2007-11-12 - 2:28 p.m. So this weekend was rather movie-intensive, as a chilly, overcast November weekend oughta be. Almost immediately after seeing Diva, I watched Eddie and the Cruisers. This film--which I had not seen before--illustrates an important entertainment truth: a movie does not have to be well-acted, well-written, or bear any resemblance to reality in order to be utterly satisfying as a story-telling vehicle. And satisfying it is, despite being painfully stupid and awful. Not in a "so bad it's good" way, either, but as a "mystery," a coming of age drama, and a fictional music bio. Recommended! Following that, I re-watched (for the 4th or 5th time) one of my favorite movies, and a film I forgot to mention when we were dicussing "music movies"--Velvet Goldmine. I couldn't have known, as I was choosing Eddie from the video store, how much it actually resembles VG. Both films center on mysterious disappearances and possibly faked deaths of misunderstood genius rock stars; both feature media reporters and protagonists who are not only trying to untangle a mystery but also sorting out their personal relationships with the subject of their investigations. And both are completely disengaged from reality, although in VG's case, it is on purpose, and lusciously so. There are a couple of scenes in VG where the word "varda" is used, and I was curious if that was some kind of rhyming slang. It turns out it is part of a slanguage called Polari, used by gay men in the British theater world. Some of its terms have entered the common parlance. thoughts? (3 comments so far) previous - next blog archive contact