I Miss U all my Blog

I’ve no idea why I love While You Were Sleeping so much except for the fact that it almost feels like a twist on Cinderella. The big difference in this story is that while the princess is pining over the sleeping prince, she realizes she’s in love with the prince’s brother. So maybe it’s a fairy tale that’s the product of the women’s lib movement…think about that one for awhile.

I’m pretty sure that I’ve blogged on this one a few times, so I’ll leave you with that.

Michael Oher is a teen who through the kindness of a friend ends up in a private high school; he doesn’t have a family, a home or anyone to care about until one day Leigh Anne Tuohy spots him walking home from school in freezing weather with nothing more than a polo shirt and shorts. Leigh Anne gets Michael to come home with her for the night and soon one night turns into an extended stay as Michael works his way into the heart of her entire family. An unofficial Tuohy Michael finally becomes stable enough to try out for football and soon begins lighting up the field, the top recruit for college football programs around the country. The adversity doesn’t stop there as both Leigh Anne, Michael and the entire Tuohy family are criticized for their relationship by friends and the city at large.

The Blind Side really surprised me, I only saw it because it managed a best picture nomination. Yet somehow, I really liked it. This is a movie that’s sentimental, emotional and cliché but it all works. The story of Michael Oher and the Tuohy’s is one that’s worth telling. It’s a story about love and compassion that very few people have ever been able to experience, it’s a story about a woman and a family that cared so much about a stranger that they didn’t care about what society expected of them and they changed each other’s lives.

This is not to say there weren’t some issues with the film. I for one would have loved to see more of Michael’s back story but I know that’s not what the film was about – it was about his future – and it’s a complicated thing to decide what to tell and what not to tell seeing as everyone in the film is real and Michael now plays for the NFL. His life is not fictional and you can’t mess around with it.

The one exceptional thing about The Blind Side is the performance of Sandra Bullock. Leigh Anne Tuohy is smart, sharp tongued, self-assured & more than anything a woman who doesn’t care what others think about her and Bullock brings her to life. This is the best performance I’ve ever seen out of Sandra Bullock and it’s definitely Oscar worthy; I don’t know if she will win come March, but she’s quite a contender.

Director & Writer: John Lee Hancock
Leigh Anne Tuohy: Sandra Bullock
Sean Tuohy: Tim McGraw
Michael Oher: Quinton Aaron
S.J. Tuohy: Jae Head
Collins Tuohy: Lily Collins
Miss Sue: Kathy Bates

Sean Tuohy: Who would've thought we'd have a black son before we met a Democrat?

Margaret is an executive at a high powered publishing company and is known for being ruthless. Andrew is her handsome, adorable assistant that she tortures daily while he waits patiently for a promotion to editor and possibly a chance to have his manuscript published. However, Margaret is Canadian and unexpectedly she has her visa revoked and is told she will be removed from her job while in Canada reapplying for her visa. In desperation Margaret tells the partners that she and Andrew are engaged and the two being to engage in deceiving an immigration officer in the hopes that Margaret and Andrew can marry long enough for her to be granted citizenship. What Margaret doesn’t count on is meeting Andrew’s family in Alaska and what that will change in her grand plans.

The Proposal was a cute movie; it wasn’t worth buying, or seeing twice, but it also didn’t bore me – that’s actually pretty good for a romantic comedy. I laughed when I was supposed to laugh, and fell a little in love with the characters, the only thing I never really saw was the relationship. Most of the time this would be a killer for a review of a romantic comedy, but Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds brought a lot of chemistry and were incredibly personable characters, and this is what made the film work, even though I did not see the romance in their relationship.

I have to say that the more I see him in the more I adore Ryan Reynolds. The man has a personality, charisma and humor that radiates from any character he plays and somehow doesn’t detract from his portrayal. The closest thing I can equate him to is a classic star like Clark Gable – you watch him perform and you are aware you are watching an actor, but you still see the mastery of the role.

As a date movie, or a distraction The Proposal is a movie to see. I don’t know if it will have much in the way of legs on DVD, but it’s definitely worth seeing at least once.

Director: Anne Fletcher
Writer: Pete Chiarelli
Margaret Tate: Sandra bullock
Andrew Paxton: Ryan Reynolds
Grace Paxton: Mary Steenburgen
Joe Paxton: Craig T. Nelson
Grandma Annie: Betty White
Gertrude: Malin Akerman

Margaret Tate: What am I allergic to?
Andrew Paxton: Pine nuts, and the full spectrum of human emotion.

Miss Congeniality is the tale of Grace Hart, an FBI agent who is less than a girlie girl. When the Miss United States Pageant is threatened the FBI decides to get involved by putting an agent into the pageant; Grace becomes Gracie Lou Freebush and is forced to become the pampered, pulled together girl she never thought she could be to try and find the terrorist. Along the way fellow agent Matthews, pageant consultant Victor and the pageant contestants make Grace realize perhaps she can be more than she thought.

First and foremost my favorite character in this entire movie is Michael Caine’s Victor Melling. Not only does Victor have the best lines in the film, but Caine is utterly convincing as a prissy, uptight gay man who cares more about posture and hair flips than finding a criminal. Caine is absolutely perfect. I would also be remiss if I didn’t comment on the entire supporting cast. William Shatner is Stan the pageant host, Candice Bergen is Kathy the pageant runner, Ernie Hudson is the FBI Assistant Director, and Benjamin Bratt is Agent Matthews. Every character is unique, quirky and utterly memorable.

Sandra Bullock is perfect as Grace Hart. So many actresses could not pull off the transformation of unrefined to super model in one film but Bullock does it, and her comedy timing is perfect. I honestly believe that the movie rides on Bullock’s shoulders and from her serious moments to pratt falls she excels.

While I doubt the sequel is worth seeing the first Miss Congeniality is incredibly entertaining.

Director: Donald Petrie
Writers: Marc Lawrence, Katie Ford, & Caryn Lucas
Gracie Hart: Sandra Bullock
Victor Melling: Michael Caine
Eric Matthews: Benjamin Bratt
Kathy Morningside: Candice Bergen
Asst. Director McDonald: Ernie Hudson
Stan Fields: William Shatner
Cheryl Fraiser: Heather Burns

Victor Melling: In place of relationships, you have sarcasm and a gun!
Gracie Hart: Oh, I have sarcasm? When every word that comes out of your mouth is dripping with disdain?
Victor Melling: Ah! But that is because I am a miserable, grumpy elitist - and that works for me!

While You Were Sleeping is a silly little movie but I love it. I think it’s a great combination of holiday movie, romantic and screwball comedies. In a way it reminds me of the cute, light comedies of Hollywood’s golden age and I make sure to watch the movie at least once every holiday season.

If you’ve never seen While You Were Sleeping the plot can be quite confusing on paper. Lucy works at the L and sees Jack every day when he commutes to work. On Christmas Day he is mugged and thrown on the train tracks unconscious, Lucy saves him from an incoming train and accompanies him to the hospital and he lapses into a coma; at the hospital a nurse makes the mistake of thinking she is Peter’s fiancée and informs Peter’s family of such. Having grown distant from Peter his family goes along with the assumption and welcomes Lucy into open arms giving Lucy a family for the first time in years, the only problem is though Peter is Lucy’s dream man his brother Jack is the man that Lucy is finding herself drawn to and she can’t do anything about it as she is supposedly Peter’s fiancée.

What I love most about this movie is Peter’s grandmother Elsie; the woman is opinionated, senile and quirky to the T. Elsie has some of the best lines in the film not only based on her delivery of these lines but on how she is randomly inserted into conversations with no idea what people are talking about. It really is just like that relative we all have that feels the need to be in everybody’s business. The fact that Glynis Johns who plays Elsie was also Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins is another great bonus.

This film is airy and light but it is everything it advertises to be. Unlike the popcorn fluff that usually gets made now a days there is actually enough wit and grace to this film that it is safe for the whole family and can be enjoyed on multiple viewings.

Director: Jon Turteltaub
Writers: Daniel G. Sullivan & Fredric LeBow
Lucy Eleanor Moderatz: Sandra Bullock
Jack Callaghan: Bill Pullman
Peter Callaghan: Peter Gallagher
Ox Callaghan: Peter Boyle
Midge Callaghan: Micole Mercurio
Mary Callaghan: Monica Keena
Saul: Jack Warden
Elsie: Glynis Johns
Joe Fusco, Jr.: Michael Rispoli
Ashley Bartlett Bacon: Ally Walker
Jerry: Jason Bernard

Lucy: If I tell Jack I lied to his family he will *never* speak to me again. And Ox and Midge and Mary and Saul.
Jerry: Saul? Who's Saul?
Lucy: The next door neighbor. But you know what? Actually, he knows.
Jerry: Lucy, you are born into a family. You do not join them like you do the marines.
Lucy: So what should I do?
Jerry: Pull the plug.
Lucy: You're sick.
Jerry: I'm sick? You're cheating on a vegetable.