Movie reviews -- Mean Girls, Alfie
Mean Girls was surprisingly good. It was a mindless chick flick, but at least it was one that attempted a noble moral behind the "story." Hilarious if you're in a good mood; I was. Except for the ending which perpetuated the myth that the only happily-ever-after ending to a prom is to have every one paired up; no doubt that has brought not small amounts of loneliness and misery to single teenage (and not-so-teenaged) girls.
But the applause for the night was reserved for Alfie, which we almost didn't watch. Would you believe we (by "we," I mean "everyone else") almost chose Harold & Kumar instead? Urgh.
Alfie casts Jude Law as a very swinging bachelor, whose life -- at the start of the movie -- consists only of, in his words, wine and women. "What's it all about?" reads the DVD cover, and so Alfie finally finds himself asking, at the end of the movie: "So what's the answer? What is it all about?"
Other than a couple of excessive scenes, I thought that it was quite beautifully played out. Even though some of my friends were peeved at the ending -- or seeming lack of -- it was clearly the only way it could have ended. Who would Alfie have been better off with? Liz, the older woman with a fetish for younger guys (the younger the better)? Nikki, his self-destructive ex who was "like a beautiful structure, damaged in a way that you don't notice until you get too close"? Julie, the single mom who wanted more from him? Lonette, his best friend's wife whom he got pregnant?
I was glad that he looked up the old man that he met in the men's room. Even though the exchange between the two left me a tad disappointed, I think the greater significance is that he sought the old man out.
So what was the answer? Clearly, the writers didn't know, much less Alfie. The answer is not living your life for the moment, the way you please, indulging in every pleasure you can find on earth, as long as it "doesn't hurt anybody." It's not always up to us whether we hurt others. That much Alfie found out, and that's all he could tell us -- what the answer is not.
What was the answer? I'll let you in on a secret, the answer is: Jesus.
"One hit," Alfie reasoned (with himself more than anyone else) when Nikki offered him a puff, after he'd sworn to clean up his health, physically, at least. I don't know how many people who watched the movie remembered that fleeting scene, but it stuck with me. That's the reason why bad habits are so hard to break, resolutions hard to keep. One hit. Just one hit. We don't have that strength. Not on our own. It's never just one hit.
But the applause for the night was reserved for Alfie, which we almost didn't watch. Would you believe we (by "we," I mean "everyone else") almost chose Harold & Kumar instead? Urgh.
Alfie casts Jude Law as a very swinging bachelor, whose life -- at the start of the movie -- consists only of, in his words, wine and women. "What's it all about?" reads the DVD cover, and so Alfie finally finds himself asking, at the end of the movie: "So what's the answer? What is it all about?"
Other than a couple of excessive scenes, I thought that it was quite beautifully played out. Even though some of my friends were peeved at the ending -- or seeming lack of -- it was clearly the only way it could have ended. Who would Alfie have been better off with? Liz, the older woman with a fetish for younger guys (the younger the better)? Nikki, his self-destructive ex who was "like a beautiful structure, damaged in a way that you don't notice until you get too close"? Julie, the single mom who wanted more from him? Lonette, his best friend's wife whom he got pregnant?
I was glad that he looked up the old man that he met in the men's room. Even though the exchange between the two left me a tad disappointed, I think the greater significance is that he sought the old man out.
So what was the answer? Clearly, the writers didn't know, much less Alfie. The answer is not living your life for the moment, the way you please, indulging in every pleasure you can find on earth, as long as it "doesn't hurt anybody." It's not always up to us whether we hurt others. That much Alfie found out, and that's all he could tell us -- what the answer is not.
What was the answer? I'll let you in on a secret, the answer is: Jesus.
"One hit," Alfie reasoned (with himself more than anyone else) when Nikki offered him a puff, after he'd sworn to clean up his health, physically, at least. I don't know how many people who watched the movie remembered that fleeting scene, but it stuck with me. That's the reason why bad habits are so hard to break, resolutions hard to keep. One hit. Just one hit. We don't have that strength. Not on our own. It's never just one hit.
posted by Laughingcow at 5:43 am
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