Monday, September 22, 2014

we're gettin' a little too old for that whorey look

Even though I swore off Kevin Smith after the one where gay people were tortured to death, I had a moment of weakness over my morning coffee.  So, I saw Tusk on Friday morning.


Before I pop off, let me just say this: Justin Long has beautiful, beautiful hair.


The first half of Tusk is so legitimately awesome, with great cinematography and performances throughout, that I was plotting in my head the love letter I was going to write to Kevin Smith.  These moments of brilliance and specificity make the last half of Tusk infuriating.  Instead of ranting, I'm choosing to instead focus on something good.


I've been home alone a lot this month and that means I fall asleep with the bedroom TV on (which, for 90% of the year is just used a sweater rack).  My go-to bedtime story has been the Tales from the Darkside movie.



"Some love stories aren't epic novels, some are short stories."
-Carrie Bradshaw



Invariably, I only make it part way through the first of the short stories (which also happens to be the best), Lot 249.


Based on an Arthur Conan Doyle story, Lot 249 is all about how I can never be embraced by tall rich kids because I'm short and wasn't born into money so I have to work seventeen jobs only to wind up dead like Jean Val Jean.  It stars Julianne Moore and apex-era Christian Slater (marking his way through the entire film).  It brings me continuous joy.  The same kind of joy that the first 35minutes of Tusk brought until it got stupid and I was overcome by regret for not having purchased tickets to the new Jane Fonda/Adam Driver movie about how hard it is to be straight and rich and white in America.


Like The Raft before it, Lot 249 is amazing and perfect because it's short.  Some premises aren't able to sustain themselves over an entire feature, and that's perfectly alright.  Look at those Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books!  I actually can't wait for Tusk to come out on DVD so I can cut it up like Topher Grace and make the perfect, mind's eye horror short - one that's capable of living up to the promise of the premise it sets up (and promptly destroys).

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