Brandon Comments:
Over two and a half hours. It was cold, somewhere in the 40s. A drama, solid drama. A love story, by no traditional means. But a love story. And Brad Pitt. So, we got Brad Pitt in a dramatic yet surreal coming-of-age love story that’s over two and a half hours long, in one of the coldest MovieNights I can remember.
Usually these attributes on a Wednesday would make for a quick buzz and then four grown men asleep in fold-up chairs in Nubs’ BackYard. But “usually” didn’t take into account that this Wednesday’s Selection was an Industry-members’ copy of ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons,’ not even two weeks after its actual big-screen debut in theaters around the world. That’s how BIG our MovieNight really is: our movie premiere nearly coincided with all the major theaters here in Los Angeles -- some of which couldn’t even show ‘Benjamin Buttons’…but we did. We are MovieNight!
The unusually full Wednesday turnout was only dwarfed by the greatness of the film itself. All the usual suspects were in attendance for the beautifully sculpted ‘Benjamin Buttons,’ with its rich scenes, vivid characters and morose colors. I had just seen this film five days prior but there were so many lovely things going on on-screen that it was a pleasure watching it again on our screen. And even though some may refer to this film as a 21st Century 'Forrest Gump', they are only about 8-10% correct. 'Buttons' is an epic tale of discovery and love and learning and living, in reverse yet not really. Pitt's Benjamin actually pursues these life-changing events; he welcomes the beauty of chaos into his life; he thirsts for new adventures and new feelings. Hanks' Gump character was simply a galoof walking dumbly through life, and worldly events found him. This difference between the two characters may seem small at first, but it is actually a major point of difference between the two films. Proactive/Reactive.
And even though Tooda broke literally every rule by bringing this film to MovieNight, I am glad he did. It was a great story that needed to be told, and one hell of a night to tell it. Bravo, Bravo.
Nubs Comments:
It was both impressive and audacious that Tooda chose to honor Movienight’s landmark 150th pick by breaking many of our precious By-Laws we had tried to follow over the last three years. With the curious case of Ben’s Selection, the Crew was treated, or sabotaged depending on the member, to a screener copy of a three-hour chick flick, which had stood the test of maybe a week’s time in which our SELECTOR had never seen it before presenting. Tooda, pointed to Rule 10 (actually he called it 12 but who can find the By-Laws buried in the blogs?) as all rules are meant to be broken for a slam-dunk. Opinions will always vary as to a Pick’s dunk ability and this time I’m conflicted but anxious to accept Tooda’s challenge to get the website going again.
I have to say; I don’t mind the breaking of the By-Laws. That is, except for the length which, combined with the low temperatures caused me to get way too drunk and up too late to take proper care of my children the following day. Nevertheless, the first half of this Fincher epic love-story had me quite grateful that Ben had saved me a great deal of time, money, and a babysitter since this was on my list. It was what I hoped Movienight might achieve for us when I first broke the rules with ‘Kung Fu Hustle,’ a movie I had wanted to see and use our forum to do so. While watching I thought I could see the future of our Wednesdays allowing for new unseen releases that were on our Netflix queue.
However two hours later I also realized the importance of our precious By-Laws that I alone worked so hard to conceive and enforce. Other than my problem with the length, I thought the main problem with the SELECTOR going kamikaze, is I can’t ponder his intentions or brilliance in the choice, as it is all blind-luck. I can neither assign praise nor ridicule to the person in the review, which is half the fun of Movienight.
What would a review be without me defining, yet again, our most subjective and ambiguous By-Law; the chick-flick rule. As the curious case of love lost is told by a dying mother to her daughter and features heartthrob Brad Pitt it is a chick-flick. You might argue ‘Titanic’ is similar bookends and heartthrob. However, I would refute as ‘Titanic’ spends most of its three hours with mass carnage where Buttons is filled with ballet and aging and bedding. It is not too different from the tragic love stories of ‘Brokeback Mountain’ or ‘Bridges of Madison County.’ Again, our SELECTOR is able to avoid any stones thrown by hiding behind the “out” of not previously viewing.
Now that lashings have been administered, lets see where praise is due. I can say I’ve grappled with the first of the New Year’s pick. Short of Harry kissing Sally there is not much to choose from, but Ben and his buttons does bring out the old and ring in the new. It is not only clever for that but as a rare departure from our traditions and formalities, Tooda noted it is a way to reflect on our past. Both are good intentions for the 150th pick as well as the first of ’09. I will also do Tooda the service of not making any mention of a certain ‘Batman Returns,’ A.K.A. The Phantom 150th.
I as well as many nameless fans hope that this new year gets us back on track with the website. Though I’ve managed not saying it in every other review - Onwards.
SELECTOR Comments:
Without addressing the film, I have to say that this Pick (as a Pick) was exactly what I hoped it would be. I had spent the week hoping against hope that the SAG Awards would drop a screener in my hands that I could roll as a special treat for my 150th Selection. Alas, the AMPTP has no love for the Screen Actors Guild this year, and we have had to settle for free tickets as opposed to screeners this year. So when Netti mentioned that this film had fallen in his lap, I begged him for the chance to roll the film with the Crew.
Beyond it’s value as a curio Pick for our 150th, the film itself is not entirely good - and certainly no ‘Fight Club.’ It is odd that as our protagonist becomes more robust throughout the story, the film becomes thinner, frailer and less intriguing. You almost wish you could watch it in reverse. Pitt and Blanchett deliver excellent performances, and the special effects are astonishing. Yet, the clunky device of Hurricane Katrina (waaaaay too soon), and the increasingly irksome dialogue about life and death wither this film’s promising opening away to nothing at the end of it’s far too long runtime.
Onwards.
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