Daily Archives: June 6, 2008

Things We Shouldn’t Do. But We Do

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Plato (and/or Socrates) was the first person to describe a movie theater, yet he couldn’t wrap his mind around fictional stories.  Not only do they lie, they don’t hold up high standards for people to live up to.  Fortunately Aristotle came along and pointed out that we don’t just need role models, we need catharsis.  Stories take us through experiences that might be we’d rather not have in reality, but whose lessons and emotions help us grow into stronger, more complex creatures.

These thoughts run through my mind when I think about the debate over whether people should smoke in movies.  Or drink.  Few characters are presented as absolute icons of goodness anymore, and real people smoke and drink.  I do get tired when drinks are used as shorthand for relaxation, celebration, or moral decay, but there are so many other elements that are used as shorthand for this and that.  If you want to do real stories about real people, or even really fake stagey caricatures with real characteristics, you can’t rule out smoking.  Besides, even as an ex-smoker, I was pretty excited by the scene described by Rob Lowe in Thank You for Smoking.  You know the one.

But there are other things that are bad, things we shouldn’t do, but everyone absolutely does anyway.  Should we show people doing these things on film?  Would that be an acknowledgment that these things are done?  Possibly even an approval of sorts?  The top five things we shouldn’t do, but do, include:

  • Eating off the floor (5 seconds or not)
  • Sticking Q-tips in our ears
  • Spraying sunblock and bugspray out our faces, while holding our eyes closed
  • Picking or scratching at sunburns and bug-bites
  • Eating raw hotdogs

The Rundown

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Speaking of movies with action, guys with whips, and an ancient artifact, I watched The Rundown again the other night.  Originally, I told people that it wasn’t a great movie, but I liked it.  But after seeing Indiana Jones fall apart with a huge budget because of an utter lack of story, I appreciate more the simple focus of Beck (the Rock) trying to bring Travis (Seann William Scott) home to his father.  The story never forgets that that is Beck’s primary motivation, even though he keeps getting pulled into other struggles.  In Crystal Skull, on the other hand, we’re not sure why Indy is doing what he’s doing as he bounces from one action set-piece to the next.  Duane Johnson’s Beck is an interesting character who could be either self-serving or heroic and you’re never sure which way he’ll go.  Sort of like Han Solo.  Harrison Ford’s Indy, on the other hand, has been thoroughly defined and explained.  He’ll do the right thing, as soon as he thinks of it.  And he’s afraid of snakes.  We get that.  All of the character development was done in the first and third movies, the only thing left here is to have him walk through his paces. 
    Then there’s Christopher Walken.  In any role, he’s fun to watch.  Even Domino was fun when Christopher Walken was in it.  This time, he’s the bad guy, and he’s perfect.  Where Cate Blanchett played a generic, slightly threatening Ukrainian bitch, Walken is the ultimate plantation-style overseer.  He has charm, but he’s ruthless.  Inside, he thinks he’s doing the right thing.  Then there’s the sidekick.  Indiana Jones has to develop tension with a punk biker, played moderately by Shia LaBouf.  But the two are neither much alike, nor are they natural antagonists.  Really, LaBouf serves mostly as an audience for the greatness of Indiana Jones.  Seann William Scott is a perfect foil for the Rock.  He’s annoying, funny, and obviously in trouble.  The plot puts them at odds, and both play that very well.
    I had thought of The Rundown as one of those movies that I really like, but understand that they aren’t that good.  Like Hitman, Resident Evil, and Blade Trinity.  But now I’ve changed my mind.  This is a genuinely really good movie.