Silly Thinking

Hello Silly Thinkers and welcome to our new Friday feature "Jim's Movielog" where Jim takes you to the movies!

And now here's Jim!

J: Thank you Jim and hello everyone and welcome to the Movielog.
Here is today's entry.

Last Saturday I decided to see the Farrely Brothers new film that bombed so fast it was playing in a $2.00 a seat second run movie theatre-video arcade.

The movie "Stuck On You" stars Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear and got mixed reviews but audiences decided that a gross out comedy from the creators of "Dumb And Dumber" and "Something About Mary" that delt with the adventures of siamese twin brothers might be so gross; why bother going to see it?
Who could play them? It sounded awful, so it seemed just right for a visit to the Avalon Theatre.

The Avalon was a nice nieghborhood second run theatre in the forties, fifties, and sixties, but somewhere in the 70's they added two small auditoriums to the original "mini-palace" and limped along for a few years showing double features.
Then they closed the movie theatres altogether and took out the seats in the original theatre and put in wall to wall video games making it into an arcade.
In the early 90's someone decided to start running movies as a side business and re-opened the smaller add-on houses to second run movies at bargain rates.
I avoided the Avalon for years. It looks like a trashy dump from the outside and there are always kids hanging around.
But somebody in there runs a very nice little operation. They thoroughly clean the theatre between shows and prints are usually crisp and clean as is the projection.
For 2 bucks you can't do better and the crowded snack bar featuring popcorn and RC is dirt cheap run by nice people.

I knew this would be a great place to see this awful trash. I talked my friend (who I will call "K") into going without actually telling him what we are going to see. When he found out outside K moaned and reluctantly went in saying "wake me when it's over". That's not really unique for K who could fall asleep in an earthquake.

The Fox logo trumpted the beginning of the film, which these days puts me in a bad mood because I don't like sending any support to right wing ultra conservative Rubert Murdoch, and the film began. The early sequences take place in a small town in New England where these Siamese (or conjoined as they prefer to be called) twins live.The depiction of small town life was affectionate and funny. Nobody points and laugh at anybody. No shit jokes. And the performances are solid.
Ahh but wait I thought. The brother played by Kinnear wants to be an actor and after doing a one man show ("Tru", the life of Truman Capote) and getting great reviews (a one man show with a conjoined brother ain't easy) he wants to go to Hollywood.
Now the nasty gross out humor will begin.
But it dosen't. The movie meanders and ceases to be funny for a long stretch. But it's not mean.
Through a ridiculous long set up he ends up co-starring on an awful TV police drama with Cher who plays Cher with great self depricating humor.
The view inside the entertainment industry is very funny and layed out with care.
The romantic subplot of Damon's girlfriend not realizing he is half of a conjoined twin unit wears thin very fast but (almost impossibly) it's not gross.
The insider jokes may not work for everybody and the overlong running time may make your squirm a bit but this film is not bad.
These guys can do film comedy. They have good timing and a rich story telling style. I am almost choking on these words. I thought "Dumb And Dumber" was worse than awful. The only thing I liked about it was a woman sitting down the way from me who laughed so much she vomited in her popcorn box. Now that's funny. And I thanked God for giving me a good laugh.

But watching this picture I had a great time. How could that be? How could that have possibly been the outcome of this trip to nowhere I had so carefully calculated?
The warm spirit these two brothers have seems sincere and is played with great fun by Damon and Kinnear. The jokes are solid and no one barfs, takes a dump, or gets cum stuck in thier hair. There are several star cameo bits that all worked as well. I don't want to blow any suprises but wait til you see the musical version of "Bonnie And Clyde" and Cher's young boyfriend.

We were in shock leaving the Avalon Theatre.
"Wait a minute we aren't supposed to like this." I said. "I can't tell people I liked this picture. They'll think I've lost my mind."
K thought it was the best time he had at the movies since "Winged Migration". Don't even get me started on K.
So let me tell you honestly that I liked this picture and I haven't lost my mind. And don't be afraid to see it. It might suprise you.
Back to you Jim.


Thanks Jim. Wow. What a suprise. What's wrong with cum in the hair jokes anyway?
Well we'll see you next week.

Join us all here at "Silly Thinking" tommorow when you'll see "A Few Moments With Dead Celebrites" with an all new name: "The Big Parade Of Dead People"!
Until then this is Jim Farris speaking for Jim Farris and all of us here at "S.T." Good night.

"Jim Farris Presents Silly Thinking WIth Douglas Lain"
it really is all here!