speaking of death…

a long way down – nick hornby – 3 stars

i’m a hornby fan. i think the guy gets it. high fidelity remains probably tied for my favorite movie ever (star wars trilogy, duh). both that and about a boy are among the best books i’ve read in the past ten years. this one, i have to say, was totally solid, even if not his best work.

the problem was, it seemed almost too casual about itself, like it was trying too hard to be a good book perfect for translating into a decent movie. like light reading that was a little too light — i mean i breezed through it in less than a week, which for me is nuts. at the same time though, that can partly be attributed to the fact that it was a really good read: relatable, interesting, and funny for a book about 4 people who meet when they all consider jumping off the same building on new year’s eve. so maybe i’m being biased against pop-lit by saying ‘easy books aren’t great literature’. but then again, without that, i wouldn’t be the kind of person who inflicts don quixote on himself either, so there’s no turning back now is there.

but also speaking of the miracle of life…

knocked up – 4 stars

i’m a big fan of the whole crew surrounding judd apatow, freaks & geeks, 40 year-old virgin, etc., so i was willing to give a romantic comedy by these guys a chance, even though i almost never subject myself to the genre willingly.

lucky for me this was a whole lot comedy and only a little bit romance, and a really surprisingly hilarious one. it eschewed a lot of the trite parts where people have difficulties, overcome them, realize that love overcomes all, blah blah blah, and sticks with how absurd relationships, families, marriages, kids, and general life is when people try too hard to live them by the book.

this was helped in huge part by the main character’s housemates, a gang of dudes that sit around drinking, smoking, and talking shit pretty much all the time, making for a lot of the best scenes of the movie, as well as the moments that make almost any guy who lived with his buddies in college go, ‘oh my god, yes, these are my people’.

plus, the sharp transitions between that sort of slacker-immaturity and the daunting task of parenthood or marriage were a perfect illustration of how i think a lot of people around my (our?) age are approaching adulthood. in a generation of people who don’t feel like they should ever have to become ‘grown-ups’, the fact that huge life events kind of sneak up on you and all you can do is go ‘holy shit, this is crazy, but what the hell, let’s do it,’ comes across perfectly. and in the end, like in the movie, you realize you had it in you all along, and you don’t really have to give up who you are to come out okay.

not to get all deep on you or anything; i mean there are lots of sex jokes, and drug jokes, and a surprising amount of high quality beard jokes. it’s hilarious even if it seems a little longer than it needs to be. the supporting cast is awesome, seth rogan and paul rudd are amazing as usual, and it’s definitely worth seeing even if you don’t think about life at all and just laugh all the way through, which is easy to do too.