhouettes when the relationships change in the play).  The blue, pink, purple, and turquoise lighting looks very dramatic projected on a cyclorama upstage as well as reflected in the plastic used in the cubes.  Finally, the period costumes are beautiful (I love those empire waists) but I wish that Caroline Bingley's dress had been more elaborate to denote her higher socio-economic status.  This show is a really fun way to spend an evening and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) during its run through June 8.