When people think of Ben Keedy, they usually think “danger.” If you were to drop in at a random time, chances are I’d be doing something exciting, like eating spicy foods, chugging gallons of Surge, or racing off on a new adventure. I guess that’s why they call me the Bry-man.
Four years ago, I experienced my grandest adventure to date. Sibling Jenna and I kicked the Haslett dust off our boots and escaped to exotic Italy
However, even the most rugged individuals can feel a twinge when away from their home country for an extended period of time. One of possibly only three Americans in an alien land, I became a tad bit homesick. I was having a blast, but missed the familiar comforts of the land of the free.
Luckily, there was a theater near Meg’s apartment that showed American movies (complete with Italian subtitles). So, the three Keedy children hitched up the wagon and traveled three blocks over to see the much hyped film by auteur director Tom Dey (perhaps best known for his tour de force Shanghai Noon, and for helming the upcoming Marmaduke), Failure to Launch.
Dispensing with the smarminess, Failure to Launch is not a good film. However, it was an extremely comforting experience watching it. For a while I felt home again, watching a world of familiar clichés, archetypes, and plot lines. Had I seen Failure to Launch in the USA Italy
Failure to Launch illustrated, for me, one of my favorite things about films: their ability to connect with you on a deeper level than “that looked cool.” I’ll probably never watch Failure to Launch again (I don’t want to, really), but I’ll never forget seeing it in Italy
Great stuff Ben. I think everyone has that weird movie they don't necessarily love as a film, but have some deeper connection to for whatever reason. The best example for me is Heath Ledger's "A Knight's Tale". I watched that while I was in Australia six days after Mr. Ledger died. It is a decent entertaining movie that will always bring me back there, and so, to me, it means something more.
ReplyDeleteI feel like midnight movies always stick out in my mind, especially when going w a group of dear friends. I guess its compounded if we wait in line longer too... even if the movie sorta sucked, its that "i waited soooo long to see this" feel.
ReplyDeletequestion: ben, did you have a rating for this movie?
No rating for this one, it's more just a short essay on the effect movies can have on us. If I did give it a rating, it'd be pretty low.
ReplyDeleteI agree about midnight movies. They can make bad movies much more fun. The crowd is usually better/rowdier, too.
ok i felt like your intention was to not rate, but at the end i was curious if you had meant to rate failure to launch. I liked the review too, cool story about how your situation/surroundings can add to a movie and make it memorable (even if it wouldnt be in a different setting)
ReplyDeletei know what you mean about rooming with your best friend during your first year of college. i have some strange connection to the guy even though hes a total douche...
ReplyDeleteWho doesn't love animals beating the s*** out of Bradley Cooper?
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, that was one of the more entertaining parts of the movie, just because it was so out of left field.
ReplyDeleteAnd watch your language, Missy. This is the internet, not the Wild West.
OK, let's get a few things straight. First, Missy is not from the Wild West. In the Wild West, a really bad swear word was "damn." Remember, this was a time when people put table cloths over tables because seeing table legs was considered suggestive. Go figure. Second, I gotta wonder if I should be insulted by a really bad movie reminding you of a hug from Mom in elementary school. Well, you still hug me when you come home to visit. Maybe you're just a glutten for punishment.
ReplyDeleteI have a favorite magical-movie-memory-moment too Ben. As you know from your time in Italy, if you look for movies that say they are being screened in the original version, you can expect the language to be in the native tongue of the country of origin. One night in France many years ago, Chip and I chose Jim Jarmusch's "Night on Earth" (I think the title's English translation was different from the title in the U.S.).
ReplyDeleteWe loved the first of five vignettes, each of them take place just about midnight on the same day, but in five different locations around the planet. So, the first scene in Los Angeles was great. The second scene took place in NYC and it too was wonderful. Scene three however, took place in Paris and we were listening to Parisians speaking French (why not?) and there were no sub-titles. Challenging, but we made it through .... then, as the fourth scene was beginning in Rome, we realized the characters would be speaking Italian and we would be reading French. The subtitles were way too fast for us. In the fifth scene, a sad tale set in Helsinki, I fell sound asleep. I love Jim Jarmusch's work but whenever I think of that particular film, the happy memory I have is of a night out in a wonderful city without children in tow.
Susan (Russick)