It started moments ago, just before choosing ‘Futura’ as my font, when I opened WORD only to close a window only to find it was what I had started for this next Tuesday’s DVD column, then a smirk crossed my face. Oh sure, I’d fucked up – but an idea hit me.
You see, lately there’s a lot of talk about anti-hipster backlash – and as a geek, I’ve often found myself laughing about the scruff, the blind know-it-all myopic newest bestest prig of society. And I also know how I’m like them. I love questioning authority, I love what newest in stores, albeit slightly aloof in my following of any modern clothing trend other that the ridiculously lost nature I find the person in the mirror wearing. But I also have a 22 year old wife, who narrows her beautifully narrow eyes to constantly remind me of the coolest things about “hipsters” while constantly self-loathing that particular label.
But then… I’m a Geek. Headgeek to some, but honestly just someone living a life. My job is to write about film. Years ago I found I couldn’t separate my life from film – or even worst, the knowledge of that, but the basic refusal to strain any passion from any other. After all, I write about everything – some love me, hate me and simply ignore me as a result.
When I came home after a dinner at a University / Campus area Greek/Italian restaurant with two of my groomsman and the bubbly new smelly shoe. (More on that later) Anyway – I had business with Roro, had to sign the checks early, as he’s leaving for … Las Vegas on Business later on today, but you know… responsible forward thinking small business kinda things. My other friend was Johnny Wad. We three men are all approaching and Eskimo kissing with middle age, some may argue my senior years have come, but I’m hopeful.
Any way we sat and talked about SXSW, a hopeful cool STAR TREK event, random Hipster characters, my wife’s shoes which are made to smell like fresh Urinal cakes – while looking like an odd 1950’s piece of experimental residential architecture. We talk about future tax brackets, my sister’s awesome progress, my nephew’s particular awesomeness, a friend’s pregnancy, a movie shooting in town, crazy single girls, pursuit of girls, the seediest strip club in Austin, various juvenile subjects and reducing down of making fun of the way people around us looked… pot… kettle… black…
We laughed and had a good time, I ask about the hipster Star Trek shirts for random Dance Parties in 7 notably Hip cities. Austin isn’t quite yet the spot, pssst… we’re too cool for that.
Anyway as we get home, Yoko begins telling me about Mongolian Blue Butt, where a baby is born with temporary Blue Ass Syndrome. I’m just hoping this Asian/Smurf blue butt thing lends its way to a Dr Manhattan swinging dong on the kid.
BUT anyway – babies have been on the brain. The talk, the planning, the serious weighing of the times, but friends and acquaintances are all popping Turkey thermometers and we kinda wanna be hipsters, yet that’s a pretty heavy train to randomly board.
So – I’m staying up. I’m wired, got a whole helluva lot of things bouncing in my head – and I decide to watch some Adult Swim, CLONE WARS action – smiling that it has really come around – thinking about friends, life, careers – and how cool it is that in these dark days I have the ability to re-acquire past treasures, while also sock away for our future and I laugh at my almost adult flirtation with self-awareness.
I look over at a pile of Blu-rays I’ve yet to work through and feeling a bit high from everything – I decide I need to calm down, sober up and try to get worked up about a piece of shit I wouldn’t put Yoko through – and she wouldn’t want to go through… A Fox film, MARLEY & ME.
I never reviewed the film – as Fox doesn’t screen me their films in advance of release, because so many of their films are soulless crass geek-insulting bullshit remakes and 2x4 to forehead stupidity. And this early 2009 surprise success was surely going to be a nightmare. The ads and trailers made it feel like syrupy manipulative bullshit crap. I remember when it beat out other films I loved I narrowed my eyes and made a few off-handed bitchy remarks about the film. So I figured I should watch it, give myself some easy punches at a film whose history has long since sailed.
At the start of it – some friends begin asking me about a Hipster Star Trek Cult party in Los Angeles – which was apparently thrown with the idea of attracting hipster / new-gen audiences to the awesome timeless hip swinging ways of STAR TREK. To drive this point home – women dressed in cheap stripper silver lamet – covered in Green paint becoming the new whored out Orion Slave Girl… and I smiled. This is the sort of post-modern geek derivative hot young hip persuadable girl programming should be going on and I should think high of it. Because attracting young generations of hot women to Geek things (and hopefully a few of us Geek saps can acquire more than Alex Rogen) is as noble a cause as any to take up.
Anyway – that was on the mind and then I watch MARLEY AND ME. I really had just blown this movie off and though I never really went bat shit on it, I feel bad. You see, FOX won’t show me their films early even though I’m in town for their screenings… and out of some inflated sense of self-delusional revenge, I sort of refuse to pay for Fox films… and yet – someone in Fox Home Video still likes me – and sends me MARLEY & ME.
THE FUCK, I think. Watching a film like this in advance you build up as some sort of Christ ascent to the cross… but you think of Friedkin and the sacrilegious self-indulgence kinda melts ever so slightly. So I pop the Blu-Ray in… See trailers for NIGHT IN THE MUSEUM 2: THE SMITHSONIAN – which seriously looks like one of the most empty vapid over-priced wastes of all resources materials. I decide to skip past all other trailers and just get the movie started.
WHACK – I’m slapped with Marley’s tale and just can’t shake myself from it. Some amazing early de-aging visual effects are used to perfection on Owen and Jennifer – and I hope what I’ve heard about GEMINI MAN is true. And bam – it’s a young married couple striking out into the world. They have their first home, each work, but each establishing their new identity – each playing with being a grown up – and as a reflex move on the femme, the husband surprises her early with a choice of puppies. They get the brat of the litter.
But as I was quickly finding, Owen and Jennifer are real characters and Marley – the dog – is a legendary dog, a devil dog, a dog that makes living living. I don’t have that. I have an old broke down Nazi dog – a Pom that some Southern racist probably named after a certain notorious General Rommell. In reality he’s an aging, limping – funny as hell dog.
And bam. I had associated with the movie. I found myself drawing parallels with every character. That Owen Wilson’s character was a columnist that put himself, his life and what not into his columns. And technically I have hugged Jennifer Aniston in a Bathrobe. So yeah, I got with this film – this film that was sold as an offensively stupid DOG shit flick.
Instead I found a film that was real – an honest story about a Man living as a Man and owning that life thanks in no small part to that dog. As they went through the phase in the story that became about the choice of children – I seriously perked up. That’s the conversation in life I’m having. The Pre-Marital plan had it happening about now. But a whole string of blessed events have all the more underlined “KID” – Owen’s character is about my age at this point in the film – and oddly – it’s the guy that’s kinda ready for the kid – even as the wife realizes that she’ll most likely be the one home with the kid. At the same time crime in the neighborhood makes them want to leave their house, but if a kid comes up, she quits her job – and can they afford things. AND this is that type of movie. The movie that quickly, honestly and realistically handles the steps of mature, solid, honest living. And again I find a part of me that wants to mock that – but at a moment of honest – scuse me I have to let my dog out – ok back. Anyway – where – SELF-REFLECTION, yes, that demon raised its head and told me “Hey buddy – they’re talking about you up there! The older guy ready for child commitment – desire for a kid! Man thing!”
Well I watched how the quickly blossoming into 3 kids thing became hard and tough for Owen and Jennifer’s relationship – and the Dog – and as we moved forward on this film – it’s tough, realistic and ultimately hopeful and non-cynical and cool.
In a very frank way – the movie made me realize to a point my wife made, let’s wait a little bit. Let’s secure our station a bit before hatching criminals for the cells. I loved the film. It was clever and funny and sharp and poignant and it felt timeless.
I really regret not seeing this originally months ago with Patricia at an advance screening. Or any screening period. It just honestly didn’t look like my movie.
ANY WAY – after the film, I’m checking my email – self-reflecting upon crappy movie being my perfect life – treasure meet shit – and MARLEY AND ME has even that.
Checking Email! Anyway – I’m browsing through and suddenly the lovely publicist from Paramount sends me the Hipster Alternative STAR TREK poster for these “parties” around the globe. Hmmm. I love it, what do you think?
The poster is by Jesse Philips – the artist behind AICN & Fantastic Fest’s IRON MAN and Alamo Drafthouse’s Rolling Roadshow screening of A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and many others.
The general reaction net wide has been amusement and hatred for Paramount attempting to court the “hipster crowd” to the nerdiest of the nerd – Trek. That’s like a Geek loving a fucking Dog movie.
As with all things, judgment can be carefully decided over time. Personally I love aggressive, fun and playful marketing. How does it harm me if E-dropping glowy necklace types get off a few hours on the concept of Star Trek.
This brings me to STAR TREK. For much of my life I’ve considered myself too cool for STAR TREK. Its easy with all the material I didn’t like since being given a degree of public light – but this STAR TREK has being slowly but surely gotten me to hope a bit.
Hope a bit, because of GEEK things, while STAR TREK is the most nerdy… though there’s real trash below – STAR TREK has the covenants of a desired geek ideal for the future. Cool liberal self-aware awesome shit abounding. Teleportation, flying things, full on space exploration and colonization. An existence far beyond the present existence of bitter petty squabbling. Bitching not only about the terrorists, the republicans, the democrats, taxes, inflation, bitching about bitching all the way down little things you and I and all of bitch about that make us feel better – including geeks, jocks, yuppies, hipsters, the homeless – whatever… STAR TREK has us all beat – It takes us past the types, past the bitching – we’re now thinking past all this shit around us to a universe where domestic issues are just not a fucking problem anymore.
That’s a lie, of course, the story of Marley & Me is taking place in the 24th Century. Someone is fucking, having pets, kids, life and death happening. It’s not all Klingons and Romulan Death Star Planet rays!
I want STAR TREK to cross-over. I want Primary colors – forward thinking, liberal and conservative visions of a benevolent, smart, progressive military, anthropological, political envoy to off galaxy relations. I want that goal for our world. I want the world to work its shit out. Stop squabbling about borders, religions, money and work on advancing society in general. One for all and all for one. Three Musketeer fashion of just getting it done. Stand up, grow up – and yeah, I get there through Star Trek.
I like to divide basic thinking into logical, action and emotion. The Spock / Kirk / McCoy rule. I told this to my wife once, 3rd or 4th week into our relationship. She had asked why I like STAR TREK – in her “You weirdo” kinda way. I gave her that answer, that I feel a balanced life follows the Star Trek rule of leadership. Action governed by logic and empathy. Kirk with Spock and McCoy. She laughed and laughed and laughed.
I wonder if she’ll laugh at the thought of deep thought brought by the Owen & Jennifer Dog Movie – and like with Star Trek – she’ll find she’ll like it too.
Its what I love about film – it doesn’t have to be Geeky or Pop or Studio… Just during SXSW, watching Hal Holbrook’s THAT EVENING SUN.. I found reflection into the decisions about our elderly. I want films to simply give me something to work with, something to reflect and dream with. Do I care if this movie was marketed as crass wide audience appeal now? Not really, it has great messages, great affirmation about the decency of life – at the same time as dealing with Kevorkian style things.
Not sure if any of this made any sense to anyone, but sometimes when I write for y’all – I just free associate. And I do it with films. Especially films that surprise me. A good dog movie, shoe shopping in Nordstroms, eating with friends, geeking with Star Trek or writing to Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible album I downloaded after watching that WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE trailer.
I hear that makes you think. Looks wonderful, can’t wait to watch and write and think about that one.
