where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Saturday, August 1st, 2009
show: 3:30 pm
costs: $9.50 Ticket + $4.25 medium Diet/Zero ( with Barq's & Cherry flavors ) Coke + $4.00 junior Popcorn = $17.75
auditorium: 7
seat: 5th row, 10th column
synopsis: When the curtain comes down and the audience leaves, a comedian's life resumes.
George Simmons ( Adam Sandler ) is a famous Hollywood celebrity who finds out from his primary care physician that he is dying of the adult-onset blood cancer disease, Acute Myeloid Leukemia ( AML ). After a chance encounter, he hires a struggling comedian, Ira Wright--aka Wiener ( Seth Rogen )--as his comedy sketch writer, one in whom he confides in about his deadly disease. As the disease slowly takes its toll on him, George re-evaluates his life and realizes that he has taken too many things for granted and has lost touch with those who really mean a lot to him: his family and his real ( i.e. not "hangers-on" ) friends. When an experimental drug regimen puts the cancer in complete remission, egocentric George exploits his Near-Death experience and sets his sights on a former before-the-fame flame who's in a strained marriage, Laura ( Leslie Mann ), to woo her and try to win her back.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) The crank calls; 2.) Interacting with fans before and after the medical diagnosis; 3.) Ira at the Deli counter talking with a co-worker, Chuck ( RZA ); 4.) Leo ( Jonah Hill ) telling Ira why he shouldn't have lost weight; 5.) The generous 10-day "grace period;" 6.) The Comedy Club; 7.) The Cuddly Cute Kittens YouTube video; 8.) At the MySpace convention; 9.) Fun time with the groupies; 10.) Ira talking George to sleep; 11.) Hiking with friends/room mates; 12.) George's garage packed to the gills with freebies; 13.) On the set of Mark's ( Jason Schwartzman ) TV show; 14.) The downloaded play list; 15.) At The Improv; 16.) At the "scary accent" Dr. Lars' ( Torsten Voges ) office; 17.) The talk with Daisy ( Aubrey Plaza ); 18.) In the restaurant with George; 19.) Family and friends with George; 20.) At Ira and room mates' Thanksgiving dinner; 21.) Dr. Lars' welcome prognosis; 22.) Celebrating with friends and well-wishers; 23.) At The Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco; 24.) The Peanut Butter Game; 25.) At the guest house with Laura; 26.) Ira calling his room mates for advice; 27.) The break-up; 28.) The home movie; 29.) At the San Francisco International Airport; 30.) The Fight with Laura's husband, Clarke ( Eric Bana ); 31.) The drive back to Los Angeles; 32.) At the Look-Out Point with Daisy; and 33.) Back at OTTO'S Deli counter.
audience reaction: The audience enjoyed this movie, i.e. they laughed at all the funny scenes that I, myself, laughed at.
recommendation: Go see this mature-themed movie.
spoiler alert! This is a departure from the usual Adam Sandler movies--it is more adult oriented than his earlier movie, CLICK ( 2006 )--as Adam starts to add to his acting repertoire. This movie comes replete with jokes/comments on oral sex and the male genitalia.
fyi: Ira's comment, "I don't think you can have two girls in China," is probably based on fact. According to a Christian book that I read, Communist China, with its population problem, ordered its citizens to have a maximum of two children per couple but only one if the couple is poor. Poor people in rural areas who could not afford any contraception, or abortion, or a future dowry--and never thought about adoption--would leave their unwanted infant daughters to starve to death and/or be eaten by wild animals in the forest. Now, the male to female ratio in China is disproportionately high.
On a wacky aside, the grocery tabloid, WEEKLY WORLD NEWS, claims that since there are not enough women in China it will attack the US if only to steal our females! Let's save our disease-ridden and ugly ones for them.
I've had many Near-Death experiences. Here's one:
I was a pupil in sixth grade at Rizal Memorial Colleges, Elementary Department, in Davao City, Philippines, when some public health officials came to my school to give us children the Polio Vaccine. I had just gotten over a fever and a cold. As the class filed on its way to the auditorium for the sugar-cubed vaccine, I overheard the Home Room teacher jokingly make the comment not to tell the doctor or the nurse if any one of us had a fever or a cold. So, after taking the vaccine ( I was near the end of the line ), I proudly went up to my teacher and told her that I didn't tell any of the health officials that I was sick. She almost had a heart attack! She ran out of there in a panic to go find the school principal and, together, they got in a taxi cab to chase after the officials who had already left the campus. It was already lunch time, but my teacher hadn't returned yet. I sat in the home room in marked anguish as I belabored the thought of an early demise! Neither one of the two hottest girls in class ( a dark-skinned beauty, Socorro, with stunning long-lashed eyes and a mestiza, Lucia ) could console poor, young grieving me as they tried to spoon-feed me since I refused to even eat my lunch. And the envious guys just looked on, wondering what had gotten into "fat-butt" me as I wouldn't even eat so much as a spoonful. Finally, the teacher returned with the good news: The doctor said that my illness had abated enough that I would not suffer any complications as a result of having taken the vaccine. Boy! was I hungry then. But the hotties left me as I hurriedly gorged myself with food ( the lunch hour was almost over )--to this day, I'm surprised that I didn't choke to death on a food morsel!
word of advice: Life is too short, make the best of it. And, if you have the opportunity to do things over, do so in a better way.
tidbits: Before the show, I swung by the Dollar Tree Store here in Vallejo to buy some trail mix--I've had a trail mix craving for about two weeks now. As I waited for my turn at the check-out line, I noticed that a MILF customer ahead of me was wearing a Really form-fitting light-grey leotard pants which accentuated her derriere and crotch! Talk about camel-toe! I would have moon-walked a mile for her "camel" ( to paraphrase an ad slogan ).
OTTO'S IMPORT STORE & DELICATESSEN is a real highly-ranked, classy European-style neighborhood grocery store in Burbank, CA. Why the employees dress like they work for SAFEWAY, I don't know. Is something going on that inquiring minds need to know about?
I didn't know that "The Peanut Butter Game" had a kids' version. I only knew of the adult one--not that I ever played it ( Hey! I'm a "Cat Person," you should know by now ).
Speaking of peanut butter .... Approximately two months ago, I bought a bag of unsalted peanuts in a shell for my break time at work. I hurriedly cracked the shells open to eat the peanuts because my break was almost over. At that moment, a co-worker happened by and asked me what I was doing. I told him that I was making peanut butter, and that it will be good and ready in about 12 hours!
