Blinded by the Light

Have you ever had a favorite band whose music speaks to your soul and so perfectly reflects how you feel about life, love, and the world and your place in it that you listen to it over and over again?  I have felt that way about both the Beatles and U2 so when I saw the preview for Blinded by the Light, a true story about a young man who is inspired by the music of Bruce Springsteen, I knew that I had to see it and I did last night.  I couldn't love this movie more!  Javed Khan (Viveik Kalra) is the son of very traditional Pakistani immigrants living in an economically depressed town in England in 1987.  He yearns for the courage to stand up to the racist bullies who attack him, to finally kiss a girl, and to escape his town and become a writer.  When a friend (Aaron Phagura) gives him a Bruce Springsteen tape, he listens to the song "Dancing in the Dark" when feeling particularly down and something inside him is awakened.  He loves Bruce Springsteen so much that he collects all of his records, listens to his music all of the time, covers his bedroom walls with his posters, finds out everything he can about him, starts dressing like him, and takes extreme measures to get tickets to his concert.  I couldn't relate to him at all!  He is inspired by "Badlands," "The Promised Land," "Thunder Road," and "Prove It At Night" to pursue his dreams but it is the song "Blinded by the Light" that eventually helps him understand who he is.  This movie is definitely one of my favorites this year!  I loved the message about the power of music, I loved the earnest and heartfelt performance of Kalra (in his feature film debut), and I loved all of the great Bruce Springsteen music used throughout!  Definitely go see this feel-good movie!

Note:  In the end credits we learn that the real Javed Khan has seen Bruce Spingsteen over 150 times!  Nope!  I couldn't relate to him at all!

The Book of Mormon at the Eccles

I saw the Broadway touring production of the musical The Book of Mormon when it first came through Salt Lake City in 2015 and the excitement and energy in the crowd was palpable!  The audience laughed out loud, cheered, and even gave a standing ovation after the song "Sal Tlay Ka Siti" (which is in the middle of the show!).  It was one of the most memorable theatre experiences that I have ever had so, of course, I wanted to see it again during its return visit to SLC.  After a busy week back at school, seeing The Book of Mormon last night was so much fun!  After spending some time at the Missionary Training Center learning how to preach the gospel around the world ("Hello"), Elder Price (Liam Tobin) and Elder Cunningham (Jacob Ben-Shmuel) are called to serve in a remote village in Uganda.  Elder Price is very disappointed in the location because he wanted to go Orlando, the most wonderful and magical place on Earth, and in his companion because Elder Cunningham has a tendency to lie to compensate for his low self-esteem but he realizes that he will be a great missionary no matter the circumstances ("You and Me But Mostly Me").  When they meet their fellow missionaries in Africa, they get some advice about dealing with any unusual feelings they might be having ("Turn It Off").  The elders begin teaching ("An American Prophet") but the villagers are more concerned with poverty, famine, AIDs, and a violent overlord than in hearing their message.  However, Nabulungi (Alyah Chenelle Scott), the chief's daughter, is interested because she is hoping to leave Africa and go to paradise ("Sal Tlay Ka Siti").  Elder Price becomes discouraged because Uganda is nothing like The Lion King and decides to go home leaving Elder Cunningham, who has never actually read the Book of Mormon because it is so boring, to teach Nabulungi ("Man Up").  He begins embellishing the message with references to Star Wars, Star Trek, and The Lord of the Rings ("Making Things Up Again") and, after he baptizes Nabulungi ("Baptize Me"), he converts the rest of the village.  Meanwhile, Elder Cunningham decides to return after having a dream about being in Hell with Jeffrey Dahmer, Genghis Khan, Hitler, and people who drink Starbucks coffee ("Spooky Mormon Hell Dream").  They eventually get in trouble for their false teachings but they realize that they have made the lives of the villagers better and decide to stay in Africa ("Tomorrow is a Latter Day").  It is absolutely hilarious and I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes, as did everyone sitting around me.  My favorite number is "Turn It Off" because I love the choreography and Andy Huntington Jones is fabulous as Elder McKinley, a missionary trying to pretend that he is not gay!  There is quite a bit of profanity and some might be offended by the content but if you understand going in that it is a satire, this show is a lot of fun.  It runs at the Eccles Theatre until August 25 (go here for tickets).

Note:  The cast has mentioned how much fun this show is to perform in Salt Lake City.  They get reactions here that they don't get in other cities, especially during "Sal Tlay Ka Siti," and it sometimes throws them off!

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

I read the novel Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple years ago in a book club that I once belonged to.  It was one of the funniest books that I had ever read so I was really excited to see the movie adaptation last night.  Even though it had a different tone than the book, I quite enjoyed this movie!  Bernadette Fox (Cate Blanchett) was once a brilliant and prize-winning architect in Los Angeles.  After a devastating incident with one of her houses, she flees to Seattle and lives with her husband Elgin (Billy Crudup) and daughter Bee (Emma Nelson) in a crumbling mansion that she is halfheartedly renovating.  Without a creative outlet, she becomes antisocial, agoraphobic, and acerbic, channeling all of her energy into criticizing the provinciality of Seattle and the pretentiousness of the other parents at Bee's school.  After a series of troubling incidents, Elgin decides that Bernadette needs professional help and stages an intervention with a therapist (Judy Greer) which causes Bernadette to run away.  When Bernadette disappears in order to find herself in the unlikeliest of places, Bee sets out to discover where she is.  Because the novel is epistolary, some of the snarky humor doesn't really translate very well to the screen but I still really enjoyed it because the story about a woman who loses herself, both literally and figuratively, is much more poignant in the movie (deeply flawed characters finding redemption is one of my favorite themes).  Blanchett gives an incredible performance, especially whenever Bernadette goes on a manic rant about her surroundings.  On the page Bernadette is an unsympathetic character but Blanchett imbues her with a certain humanity that is hard to resist.  Finally, I found the resolution of the movie to be much more uplifting than that of the novel and I actually prefer it.  While I laughed out loud reading the book, I enjoyed the movie for its heart and I would recommend it.

Note:  I have always wanted to go to Antarctica!

The Peanut Butter Falcon

Yesterday I crossed another new release off my long list by seeing The Peanut Butter Falcon.  This contemporary retelling of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a heartwarming movie that put a huge smile on my face!  Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a young man with Down syndrome, has spent most of his life in a nursing home because his family is unable to supervise him and there is nowhere else for him to go.  As a huge fan of a wrestler named Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church), Zak escapes hoping to make it to his wrestling school in rural North Carolina.  He meets up with Tyler (Shia LaBeouf), a down-on-his-luck fisherman in the Outer Banks, who is on the run from a rival fisherman with an ax to grind (and his own demons).  Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), who works at the nursing home, is sent to retrieve Zak but she is eventually persuaded to join them on their way to the wrestling school.  The three of them form a bond as they go on a journey of discovery (literally and figuratively) where Zak is reborn as a wrestler named Peanut Butter Falcon.  I loved this movie because the story about an unlikely friendship and living life to the fullest on your own terms really touched my heart.  It also made me laugh out loud, particularly a scene where Tyler tells Zak the rules for traveling with him and the scenes where Salt Water teaches Zak to wrestle.  The performances are wonderful! Gottsagen, who actually has Down syndrome, is incredibly endearing and LaBeouf gives an emotional performance that is one of his best.  The two of them have great chemistry and I really enjoyed watching them play off each other.  The soundtrack, which features bluegrass and folk music, and the beautiful cinematography are also outstanding!  I cannot recommend this movie enough!

Brian Banks

The movie Brian Banks is another recent release on my list and I was able to see this inspirational true story last night.  In 2002 Brian Banks (Aldis Hodge) is a sixteen year old high school student and an All-American football player committed to play at USC after he graduates.  He meets a fellow student named Kennisha Rice (Xosha Roquemore) in secret in a hallway and, when he rejects her, she falsely accuses him of raping her.  He is tried as an adult and pressured into taking a plea bargain to avoid going to jail.  However, he is sentenced to six years, which he serves, and then three years of parole.  His parole officer won't let him play football as a walk-on at a community college and he has difficulty finding a job as a convicted felon so, in desperation, he turns to Justin Brooks (Greg Kinnear) of the California Innocence Project.  Thinking that there are too many obstacles to getting his conviction overturned, Brooks is initially hesitant to take the case but is eventually won over by the sheer force of Banks' character.  Overcoming unbelievable odds, Banks is finally able to achieve his goal of playing in the NFL.  Before I discuss the movie I need to confess that the exoneration of people who have been wrongly convicted has always been a topic that I am incredibly passionate about and it always pushes my buttons (it was a frequent subject for me as a debater in high school) so it is inevitable that I would find this movie powerful and moving.  Some may find the story to be emotionally manipulative but I found it to be very compelling with affecting performances by both Hodge (I really liked him in the movie Clemency, which has a similar theme, at the Sundance Film Festival this year) and Sherri Shepherd who plays Banks' mother.  I was moved to tears several times and I really appreciated seeing a movie with such a positive message about perseverance.  I would highly recommend this feel-good movie!