Films 146-148 (And A Reflection on Tattoos)
On Wednesday I spent 5 hours in the chair, under the needle (the tattoo needle, that is). It's been well over a year and a half, probably longer, since my last tattoo appointment. In fact, it had been so long that my tattoo artist actually called me back in October to set up an appointment because he missed me! He was booked solid until May, so I decided to make the appointment (and 2 more in consecutive months, so that we could start and hopefully finish the piece I've been dying to get in quick succession). I found this beautiful Alex Grey (he does all of Tool's most recent artwork, and his own pieces as well) painting which spoke to me and was very inspiration the first time I saw it. And, I knew I wanted to get it as a tattoo. I also wanted to incorporate lyrics to my favorite Tool song, "Lateralus" in the tattoo.
I planned on the entire concept taking up my entire back. I've thought about it for over a year, that's what I do. It takes me awhile to think about the piece before I put it on my body permanently. I'm definitely not someone who just slaps any ol' thing on my body. I currently have both arms (sleeves) done with beautiful ocean-scenes. My left arm stemmed from my a philosophical conversation I had back in 2001 with my great friend, Sean. We were discussing what "love" would look like to us as a painting. My interpretation of the concept of love happened (still does, I suppose) to be standing on the beach at sunset, and watching the sun drop slowly so that it almost looks like it is blending into the water. I also have 2 fish creating a circle, in essence, circling each other and completing each other. When I was 19, I also got the phrase "Come As You Are" tattooed on my forearm, an ode to my love of Nirvana and a reminder to always be myself. The words blended well with the ocean scene.
My right arm follows the same ocean-theme, except I designed it to be slightly darker than the left arm and it includes ocean life (i.e. seaweed, starfish, sea turtle, crab, and an octopus, its head seemingly breaching the surface as it has a mix of yellow-orange-red). The idea behind this arm is to look beyond the surface of things/people because there is more than meets the eye, and you'll be amazed at what you find once you get to know someone. It's meaning has other level to it, because I think oftentimes that people attached negative feelings/attitudes and/or prejudgments to people with tattoos (many perhaps, because getting one or two seems to be the norm these days), but in actuality we can be very nice, upstanding citizens. I mean, I am a primary grades teacher (and have been for 6 years now), who presents himself as a rather introverted person, who happens to enjoy attention (when I get it, or yes, seek it out, in a comfortable setting, and I must say, having tattoos is a great way to get noticed). I've always set out to prove people's negative stereotype and the stigma attached to having tattoos wrong. I'm very intelligent, funny, compassionate, understanding, level-headed, etc. I just happen to express myself through tattoos. I think it's important to have meaning behind your tattoos. I also have a "Straight Edge" tattoo on my chest, which I got when I was 19, because up until I turned 30 years old, I identified myself with that lifestyle (re: no smoking, no drinking, no drugs). When I started drinking a couple of summers ago, for reasons I don't feel necessary to explain, but let's just say for the "social" aspect attached to "getting drinks," my friends asked what I was going to do about this particular tattoo. My answer, "Nothing." Because, it defines a very specific period in my life. It has a story and meaning behind it. One that I will never forget, nor do I want to.
On the other side of my chest, I continued the ocean-themed motif, and I have a shadowed-out fisherman, alone, on a boat, among the waves and going down my rib cage, I also have a deep-sea diver holding a glowing lantern, in search of something (exactly what, perhaps he doesn't even know). I guess you could say, I've always enjoyed the ocean for its deeper meaning, when you look at all the popular culture ocean references (Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" and Melville's "Moby Dick" for starters). Water has also always had a connection with cleansing and starting over, which connects with me, because most of the time, when I decide to begin the process of a tattoo, I've gone through a significant event in my life. Case in point, when I started my right arm, I had just broken up with my first girlfriend (of two years). She never really wanted me to do more than what I already had. Even though it's my body, I decided to abide by her wishes. But, when we broke up, I saw it as a freedom and an opportunity to continue doing something that I loved. I lost a sense of myself with her, and this was my way of gaining that back, since we were no longer together. And I love the result.
I also happen to have an Optimus Prime (Transformer) tattoo on my left leg, because let's be honest, I will absolutely never regret that one! And Transformers are the "shit!"
On my right leg I have a Pearl Jam tattoo with lyrics to their song, "Garden" as well.
the direction of the eye
so misleading
the defection of the soul
nauseously quick
I don't question
our existence
I just question
our modern needs
With this tattoo going on my back, I'm venturing into new, uncharted territory. I like being able to see my artwork, and so I've avoided the back for years, but I knew that's where I wanted this one to go, because it's a completely blank canvas. I was glad my tattoo artist had called me back in October, because I had been thinking about it. In August I broke up with my most recent girlfriend, with whom things moved much too quickly (for my benefit and disadvantage). And, although we only dated for about 9 months, it felt like much longer. We moved in together after 3 months (because I wanted it so badly and I thought things would be amazing if I got to see her everyday, I was also trying to help her get out of a situation- the conclusion I drew from it all was that I wanted to move in with her for all the wrong reasons- and as soon as we moved in together things went downhill, literally the second day we moved in). It was an awful experience, but definitely the harshest reality lesson I've ever gotten- and I've had plenty of those, especially when related to girls. I guess, that's what I get being an idealist and a romantic (in the tragic sense).
Since that entire relationship had a significant impact on who I am as a person today (retrospectively looking at it only about 8-9 months later, hmm, the entire length of the relationship itself, interesting), I thought it was the perfect time to begin another tattoo, and I couldn't think of a more fitting one to get, given the circumstances that surrounded the demise of the relationship.
So, I guess that's my soapbox in regards to tattoos and their significance in my life.
.............................................................
Film 146
"Our Idiot Brother"
starring: Paul Rudd, Emily Mortimer, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, and Rashida Jones, Adam Scott, Steve Coogan, and Kathryn Hahn
This is a movie that probably wouldn't work with anyone besides Paul Rudd in the title role (his actually name in the film is Ned). Ned is kind of a saintly figure. An idealist. He smiles, no matter what the circumstances. He doesn't know how to lie (even when he is trying to sell weed to an uniformed officer at his vegetable stand at a farmer's market, or when he confesses to his parole officer later in the film that he smoked weed with his neighbor). He seems incapable of calculating the odds that are apparently stacked up against him every day. He trusts people infinity. He is incapable of cheating, too. He is sweet and endearing as a character, but as a person, yes he's the idiot that his sisters (Emily Mortimer, Elizabeth Banks and Zooey Deschanel) have dubbed him.
Ned gets busted, like I said, for attempting to sell weed to an uniformed officer. He's busted. Spends 4 months in jail and is released for being a "model prisoner" like there was any doubt that he would be. Ned returns to his farm, where his girlfriend is still living, except now she's living with a new dude. Ned doesn't understand why she could do this to him, because in his mind he would never do that to her, or anyone. He basically apologizes his way out of the situation. But, he wants his dog, Willie Nelson, as a parting gift. His ex won't give the dog to him. The dog, Willie Nelson, is actually crucial to the story because Ned's unconditional love seems to stem from his unconditional love for this dog. Nobody deserves the dog or unconditional love more than Ned. He's a model person. But, nothing really seems to work in his favor; and he is his own worst enemy sometimes.
Unable to live at the farm, trying to save up money to move into the chicken shack, perhaps, Ned decides to call on the love and support of his critical sisters. Liz (Mortimer) is an amalgram of pathetic, unwitting wives who are married to a cheating, sleazy guy (this one happens to be a documentary filmmaker, who cheats on his wife with a Russian ballerina). Miranda (Banks) is an ambitious writer who dreams of working at Vanity Fair and has a chance to thanks to the potential story she can get from a controversial foreign girl coming for an interview, which Ned sort of intercepts, unknowingly, and gets all the juicy information but refuses to admit to it, for moral and ethic reasons that he can't understand why his sister doesn't appreciate. Miranda is so tightly wound that she is incapable of having a relationship even with her "dreamy" and ideal mate, her upstairs neighbor (played by Adam Scott). And finally, his third sister is Natalie (Deschanel) who is struggling with her identity as a lesbian/bixsexual, who gets accidentally pregnant by an artist-friend of hers, even though she's seriously dating Cindy (Jones). Ned, again, unwittingly spills the beans of Natalie's pregnancy to Cindy, but yes, they work it out. I can't express how cool and totally "guy-dreamed-up" awesome it was to see Deschanel and Jones make-out with each other in the film, but anyway. Cindy even helps Ned plan a way to get his dog back, which drives the third act of the film. It's great to see all the actors work so well together with a great script that could've turned ridiculous at some points, but walked the fine line just right.
And that's another thing. Paul Rudd is the perfect guy for the job of bringing Ned to the screen from the script. His is nice, but not a fool. He is sweet, but not so much that it makes us sick. His honesty gets him in some trouble, but always has an innocence to it. Ned is like the adult that never lost his childhood naivety or innocence. Even though his sisters get mad at him, throughout the film, they can never truly stay mad at him. He's like a child (or a dog).
I've pushed aside the fact that I was introduced to this movie by my ex, who liked this movie because of the weed connection, and her love for Paul Rudd. One of her other favorite movies was "Wanderlust." I don't think she understood that it was making fun of communes and that lifestyle, because she wanted to go live on one by the end of the movie. She really enjoyed smoking weed every day, if she could, she would. She never really grew up and became the 28 year old that she actually was, which really bothered me.
..................................................................
Film 147
"Sonny"
starring: James Franco, Mena Suvari
Directed by: Nicholas Cage
This is a Nicholas Cage-directed indie film about a guy who comes back from the army to New Orleans, Louisiana where his past kind of haunts him. Sonny is played by James Franco, whom I am now convinced plays every character since "Pineapple Express" high on weed. Even this character, who might have to be high constantly to do what he does, is played with a smugness and an aptitude for highness that just doesn't fit. Sonny is a 26 year old army vet who has a past as a male prostitute (apparently there are many lonely, older women in New Orleans that crave the young flesh of male prostitutes, so I guess it's nice to acknowledge that it's not a one-sided gender occupation). This film does nothing though. And it drags. There's even a love-story element between Sonny and his mother's seemingly only other prostituted, a younger girl named Carol (sounds like an older woman's name), played by Mena Suvari (sadly).
What drives the film is Sonny's mid-mid-life crisis and his desire to escape the lifestyle he was groomed for even as a teenager, by his mother. If this kid doesn't have an Oedipus complex, who would? It never develops enough for the audience to feel any kind of compassion or sympathy for Sonny, because he seems to enjoy what he does, otherwise wouldn't he quit sooner? The fact that he falls for his mother's only other prostitute seems to be why the plot drives forward like it does, which becomes evident in the climax, when Sonny has to decide and finally think for himself. What will he choose? The girl he believes he loves and can become someone else with? Or the lifestyle he knows an is all too familiar with?
This seems like a film that could have worked better on a stage, as a play, but the writing, especially the dialogue is something awful and leaves you wondering why these people are talking. Oftentimes, dialogue is chosen as a way to carry the plot forward, but in this film the plot doesn't really matter, so you don't really care what these characters are saying (or doing).
Who cares?
......................................................................
Film 148
"Waiting for Forever"
starring: Rachel Bilson, Tom Sturridge
This film is trying to be more than it actually is: a film about a clearly mental ill young man who happens to be sort of a stalker who's been in "love" with his childhood friend for years but hasn't had the courage to tell her face-to-face until her life seemingly hits rock bottom, when she denies him, he finally wakes up and leaves her alone, only for her to realize that she can have feelings for him too. What a messy disaster of the story. It's a shame, too, because I think Rachel Bilson, who plays the out-of-work-now-actress from L.A. returning home to be with and help care for her cancer-ridden father, is a decent actress. I absolutely loved her in "The O.C." and "The Last Kiss" but I think that's because the characters she played were allowed to live and breathe. Here, she is stifled, not that she wants to come to life in this pathetic film.
The young man whose mental health is in question is played by Tom Sturridge, who seems to have channeled a sad combination of Johnny Depp's character in "Benny and Joon" with the chivalry and awe-shucks attitude of Duckie from "Pretty in Pink" with vaudeville-like results. His character wears pajamas every day, complete with a vest and a bowler's hat. He's not really a sympathetic character, even though he is clearly still suffering due to the loss of his parents at age 6. His parents, whom he will talk to in the middle of conversations with others (noted by Sturridge looking slightly off to the side), died in an accident. He is still living in that past, in his mind, perhaps suffering from PTSD; but he's also stuck around that age, because he thinks that if he can just tell his childhood friend that he's been in love with her all these years, everything will be okay. He is a free-spirited, street juggler who needs to grow up and face reality. Unfortunately, the script never gives him an opportunity to do just that, because he eventually gets what he wants- he gets the girl- when he shouldn't and doesn't deserve it.
There's also an accidental murder and Bilson's character's bad boy (ex)-beau coming to town that moves the story forward, but none of it really matters. Too bad. I'm really frustrated by Hollywood treating mental health/illness with such light-heartedness and coming up short with explanations for why characters are the way that they are. Sturridge's character never has to have an epiphany, other than, this girl is not meant to love or be with him (which most people who care about him tell him). It's Bilson's character that has the epiphany, which is interesting, because you don't think she will or can, especially given the fact that she's dealing with her ailing father and somewhat overbearing mother.
Not worth the hour and a half. There are plenty of other movies that convey the same kind of message, better.
Reaching out to embrace the random.
Reaching out to embrace whatever may come.
Reaching out to embrace whatever may come.
I embrace my desire to
feel the rhythm, to feel connected
to feel inspired, to fathom the power,
to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral
of our divinity and still be a human.
feel the rhythm, to feel connected
to feel inspired, to fathom the power,
to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral
of our divinity and still be a human.
I planned on the entire concept taking up my entire back. I've thought about it for over a year, that's what I do. It takes me awhile to think about the piece before I put it on my body permanently. I'm definitely not someone who just slaps any ol' thing on my body. I currently have both arms (sleeves) done with beautiful ocean-scenes. My left arm stemmed from my a philosophical conversation I had back in 2001 with my great friend, Sean. We were discussing what "love" would look like to us as a painting. My interpretation of the concept of love happened (still does, I suppose) to be standing on the beach at sunset, and watching the sun drop slowly so that it almost looks like it is blending into the water. I also have 2 fish creating a circle, in essence, circling each other and completing each other. When I was 19, I also got the phrase "Come As You Are" tattooed on my forearm, an ode to my love of Nirvana and a reminder to always be myself. The words blended well with the ocean scene.
My right arm follows the same ocean-theme, except I designed it to be slightly darker than the left arm and it includes ocean life (i.e. seaweed, starfish, sea turtle, crab, and an octopus, its head seemingly breaching the surface as it has a mix of yellow-orange-red). The idea behind this arm is to look beyond the surface of things/people because there is more than meets the eye, and you'll be amazed at what you find once you get to know someone. It's meaning has other level to it, because I think oftentimes that people attached negative feelings/attitudes and/or prejudgments to people with tattoos (many perhaps, because getting one or two seems to be the norm these days), but in actuality we can be very nice, upstanding citizens. I mean, I am a primary grades teacher (and have been for 6 years now), who presents himself as a rather introverted person, who happens to enjoy attention (when I get it, or yes, seek it out, in a comfortable setting, and I must say, having tattoos is a great way to get noticed). I've always set out to prove people's negative stereotype and the stigma attached to having tattoos wrong. I'm very intelligent, funny, compassionate, understanding, level-headed, etc. I just happen to express myself through tattoos. I think it's important to have meaning behind your tattoos. I also have a "Straight Edge" tattoo on my chest, which I got when I was 19, because up until I turned 30 years old, I identified myself with that lifestyle (re: no smoking, no drinking, no drugs). When I started drinking a couple of summers ago, for reasons I don't feel necessary to explain, but let's just say for the "social" aspect attached to "getting drinks," my friends asked what I was going to do about this particular tattoo. My answer, "Nothing." Because, it defines a very specific period in my life. It has a story and meaning behind it. One that I will never forget, nor do I want to.
On the other side of my chest, I continued the ocean-themed motif, and I have a shadowed-out fisherman, alone, on a boat, among the waves and going down my rib cage, I also have a deep-sea diver holding a glowing lantern, in search of something (exactly what, perhaps he doesn't even know). I guess you could say, I've always enjoyed the ocean for its deeper meaning, when you look at all the popular culture ocean references (Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" and Melville's "Moby Dick" for starters). Water has also always had a connection with cleansing and starting over, which connects with me, because most of the time, when I decide to begin the process of a tattoo, I've gone through a significant event in my life. Case in point, when I started my right arm, I had just broken up with my first girlfriend (of two years). She never really wanted me to do more than what I already had. Even though it's my body, I decided to abide by her wishes. But, when we broke up, I saw it as a freedom and an opportunity to continue doing something that I loved. I lost a sense of myself with her, and this was my way of gaining that back, since we were no longer together. And I love the result.
I also happen to have an Optimus Prime (Transformer) tattoo on my left leg, because let's be honest, I will absolutely never regret that one! And Transformers are the "shit!"
On my right leg I have a Pearl Jam tattoo with lyrics to their song, "Garden" as well.
the direction of the eye
so misleading
the defection of the soul
nauseously quick
I don't question
our existence
I just question
our modern needs
With this tattoo going on my back, I'm venturing into new, uncharted territory. I like being able to see my artwork, and so I've avoided the back for years, but I knew that's where I wanted this one to go, because it's a completely blank canvas. I was glad my tattoo artist had called me back in October, because I had been thinking about it. In August I broke up with my most recent girlfriend, with whom things moved much too quickly (for my benefit and disadvantage). And, although we only dated for about 9 months, it felt like much longer. We moved in together after 3 months (because I wanted it so badly and I thought things would be amazing if I got to see her everyday, I was also trying to help her get out of a situation- the conclusion I drew from it all was that I wanted to move in with her for all the wrong reasons- and as soon as we moved in together things went downhill, literally the second day we moved in). It was an awful experience, but definitely the harshest reality lesson I've ever gotten- and I've had plenty of those, especially when related to girls. I guess, that's what I get being an idealist and a romantic (in the tragic sense).
Since that entire relationship had a significant impact on who I am as a person today (retrospectively looking at it only about 8-9 months later, hmm, the entire length of the relationship itself, interesting), I thought it was the perfect time to begin another tattoo, and I couldn't think of a more fitting one to get, given the circumstances that surrounded the demise of the relationship.
So, I guess that's my soapbox in regards to tattoos and their significance in my life.
.............................................................
Film 146
"Our Idiot Brother"
starring: Paul Rudd, Emily Mortimer, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, and Rashida Jones, Adam Scott, Steve Coogan, and Kathryn Hahn
This is a movie that probably wouldn't work with anyone besides Paul Rudd in the title role (his actually name in the film is Ned). Ned is kind of a saintly figure. An idealist. He smiles, no matter what the circumstances. He doesn't know how to lie (even when he is trying to sell weed to an uniformed officer at his vegetable stand at a farmer's market, or when he confesses to his parole officer later in the film that he smoked weed with his neighbor). He seems incapable of calculating the odds that are apparently stacked up against him every day. He trusts people infinity. He is incapable of cheating, too. He is sweet and endearing as a character, but as a person, yes he's the idiot that his sisters (Emily Mortimer, Elizabeth Banks and Zooey Deschanel) have dubbed him.
Ned gets busted, like I said, for attempting to sell weed to an uniformed officer. He's busted. Spends 4 months in jail and is released for being a "model prisoner" like there was any doubt that he would be. Ned returns to his farm, where his girlfriend is still living, except now she's living with a new dude. Ned doesn't understand why she could do this to him, because in his mind he would never do that to her, or anyone. He basically apologizes his way out of the situation. But, he wants his dog, Willie Nelson, as a parting gift. His ex won't give the dog to him. The dog, Willie Nelson, is actually crucial to the story because Ned's unconditional love seems to stem from his unconditional love for this dog. Nobody deserves the dog or unconditional love more than Ned. He's a model person. But, nothing really seems to work in his favor; and he is his own worst enemy sometimes.
Unable to live at the farm, trying to save up money to move into the chicken shack, perhaps, Ned decides to call on the love and support of his critical sisters. Liz (Mortimer) is an amalgram of pathetic, unwitting wives who are married to a cheating, sleazy guy (this one happens to be a documentary filmmaker, who cheats on his wife with a Russian ballerina). Miranda (Banks) is an ambitious writer who dreams of working at Vanity Fair and has a chance to thanks to the potential story she can get from a controversial foreign girl coming for an interview, which Ned sort of intercepts, unknowingly, and gets all the juicy information but refuses to admit to it, for moral and ethic reasons that he can't understand why his sister doesn't appreciate. Miranda is so tightly wound that she is incapable of having a relationship even with her "dreamy" and ideal mate, her upstairs neighbor (played by Adam Scott). And finally, his third sister is Natalie (Deschanel) who is struggling with her identity as a lesbian/bixsexual, who gets accidentally pregnant by an artist-friend of hers, even though she's seriously dating Cindy (Jones). Ned, again, unwittingly spills the beans of Natalie's pregnancy to Cindy, but yes, they work it out. I can't express how cool and totally "guy-dreamed-up" awesome it was to see Deschanel and Jones make-out with each other in the film, but anyway. Cindy even helps Ned plan a way to get his dog back, which drives the third act of the film. It's great to see all the actors work so well together with a great script that could've turned ridiculous at some points, but walked the fine line just right.
And that's another thing. Paul Rudd is the perfect guy for the job of bringing Ned to the screen from the script. His is nice, but not a fool. He is sweet, but not so much that it makes us sick. His honesty gets him in some trouble, but always has an innocence to it. Ned is like the adult that never lost his childhood naivety or innocence. Even though his sisters get mad at him, throughout the film, they can never truly stay mad at him. He's like a child (or a dog).
I've pushed aside the fact that I was introduced to this movie by my ex, who liked this movie because of the weed connection, and her love for Paul Rudd. One of her other favorite movies was "Wanderlust." I don't think she understood that it was making fun of communes and that lifestyle, because she wanted to go live on one by the end of the movie. She really enjoyed smoking weed every day, if she could, she would. She never really grew up and became the 28 year old that she actually was, which really bothered me.
..................................................................
Film 147
"Sonny"
starring: James Franco, Mena Suvari
Directed by: Nicholas Cage
This is a Nicholas Cage-directed indie film about a guy who comes back from the army to New Orleans, Louisiana where his past kind of haunts him. Sonny is played by James Franco, whom I am now convinced plays every character since "Pineapple Express" high on weed. Even this character, who might have to be high constantly to do what he does, is played with a smugness and an aptitude for highness that just doesn't fit. Sonny is a 26 year old army vet who has a past as a male prostitute (apparently there are many lonely, older women in New Orleans that crave the young flesh of male prostitutes, so I guess it's nice to acknowledge that it's not a one-sided gender occupation). This film does nothing though. And it drags. There's even a love-story element between Sonny and his mother's seemingly only other prostituted, a younger girl named Carol (sounds like an older woman's name), played by Mena Suvari (sadly).
What drives the film is Sonny's mid-mid-life crisis and his desire to escape the lifestyle he was groomed for even as a teenager, by his mother. If this kid doesn't have an Oedipus complex, who would? It never develops enough for the audience to feel any kind of compassion or sympathy for Sonny, because he seems to enjoy what he does, otherwise wouldn't he quit sooner? The fact that he falls for his mother's only other prostitute seems to be why the plot drives forward like it does, which becomes evident in the climax, when Sonny has to decide and finally think for himself. What will he choose? The girl he believes he loves and can become someone else with? Or the lifestyle he knows an is all too familiar with?
This seems like a film that could have worked better on a stage, as a play, but the writing, especially the dialogue is something awful and leaves you wondering why these people are talking. Oftentimes, dialogue is chosen as a way to carry the plot forward, but in this film the plot doesn't really matter, so you don't really care what these characters are saying (or doing).
Who cares?
......................................................................
Film 148
"Waiting for Forever"
starring: Rachel Bilson, Tom Sturridge
This film is trying to be more than it actually is: a film about a clearly mental ill young man who happens to be sort of a stalker who's been in "love" with his childhood friend for years but hasn't had the courage to tell her face-to-face until her life seemingly hits rock bottom, when she denies him, he finally wakes up and leaves her alone, only for her to realize that she can have feelings for him too. What a messy disaster of the story. It's a shame, too, because I think Rachel Bilson, who plays the out-of-work-now-actress from L.A. returning home to be with and help care for her cancer-ridden father, is a decent actress. I absolutely loved her in "The O.C." and "The Last Kiss" but I think that's because the characters she played were allowed to live and breathe. Here, she is stifled, not that she wants to come to life in this pathetic film.
The young man whose mental health is in question is played by Tom Sturridge, who seems to have channeled a sad combination of Johnny Depp's character in "Benny and Joon" with the chivalry and awe-shucks attitude of Duckie from "Pretty in Pink" with vaudeville-like results. His character wears pajamas every day, complete with a vest and a bowler's hat. He's not really a sympathetic character, even though he is clearly still suffering due to the loss of his parents at age 6. His parents, whom he will talk to in the middle of conversations with others (noted by Sturridge looking slightly off to the side), died in an accident. He is still living in that past, in his mind, perhaps suffering from PTSD; but he's also stuck around that age, because he thinks that if he can just tell his childhood friend that he's been in love with her all these years, everything will be okay. He is a free-spirited, street juggler who needs to grow up and face reality. Unfortunately, the script never gives him an opportunity to do just that, because he eventually gets what he wants- he gets the girl- when he shouldn't and doesn't deserve it.
There's also an accidental murder and Bilson's character's bad boy (ex)-beau coming to town that moves the story forward, but none of it really matters. Too bad. I'm really frustrated by Hollywood treating mental health/illness with such light-heartedness and coming up short with explanations for why characters are the way that they are. Sturridge's character never has to have an epiphany, other than, this girl is not meant to love or be with him (which most people who care about him tell him). It's Bilson's character that has the epiphany, which is interesting, because you don't think she will or can, especially given the fact that she's dealing with her ailing father and somewhat overbearing mother.
Not worth the hour and a half. There are plenty of other movies that convey the same kind of message, better.
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