rumiNATION

So I watched this movie called "Paper Man" tonight on Netflix. Jeff Daniels, Lisa Kudrow, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds... with a cast like that, you'd probably anticipate a comedy. I did. But it wasn't, really. It turned out to be one of those sort of slow paced indie films that makes you think about life. It actually reminded me a little bit of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", to tell you the truth. And not just because they both take place (at times) in Montauk - even though they do. But I suppose that's neither here nor there. Anyway, here's my thoughts:

1) It's a shame that independent films don't get more recognition. Emma Stone was excellent in this picture. The sort of excellent that probably would have (or should have) warranted an Oscar nod, had someone at a big studio simply decided to produce this film instead of Sundance. And that's not to take anything away from Jeff Daniels, who was also outstanding.

2) What is it about Montauk? Is it really a magical place, or is it just that people are so enamored with New York city and this is just happens to be a pretty, nearby diversion from the hustle and bustle of city life? I bet it's probably one of those places that was really nice back in the day, when it was actually just a fishing village and not a quaint convenience for the city dwellers. I don't know if I'd like to go there in the summer time. Probably crawling with tourists. Maybe I'll have to take a trip in the winter and experience it when Joel and Richard both did.

3) I still want to get better at having actual friends. That's one of the strands of the plot in "Paper Man" - how these two characters interact with many people, but have real friendship with almost none of them. I can relate to that a lot of times. Maybe not to the extent that Richard and Abby do, but still.

4) I'm jealous of people who hug when they greet each other. To a certain extent, my height makes that difficult for me. (A lot of people don't know how to hug someone tall. You don't put your arm around their waist. That's just awkward.) But also there's just this standoffish side of me that I truthfully don't know the origins of. It's not like my parents never hugged me. Just kind of developed along the way in my teenaged years at some point. But yeah, I'd like to get better at hugging too, I suppose.

So there you have it. More deep thoughts spurred on by my friend Netflix. I haven't been missing cable much at all. Indie films are cool and I have much more exposure to them via Netflix than I ever did with television. That and BBC. Doctor Who and Torchwood? Oh man. That's another post for another day.