From The Past: August 16, 2004

Kevin and I watched In the Bedroom which was nominated for five Academy Awards and won an award for best picture. I have to say that I was very disappointed. The story was simplistic; the bare minimum. It was hard to know the time frame from one scene to the next; you had no idea how much time had passed. Maybe if I were to watch it again things would be different, but do I want to watch it again – I don’t think so. The basic story outline goes like this: this guy is dating a newly single mother of two when her x-husband shows back up in their lives. In a jealous rage, the x shoots the guy and kills him. Now the mother and father of the guy have to deal with the aftermath. It’s a story that I’ve seen a million times before. Blah, blah, blah.

The second movie we watched was Brokedown Palace. This was about two American girls who go to Thailand and get accused of smuggling heroin. The movie goes through the ups and downs of their court proceedings and their time in a women’s prison. This movie kept our attention and I would recommend seeing it.

The third movie we watched was Town & Country. This movie had an all-star line-up which included Goldie Hawn, Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Jenna Elfman, Andie MacDowell, Garry Shandling, and a few others. It was a comedy about men who cheat on their wives. I laughed a few times, but not a whole lot. Some of the characters were dismissed too easily at the end and the story was actually pretty thin.

This morning I watched the 1995 version of Home for the Holidays. It is a true representation of a dysfunctional American family. I wish that Kevin could have watched it with me. I think he would have enjoyed it. Maybe we will rent it again; after all, it was free.