where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Monday, August 24th, 2009
show: 4:50 p.m.
costs: $7.25 Ticket + $14.07 Chinese dinner at Golden City Buffet ( before the show ) = $21.32
auditorium: 3
seat: 3rd row, 6th column
synopsis: Ryden Malby ( Alexis Bledel ) has it all planned post graduation: Great Job, Beautiful Apartment, and Loving Relationship. But nothing goes as planned. Stuck at home and in desperate need of asserting her independence, she misses out on the one true constant in her life.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Ryden's plan; 2.) Graduation ceremony; 3.) Hit & run; 4.) Interview at Happerman & Browning; 5.) Grocery store, after-hours; 6.) The neighbor, David ( Rodrigo Santoro ); 7.) The "Barbie bicycle" ride; 8.) The funeral home; 9.) The street intersection; 10.) The luggage shop; 11.) Prescription pills carousel; 12.) The pesky cat; 13.) The pizza box; 14.) "Infomercialed" house; 15.) The surprise neighborly visit; 16.) Buckle 'O Bill ( Kirk Fox ); 17.) The Guacanator ( Fred Armisen ); 18.) Stood-up Adam; 19.) The police department; 20.) Ice cream truck; 21.) Box-car derby; and 22.) The 'phone call.
audience reaction: Just a few laughs here and there.
recommendation: If you're an Alexis Bledel fan and/or a Geo Metro fan, go see this movie.
spoiler alert! It's hard to run a grocery store without a night crew. Cats don't make a habit of pooping on pavement, especially when there's soil or grass nearby, in a neighborhood that has dogs because cat poop is a dog's favorite snack! The car door falling off its hinges is an insult to the intelligence--as well as to all members of the Geo Metro Fan Club ( there's such a thing )! The pizza box, when you really think about it, is not the right size--a shoe box would have made more sense. Adam is too good a guy for such a " bitch", on the good side; he is not vocal enough if he wants to be a lawyer, on the bad side. I wonder if the Malby's son, Caleb ( Bobby Coleman ) is old enough to be slapped with sexual harassment? Hmm ....
fyi: I gotta love a girl who loves a Geo Metro: Hers is either a '92 or '93 LSi, mine is a '94 base; hers was originally white, mine is white. My unassuming three-cylinder Metro and I humiliated a guy driving a white Datsun 280Z in street-light-to-street-light "racing" and a guy driving a new 2000 red Porsche 911 in a freeway weaving-in-and-out-of-other-cars "race" ( I had help from three other drivers on this one since the 911 asshole really pissed them off to the point where they boxed him in so I could take off--it took him seven miles to finally catch up with me just as I was exiting the freeway ). I really taught those two guys a lesson in humiliation for picking on me just so they could impress their blonde girlfriends.
Last year, at the height of the gas crisis, I decided to find out just how much mileage I could get per gallon on the freeway in my Metro. So, with a full tank of regular unleaded gas ( meaning the car was 80 pounds heavier since one gallon is eight pounds ), I drove my car on the freeway but maintained just a maximum speed of 63 miles per hour. The result: 50 miles = 3 quarts, 11 ounces! And 60 miles was just an additional 17 ounces more, which is still 4 ounces shy of one gallon! This ... on a 14-year old car ( I've had it since it was brand new )! No wonder a used 1997 Metro was offered for sale last year with an asking price of $7,300.00! I love my Metro, my designated long distance driver, because it's very reliable and economical. It was never designed to be driven hard and rough, but soft and gentle. If you drive it that way and take good care of it, it takes excellent care of your commuting needs. And my Metro still passes the smog check/test easily!
Although Metros aren't made here anymore, they are still made for the Pakistani and Turkish markets. But there was a rumor last year that they are trying to re-introduce the Metro to the US market.
word of advice: "The world's a cruel place. It doesn't play by the rules." Walter Malby ( Michael Keaton's father-character in this movie )
"Don't count your eggs before they are all hatched."
tidbits: After the movie, I stopped at Lucky's Supermarket because I had a sudden craving for some Eskimo Pie. But they don't have it. I ended up just buying Sunny Side Farms' Cracklin' Chocolate Mint and Blueberry Pomegranate Sugar Cone ice creams. Maybe Safeway has Eskimo Pie; I'll have to check it out tomorrow.
I'll be sure to try the "You have beautiful ears" line some day and see if it really works.
Alexis Bledel has something below her left eye: Either they're just a couple of pimples or they're warts, or they might even be an early indication of a cholesterol and/or liver problem.
