Happy Weekend!

And its Friday!  Hope you have a pretty cocktail 

or a pretty day in your future! 

It's been awhile since I've done one of these, so here's what I've been up to lately . . .

CFC Class, where I talk about feminist issues, animal rights, and Twilight PR Scandals

Sunday Morning Required Reading

Whales and Tigers and movies- oh my!

A Public Affair

Helen Gurley Brown

The first two installments of another series about movies I love

Bridesmaid Revisited

Bridesmaid Revisited- Sixteen Candles

Three of my favorite people getting married

WWEMD
(side note- was there really a cheating scandal!? say it aint so!)

If You're Going to San Francisco

Best Wishes

Reviews of movies still in theaters

Brave
The Campaign

Hope Springs

Ted

The Dark Knight Rises 

And something new, a CFC weekly round-up if you will.

Look of the Week: Sutton Foster, Bunheads finale

I think I'm the only person in the world who watches Bunheads and I'm pretty much obsessed with it.  It's like Gilmore Girls minus Connecticut, Rory, and Luke but adding California, more of Rory's zany Chilton/Yale friends, and dancing! Lots of dancing!  Bunheads is sort of modern, but sort of MGM classic musical.  And it just makes me happy to watch.  Anyways, the lead character wore this really great black dress with leather accents.  I can't find a good pic, but I am definitely looking for something like this for fall.  Also, see Nina Garcia in similar dress below.

Story of the Week: Taylor Swift, Venture Capitalist from New Hampshire

Y'all, I'm so concerned about T Swift.  First, she's dating a boy who's in high school.  Literally he's about to start his senior year. Second, she's practically stalking the Kennedy's. Third, she can't stop dressing in patriotic colors.

We get it.  You're an all American kinda gal.  Fourth, she's become a wedding crasher!!  I love you T, but please don't attack the paparazzi with an umbrella or shave your head anytime soon.  In other news, I CANNOT stop listening to WANEGBT.

 

Rental of the Week: Like Crazy

Best movie I've seen in forever!  Cried a lot. 

Movie Ticket of the Week:  Hit and Run 

Getting good reviews and I think Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell are so cute after that whole sloth birthday party.

Happy Weekend!

The Campaign Review

Once, during a rhetoric course I took in college, the professor asked us "What makes something funny?  How do you define humor?"  Just take a minute and try to answer that for yourself.  It's really difficult, isn't it?  I don't know how to tell you if something's funny, I just know if it is funny, I'll laugh.

That's how I feel about The Campaign.  I can't say for sure if it was the absurdity of modern politics, an hilariously outrageous script, or two fantastic performances from Will Ferrell and (especially!) Zack Galifianakis, I just know that it was funny, so I laughed!

The Campaign, rated "R," comedy, starring Will Ferrell and Zack Galifianakis "B+"

Bridesmaid Revisited- Sixteen Candles

When you think Sixteen Candles, you don't immediately think bridesmaid.  You think Jake Ryan, red car, birthday wish.  We'll get there, I promise.

But first, let's talk about poor Samantha Baker.  Being a bridesmaid in her bratty sister's wedding is the least of her worries.  She doesn't have any curves, she's not one of the cool kids, a geek wants to borrow her underwear, her grandma felt her boobs, her secret crush might know she likes him, and worst of all, her entire family forgot her sixteenth birthday. 

So you really can't blame her for not playing the most doting bridesmaid.  Although all of the scenes with Sam and Ginny are some of the funniest wedding moments in any movie.  Like when Sam is trying to talk to Ginny as she primps for hours on end.

"I really love Rudy. He is totally enamored of me. I mean, I've had men who've loved me before, but not for six months in a row."

Or when Ginny takes a handful of muscle relaxers and stumbles through the ceremony only to be shoved in the car by her mobster husband.  And as she rides away and the guests begin to leave, there he is.  Jake Ryan and his red porsche. 

In the past 10 years or so, Disney Princesses have gotten a bad rap for giving girls unrealistic expectations of love.  I take a lot of offense to this because 1) I LOVE Disney and 2) I don't have unrealistic expectations of relationships.  What's that?  I write a blog dedicated to acting like real life is a movie?  Hmm.

But if we really wanted to place blame, I think we know where to look.  Jake Ryan.  And his car.  And his hands in his pockets.  And his cute smile.  If Sam can go from a  flat chested fifteen year old "disease" to a sixteen year old babe kissing the hottest guy in school . . . there's hope for all of us, right?

I've been reading a collection of Nora Ephron's essays on women from the 70's and she brings up an interesting point about  society's changing view and expectation of women.  She argues that no matter what changes in the future we will always have fairy tales telling us that someday our prince will come.  "After liberation we will still have to reckon with Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella."  And Jake Ryan.

When I first watched Sixteen Candles, I was sixteen years old, and it was sixteen years after its initial release.  I absolutely adored it- and I would recommend to any girl who loves a happy ending.  Even if we still wear an A cup, and no one has ever showed up in their red porsche to save us from a dismal wedding reception, I still believe we will all get our birthday wish- whether we're sixteen or sixty.

Hope Springs Review

If you go to see Hope Springs expecting a fun middle aged romantic comedy from the director of The Devil Wears Prada, you're going to have some questions.  Where is the confident, sexy Meryl Streep that fell into an affair with Alec Baldwin in It's Complicated?  Why have the Hermes scarves and Calvin Klein skirts of her Miranda Priestly days been replaced by a dowdy Coldwater Creek wardrobe?  Why am I not laughing . . . at all?

If you go see Hope Springs hoping for a touching, honest, and intimate portrayal of marriage after 30+ years, featuring three (Meryl, Tommy Lee, and Steve Carrell) of the best performances I've seen all year, you'll get exactly that.

That's the funny thing about hope vs. expectation.  They might seem similar but in movies, marriage, and life, hope prevails.

Hope Springs, rated "PG-13," drama (I'm sorry I know its supposed to be a comedy, but I'm not laughing), starring Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, and Steve Carrell "B"

CFC Class: Helen Gurley Brown

Read

Her New York Times obituary

Helen Gurley Brown, Who Gave ‘Single Girl’ a Life in Full, Dies at 90

Or if you're especially ambitious, Sex and the Single Girl

Watch

Sex and the Single Girl, the movie

Any epsiode of Mad Men where Joan uses her killer curves to get ahead

Browse

The latest issue of Cosmo

What does it mean to be a fun, fearless female?  Discuss.

"Good girls go the heaven, bad girls go everywhere."  Helen Gurley Brown, 1922-2012

Best Wishes

By now, we've all heard the joyous news that our girl Jen is engaged!!  Of course all the celeb news outlets are freaking out.  Although I'm sure she's like "cool it guys."

 She's the most (perhaps only?) successful Friend

 has THE hottest body in Hollywood

was married to Brad when he looked like this

and not this

and always looks effortlessly stylish.

But all anyone cares about is "Will Jen find love again?"  And now that's she's getting married maybe we can all calm down a bit.

But I do want everyone to be aware that her fiance had a few flings with Ms. Bradshaw.  First as the guy Carrie flirts with before she drags Mr. Big downtown to ask her if he wants to "stand still."

And then he showed up as Vaughn, the writer with the great mom, who . . .  umm . .  specialized in "short stories."

Jen is my pretend celebrity bff and I will  always think she is impossibly cool- married or not.  So while I actually squealed out loud when I read that she was engaged, I reminded myself that this wasn't the only great thing to happen in her life.

And as for Justin, he's been writing the scripts of full-length features Iron Man 2, Rock of Ages and Zoolander 2.  So I guess he's got that short story thing under control.

Bridesmaid Revisited

"What do you like better- Christmas or wedding season?" - Wedding Crashers

No matter where your loyalties lie, I have good news.  I saw Brach's candy corn in Walgreens yesterday which means Christmas season is just around the corner.  And as summer fades to fall, chances are you're coming down from wedding guest high.

It seems like everyone I knew had at least one wedding to attend this summer.  And so as we reflect back on all the good times, I thought it would be fun to countdown some of my favorite wedding movies.

Everyone says its the day you dream of your entire life.  Your best friend asks you the question you've been waiting to hear.  You put on a dress that, despite numerous alterations, you'll probably wear just this once.  You walk down the isle with flowers in your hand and a smile on your face.  You smile through your tears during the champagne toast of love and laughter and you party the night away with some of your favorite people. And if you're like me, you'll get to do it a second, third, or fourth time.

Obviously I'm talking about being a bridesmaid.  My marital experience is focused solely on these duties as I've had the opportunity to be a bridesmaid five (going on six!) times.  I mean it when I say being in a wedding party is one of the greatest joys of my life. And that's why in the next few weeks we'll be counting down my favorite wedding movies, as well as a few (censored!) tales of my own times in taffeta, through a series called Bridesmaid Revisited.  This is supposed to be a clever take on Brideshead Revisted.  Just go with it.

So pop a bottle of champagne and call dibs on the cute groomsmen.  Because "I'm ready to partyyyy!"

CFC Class- A Public Affair

I'd never consider myself a Twi-hard.  I don't think R Patz is very cute and I wish K Stew would wash her hair once in awhile.  But there's something weird about this whole cheating scandal.  And its not just the the RPatz, KStew, Robsten nicknames.  Let's break it down.

First, in the four years its taken to film the Twilight saga, we've never got official word that Robert Pattison and Kristen Stewart are actually together.  They hint around it in interviews but certainly never acknowledge their status as a couple.  I'm not asking for Jessica Simpson TMI word vomit but you think they might be comfortable mentioning each other's name.  When rumors started to fly that they were dating, moving in together, engaged, etc they never felt the need to make a public statement.  Yet as within a few hours of the cheating scandal hitting the web, Kristen issues a mushy, whiny apology to Rob . . . who she mentions by name . . . and then wraps it up by saying " I love him, I love him."  So . . . now you want to talk about it?


We've caught a glimpse of R and K kissing once, maybe twice during their entire relationship.  And even those pics looked like they might just be up in each other's personal space without any actual smooching.  Two young stars who are paparazzi gold and no one could manage to sneak up on them engaged in more frequent PDA?  However Kristen and some director no one had heard of (or at least wouldn't recognize) until last week have a weird makeout sesh against a fence and some lucky photog hits the jackpot and captures every liplock. Just so we're straight- longtime boo who everyone wants you to be with- no pics please.  Old man director with a wife and kids- snap away.  Weird.

I certainly don't expect everyone to know this (that's why this is our lesson plan for today) but People magazine is legit when it comes to celeb gossip.  I'm not sure what kind of deal they've worked out over the past few years but basically they get the deals to most celeb weddings and baby pics by not printing anything unless its been confirmed by a PR rep.  That's why TMZ or Perez can sometimes get news out quicker . . . but you have to wait until People confirms to know if it's true.  Now no celeb wants an article to read "Her PR rep says he's a big douche and total weirdo and she's glad she dumped him" which is why you're going to read "an unnamed source confirms that Holmes was tired of Cruise's big ego and devotion to scientology."  Yet People was immediately reporting all the latest from the "sources" on Kristen's infidelity and Rob's broken heart.  Why go public now?


And finally, Rob runs away to Reese Witherspoon's house.  That's super sweet and all but may I remind you that Reese has never even officially confirmed her pregnancy?  She has her choice in what she keeps private and you would think that helping a platonic friend with a broken heart might be on that list.

What am I trying to say here?  That everyone wants us to know about this affair.  And its freaking weird. Could the entire Robsten saga and affair be conjured up for some spectacular Twilight PR?  Doesn't seem necessary . . . but with the last movie coming out soon all eyes will be on the awkwardness that ensues in the upcoming press tour. And the final Twilight film.  And the sequel to Snow White (who gave that the green light btw?) which will reunite Kristen and her paramour.   With the movies wrapped up, there's no need for R and K to be together.  And a heartbreaking affair gives reason for a definitive end.  


When dealing with the case like this, I always think its smart to reference the rule of Louis Bullock.  When Sandra won her Oscar, the paparazzi were the ones to tell her that Jesse James was cheating.  They followed her moving out of the house, keeping in touch with his kids, and remaining classy by refusing to comment on his horrible taste in tattooed sluts.  Yet a month later she shocks everyone by announcing that she had adopted Louis- and had been a mother for months!  The point is, what we know about a celebrities personal life is what they want us know.  They can keep things (big things!) to themselves if they really want to.

So why such a public end to what used to be a very private couple?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

Ask CFC: If you're going to San Francisco

My sweet friend Meg is special to me for many reasons.  First, she was my first, and dearest, friend that I made post college.  This article from the New York Times is making the rounds on blogs lately and its an accurate portrayal of how hard it is to really connect with someone once you're trying to make it in "the real world."

Meg and I rented a house with a group of girls the year we graduated and although my journal reflects that I often felt lost and lonely that first year, I now look back on it as one of my favorite years . . . ever.  Between traveling for work and adjusting to the shock that comes when you don't have your 50 closest friends in walking distance . . . I spent a lot of time that year reading, and thinking, and talking to Meg. 

Meg is one of the greatest listeners I've ever met because she not only lets you ramble on (as I tend to do) but reflects your feelings and asks thoughtful questions.  I can't begin to tell you how many times I've started a conversation with " You know, I was talking to my friend Meg about this. . ."  I lent her several books that year and she would leave little notes in my room with quotes she enjoyed. She even came up with a name for our conversations- "philosofickle" - because we loved to discuss big ideas, but wavered on our actual stance.  Everyone should have a friend like Meg- especially when you're 23.

Meg is getting married this weekend and moving the week after that!  I am so happy for her and so excited to celebrate.  She is honeymooning in San Francisco and, because she's such a great listener, has gathered travel tips from everyone.  The last and only time I was there was 10 years ago, so I'm not much help in that department.  But when in comes to San Fran on the silver screen?  I've got that covered.

CFC's Top 5 San Francisco Films

5. Serendipity

I know what you're thinking.  Serendipity is set in NYC!  Actually its just John Cusack and Natasha his bland brunette fiancee who live on the east coast.  Kate Beckinsdale (why is she always fighting people in leather boots these days?  I demand another rom-com!) and Aiden Shaw her bizarre musician boyfriend live in the Bay area.  I love this movie not just because it's Christmas and not just because it's romantic, but for the sheer amount of stress I feel about whether they will actually get together.  Its like Sam Baldwin and Annie Reed on steroids.

4. The Graduate

While we're on the topic of life after college . . .everyone should see The Graduate. It appears constantly in pop culture and the Simon & Garfunkel soundtrack is divine.

3. Mrs. Doubtfire

My favorite dressing in drag movie (and I love Tootsie, Some Like it Hot and The Birdcage!) Heartbreaking and hilarious.

2. The Wedding Planner

With Matthew McConaughey before he got his hair transplants, J-Lo before Ben and Marc and Casper, Mossimo before set foot in Seattle Grace and Adam Shankman before he convinced Tom Cruise to wear extensions.  It's practically a classic.

1. Vertigo

Romance, obsession, a flawless Kim Novak and a totally creepy Jimmy Stewart.  Just topped Citizen Kane in a "best movie of all time" poll.  I always say I just like to enjoy movies, but watching Vertigo will make anyone appreciate a really wonderful film.

And there ya have it.  Here's a little confession- Meg never actually asked for San Francisco movie recommendations.  But I know she'll read this anyway. That's what you get with a great listener . . . and an even better friend.