The Baywatch Run: Renaissance Style, and Other Observations from the Hilarity That Is "Much Ado About Nothing"

Upon initially starting Kenneth Branagh's 1993 all-star film adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, I was just going to write a little post about how hilarious the opening montage is. But the film as a whole became so over the top funny — both in the dialogue and the staging — this is going to be a bit longer.

But let's start at the very beginning (it's a very good place to start). If you want to watch the rather beautifully structure beginning, feel free to watch this video from the start (say what you will about Branagh, but his choice to start with the bard's own words before the actor/director/writer's images is incredibly respectful). If the hilarity is all you care about, skip ahead to about 5:36.



It's just a genuinely and generally hilarious opening. Sure, you could view the slow mo riding montage of the men returning from war as an emphasis on male dominance, but I see it as a rather delicious display of attractive men (Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, Branagh, Robert Sean Leonard) for my viewing pleasure, a la the Baywatch run - hot yet ridiculous at the same time. And the following scene of the group bathing ups the WTF? ante.

All of the flirtatiously cutting dialogue between Benedick and Beatrice is comedy gold, and the idiocy of Dogberry and the other justice-servicemen is as insane as Quince's acting troupe in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Dogberry's lines, "Marry, sir, they have committed false report; moreover, they have spoken untruths; secondarily, they are slanders; sixth and lastly, they have belied a lady; thirdly, they have verified unjust things; and, to conclude, they are lying knaves," crack me up every time.

But it's really the little things that made this movie amazingly hilarious...or hilariously amazing (take your pick). The mere presence of Keanu Reeves, so pretty in the face, with nothin' really going on upstairs. The creepy oil rubdown his manservant was giving him. Branagh's line inflections ("have ^you?", the peacock call) and silent movie-schtick with the folding chair. Michael Keaton's co-opting of his Beetlejuice speech patterns for Dogberry.

Thanks for all the fun, Shakespeare (and you too, Mr. Branagh).

I Want My 'Bones' Right Now!

I hear this Bones teaser trailer for the new fifth (fifth?!) season has been out for a little bit. But a perfect storm of interruptions — moving back into college, the Bones Hulu page for some awful reason not wanting to play anything, most of the campus' internet going out over the weekend — prevented me from seeing it until just time moment. And my, what a wonderful thing it is. There is honestly nothing I do not like about it, from the delightful intro by Glee's Jane Lynch (though I personally feel a bit lukewarm about that show, any dose of Jane Lynch is a good dose of Jane Lynch), to the underground death pit (not that I like death, but it's a fresh kind of murder-site).

Enjoy!



Looks like serious fun! And from what I hear, the premiere is typical Bonesian fun. This trailer also taught me a valuable lesson, for just when I thought the most attractive Boreanaz could get was sporting a big ol' smile and a sharp suit, here he is sporting a big ol' smile and some delicious scruff.

Which is the best Boreanaz look? Discuss.

Pet Peeves: Inaccurate Pictures

I first saw the term "pet peeve" in The Simpsons Forever! book - and I initially thought it had to do with pets. I still don't know quite where the term comes from, but now I know that it basically means "things that annoy me." And that pet peeves are my specialty. From my mother's CHHMMM EEEEMMMGGGMM throat-clearing to anyone who throws away food.

So, one of my irrational pet peeves is mislabeled/misrepresented entertainment information. And Hulu, though I love it so, just committed a major boo-boo. In the scrolling list of recent Hulu additions there is a page for Lost: Season 1 (above). Yet clearly Desmond, Juliet, Ben, Daniel, and Miles (hiding behind the title) were NOT in Season 1. Judging by those characters and the lack of certain others I'd say this is either Season 4 or 5, probably 5. This happened in a previous Hulu ad for Lost: Season 1 showing a promotional shot for Season 2. I could forgive that, because most of the characters were the same. But using Season 4/5 is a huge discretion in time. Fail, Hulu.

Fail.

What The Frick, Monday?! Or Is It Bad to Have Homicidal Feelings Towards a Day?

I mean, you can't actually murder it. And I don't think, even if there was a physical incarnation of a day of the week, I would carry out the wicked deed (I can't even bring myself to look at roadkill). Maybe I'd just throttle it a little bit.

Yeah, that's the kind of day I've had. A real bad case of the Mondays.

Listen, children, and you shall hear WHY it's been so awful I just ate some apple pie (ok, it was a quarter of a pie (well, a quarter minus approximately 1.5 bites)) (but it had fruit in it!) (and I had a small lunch of a salad and an apple!!).

Negative: I didn't get a ton of sleep, and was really lethargic all day.
Positive: I had stayed up watching LOTR.
Negative: There was a dead fox on the road into work.
Positive: I only found out about it from others, as I did not see it driving in or driving out!
Negative: Forgot to put the Netflix in the mailbox.
Negative: The cable was not working this morning, nor this afternoon.
Negative-Positive-Triple-Negative (resulting in a Double-Negative): I called Comcast, and got hustled around, though in the midst of the phone call the channels started working again! Then the lady said I had to leave the TV on for 20 minutes while it readjusted. The channels turned off. One hour and twenty minutes later, STILL NO CHANNELS.
Negative: Ithaca College decided to change Webmail, in an attempt to make it...cooler? More like iGoogle? More confusing? Harder for me to quickly check my e-mail? The worst addition to the Internet since Crazy Frog?
Negative: I wanted to check my mealplan and housing stati (real word? Mac spellcheck says it is) on Ithaca's Homerconnect site. It's not working.
Negative: After a call to Residential Life, there is no chance of us getting into an apartment until mid-September at the earliest.
Positive: This:



Thanks, television...on the Internet.

Hulu, once Again You Rock My Heart! This Time, to Space(ed)!!

I've heard that some people get into relationships with their DVRs. They record things you love, suggest others you might, and when they're temperamental, your whole world smashes to pieces.

Well, I wouldn't know. But what I DO know is that I think I'm starting to fall in love with Hulu. Sure, I've been expounding its virtues for a long time, but that was more like a bit of a crush. But after logging in today and watching the flipping menu to see what new offerings there were, what should I behold? Only one of my favorite. Shows. Ever. No, not Lost (there's a good chance they should be there soon though). Nor Arrested Development (they're already there). Or Firefly (again, Hulu's already got it). Its Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes nee Stevenson's amazing Channel 4 1999-2001 series Spaced, about a pair of new friends who pretend to be dating in order to get a flat.

To celebrate/entice additional obsessees, here's an admittedly longis clip (this is showing a lot of restraint). Hopefully you'll enjoy. If not, well, let's say irreverent modern British humor is not everyone's cup of tea.

What's It All About, Andy Rooney?

Whist flipping around the telly this evening, I happened on footage of fruit and an old man saying "mangoes." Well, of course I had to check it out. At the sight of shaky old hands and a distinctive whiny voice I realized it was Andy Rooney talking about fruit. And what was he saying about fruit? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. All I gathered from it was 1) There are a lot of fruits, 2) most are exotic, 3) Andy has not tried/does not like most of them, and 4) tomatoes should be with vegetables.

The complete uselessness of this segment of 60 Minutes got me thinking: what use does Andy Rooney serve? It's not his age - though I can't quite understand why, at 90, he doesn't want to take a break, go fishing, or take a nap in an easy chair - I mean, 87-year-old Christopher Lee has at least 5 films yet to be released, Maya Angelou is 81 and still working, and Sean Connery is still an inspiration to women around the world at 79. I guess I just have no stomach for solely opinion-based commentary when done is such an obnoxious manner.

Also, he didn't like mangoes. And, well, I have no use for people who don't care for mangoes. But that's just my opinion.

Random Quote: Miles Makes My Day

"You owe me a fish taco!" - Miles Straume, Lost



P.S. - In the process of finding an appropriate clip for Miles (there is an extreme lack of them, I have to say), I found a MILES/KATE romance video. Not to get too Grey's-Anatomy on y'all, but Seriously?

Seriously?