where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Friday, January 8ht, 2010
show: 7:25 p.m.
costs: $10.00 Ticket + $4.50 Fuze Peach/Mango = $14.50
auditorium: 13
seat: 5th row, 8ht column
synopsis: A sexually-frustrated teen, Nick Twisp ( Michael Cera ), meets the girl of his dreams when his mom, Estelle ( Jean Smart ), and her boyfriend, Jerry ( Zach Galifianakis ), take him to a trailer park in Clearlake, Ukiah. But Sheeni Saunders ( Portia Doubleday ) is already seeing someone. In order to win her over, Nick creates an alter ego, Francois Dillinger, throwing caution to the wind. As a result, a comedic coming-of-age ensues.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Nick's bedroom; 2.) Nick's mom; 3.) Nick's neighbor, Mr. Ferguson ( Fred Willard ); 4.) Nick's dad, George ( Steve Buscemi ); 5.) My Green Haven, the "cabin"; 6.) The girl next door; 7.) The beach; 8.) The hike; 9.) Mrs. Saunders ( Mary Kay Place ); 10.) Albert, the dog; 11.) Making out; 12.) Just a summer fling; 13.) Nova; 14.) Lefty's ( Erik Knudsen ) book; 15.) Alter ego; 16.) Mom's cop boyfriend. Lance ( Ray Liotta ); 17.) Hot shower; 18.) Berkeley "arsonist"; 19.) Whipped; 20.) Back to Ukiah; 21.) Bad influences; 22.) French prep school; 23.) Vijay ( Adhir Kalyan ); 24.) French letter; 25.) Campus; 26.) Girls' dorm; 27.) Solidarity; 28.) Paul Saunders ( Justin Long ); 29.) Letter to Bernice ( Jade Fusco ); 30.) Magic mushroom trip; 31.) Thanksgiving dinner; 32.) Trent ( Jonathan Bradford Wright ); 33.) The getaway; 34.) Hazel Park High School; 35. ) Carlota; 36.) The arrest; and 37.) Cartoon scenes during the ending credits.
audience reaction: The audience liked this Rom-Com.
recommendation: I liked this movie, too. Go see it.
spoiler alert! There's a reason why this Teen Movie is rated R: Too much drugs! The whole movie was filmed in Michigan. The multi-cultural flavor of Oakland, CA is conspicuously missing in the video store scene. Predominantly speaking, Downtown Oakland and North Oakland have whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians; West Oakland has blacks and whites; and East Oakland has blacks, Hispanics and Asians. Jerry shouldn't have been allowed to drive if he threw his back out! You can't park a car at the curb on campus and leave it unattended overnight. I haven't seen any enclosed phone booths in over twenty years here in California. Why would Francois/Nick need money to call the cops on a payphone? All he had to do was dial 9-1-1. Why would Nick take off his clothes to fake his own death? Doesn't he watch CSI? The Ukiah doughnut-dunkin' cops waited for Nick to show up at Hazel Park High School, only problem is that this school is not in Ukiah but in Hazel Park, Michigan ( about 20 miles north of Detroit )! Why didn't anybody notice Nick conspicuously walking around town wearing nothing but his boxer shorts?
fyi: Michael Cera seems comfortable typecasting himself as a good geeky boy who gets the girl.
I used to write poetry years ago but a friend of mine told me that girls don't like nice, sensitive guys. Oh, well, it was just a creative phase anyway. Now, I don't even care what girls think of me. I am too engrossed in my meditation and spiritual cultivation to allow anyone "special" to just casually enter into my insular world to upend it.
word of advice: Maintain a modicum of self-dignity when courting a girl, i.e. don't make a fool of yourself.
tidbits: I wanted to see LEAP YEAR, too, after watching DAYBREAKERS and YOUTH IN REVOLT. But, then, I remembered that this is a "Chick Flick." And I usually hold-off on watching a "Chick Flick" 'til later on in the week. So, I just went home. Besides, I needed to go on the Internet to search and download Vera Icona portraits as future reference for a work I have in mind to do later on.
