Drunken Characters Gone Wild in the Movies #amblogging #atthemovies

While expressing apprehension to cook a full meal and feeling regret about agreeing to host a New Year’s Eve party for family and friends, at her house, a young lady recently said to me “It’s not about the food, it’s about the (alcoholic) drinks!” Plans for cooking chicken wings changed to serving some meatballs, and nothing else, for guests so they can at least have something in their stomach to prevent them from getting wasted on booze.

Since many people around the world celebrated New Year’s with a drink or two or three or several, I’d be willing to bet that some of these folks treated others in their surroundings to a handful of stories, jokes, insults, incomprehensible rambling and other outbursts that became the highlight of the EVE-ning -- which brings me to this week’s Monday Movie Meme topic: She/He said what?!!!.

Share on your blog movies that feature drunken outbursts during holidays or special occasions. Here are my selections for this week’s She/He said what?!!! movie meme.

The Other Sister

It’s hard to not feel embarrassed for Carla, when her boyfriend Daniel revealed their sexual escapades in front of a room full of family and close friends, at a Christmas party. For what it’s worth he did say that he is in love with her too. His drunken announcement at the party was funny, sweet and surprising. Who can forget the scene...”last year on Thanksgiving, we did it...and it was so beautiful.” I don’t know what’s worse...Daniel’s public declaration filled with TMI or the fact that many of the guests started laughing at him and Carla and not with them.

What’s Your Number

Ally’s tipsy toast left much to be desired after she insulted her sister Daisy’s fiance Eddie by calling him a douche-bag, aired the couple’s dirty laundry out in front of guests by introducing another woman who he cheated on Daisy with and then accidentally broke a champagne glass during an engagement party. Needless to say, Ally sure does know how to drink and say inappropriate things at the most unseemly moments. She’d probably be a lot of fun during a New Year’s celebration but I wouldn’t want to give her the floor unless I was tipsy too and unlikely to remember what she said, the next day.

Poetic Justice

Ok, here’s a lesson for Iesha: Never get so drunk after a family reunion barbecue (that you and your friends crashed) that you feel bold enough to tell your boyfriend “that’s the reason why I’m fucking somebody else” after calling him impotent and weak during an argument, and then expect him to be cool, calm and collected about it.

Chances are, he’s not going to take that one sitting down or standing up for that matter and while the situation in this particular movie scene is messed up and Chicago was wrong for hitting a woman, Iesha’s drunken outburst is the reason that he whopped her ass on the side of the highway. If she kept her mouth shut....better yet, if she wasn’t cheating in the first place, then none of that would have happened. Now, the better way to deal with that from Chicago’s position would be to just end the relationship and tell Iesha to take her drunken behavior to the new man that she’s sleeping with...but I guess that’s too logical of an option.

Don’t forget to visit your fellow Monday Movie Meme participants and show some love by leaving a comment or two. By the way, Happy New Year!

Shouts out to Dale at Smurfin the Web! I look forward to another fun month of hosting this thing alongside you.

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The DVD Snorefest: Movies that were Less Exciting to Watch #netflix #amwriting #boring

It’s another installment of the Monday Movie Meme and today’s theme is inspired by my tiredness and recent lack of motivation to write a blog post. First and foremost, big thanks to Dale at Smurfin the Web for putting us all in the holiday spirit last week. Since it’s my turn to host the meme this week, here is the topic: Cue the yawning! Share on your blog some of the most boring movies that you’ve ever watched.

Amistad

Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good opportunity to get new views of Matthew McConaughey as much as the next woman but even he could not keep my attention on “Amistad.” Maybe this is one of those movies that you have to watch in the theater to fully appreciate the work and not fall asleep. I bought “Amistad” on DVD several months ago because I never saw it and always wanted to check it out but about 30 minutes in to this movie, I lost interest in the film.

I started multitasking and then just let the DVD play in the background while I worked on the computer and performed other household tasks. I don’t know what happened and I don’t even care. Amistad’s lengthy running time doesn’t help the situation either, especially today when I tend to skip that selection while considering DVDs in my movie collection to watch on a lazy, boring or depressing afternoon or evening. Maybe I’ll get around to watching “Amistad” in it’s entirety one day -- if I have the time and patience to do so.

In the Bedroom

You can’t go wrong with Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson, but somehow, it felt like “In the Bedroom” was set into a cruise control mode that never let up. Fortunately,
this was a good movie, so I did give it my full attention, unlike the experience in watching “Amistad.” I still kept anticipating the end credits, like I couldn’t wait until the movie was over.

The few dramatic and action-packed moments were forced to make up for a LOT of down time. I get the point -- something tragic happened, people are sad, there is resentment in the air and the grief has to be dealt with in one way or another. So, why do we have to watch a guy sitting in his car for what seems like 15 minutes to forever, doing absolutely nothing?

Slacker

I’m probably going to be criticized for this point of view, because “Slacker” is an independent film classic and everything.-- still, it’s boring. Sorry, but there’s no way getting around the fact that I just could not get into this movie. I don’t remember much about it because it stopped paying attention to it not too long after I popped the DVD into the DVD player.

Funny enough, though, I did find the short film located on the special features menu (or do I have this “Slacker” DVD mistaken for another movie? somebody let me know, please) to be much more interesting to watch than the main presentation. I don’t know if that is a plus or a minus for the DVD nor am I sure if there is something to be said about a special feature that gets more kudos than the main menu item that we bought (or rented or streamed, whatever) the DVD for in the first place.

Land of Plenty

Michelle Williams stars in “Land of Plenty” and aside from reading something somewhere that referenced this film, she was the only reason I wanted to check it out. Big mistake -- not because of Williams per se, but because this movie is not very entertaining. Hell, it isn’t even interesting enough to make me want to champion it or recommend it to anyone.

Nights and Weekends

I started playing “Nights and Weekends” and then after not even a few minutes of watching this movie, I turned it off. Enough said.

There are a few more boring movies that I would mention in this post -- if I wasn’t tired of being in front of a computer you know, kind of like how I became tired of watching the films listed here. Ha!

What movies have YOU found yourself falling asleep on?

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My Favorite Christmas Movies #amblogging #amwriting

As we kick off another Monday Movie Meme following my Big Payback from last week, it’s about that time to get into the holiday spirit. Dale at Smurfin the Web takes his hosting duties up a notch with the festive topic of naming our favorite Christmas movies. This one shouldn’t be a toughie, but I’m not exactly the most festive person in the world with regards to the Christmas holiday.

I don’t decorate, sing carols or participate in any related traditional activities that scream “I’m full of the holiday spirit!” -- unless I’m in a really good mood or have been inspired to do so for some random reason. None of the latter scenarios apply this year, but alas, there are some Christmas holiday movies that I rarely tire of watching -- and here they are.

It’s a Wonderful Life

I was vaguely familiar with this movie due to commercials and television programs that showed clips from the film, but did not watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” until my post-college years. After a long and gloomy conversation with a work supervisor about some negative feelings and thoughts going through my mind, this movie was recommended to me and I’m glad that I saw it. Now, that doesn’t mean I believe that a little perspective or some guardian angel from above will come down and fix everything or help us ‘see the light’ -- but, if there is anything that can get me into the Christmas holiday spirit, THIS movie is it!

Bad Santa

Now, this is on the other end of the Christmas holiday spectrum, which is why I love it. There is no reason to really be mad at Billy Bob Thorton’s character at all, since Santa Claus himself is a fictional character used to boost the commerce sector in our Western culture without providing any real value to children, or even adults, for that matter. Also, I found this movie to be obnoxiously funny and it sometimes holds a special place in my heart because I watched it with, and on the recommendation of a friend in the Navy, who was home on a short break.

The Kid Who Loved Christmas

Sammy Davis Jr. and Cicely Tyson star in this TV movie, a heartfelt little holiday story about an orphaned boy who asks Santa Claus for help in stopping social services from removing him from the home of his adoptive family. What strikes me about this little boy is that he had a positive and hopeful attitude, despite the tough circumstances he was in and the struggles that his adoptive father endured to try and keep them together. Although we all know Santa is imaginary, this little boy believed in the possibility of miracles, in the midst of all of his troubles. This stands out because the principles in this story are what life is about -- not just the holidays. While “The Kid Who Loved Christmas” does not seem to be available on DVD, it is on VHS and is often aired on television -- always a joy for me to watch!