Not Quite a Movie Review

Some time last year I rented a foreign language film (French) called "Mon Meilleur Ami" (My Best Friend). It is the story of a 40+ year old divorced man in search of a best friend and one of my favorite movies. It was touching to watch (and funny) as we have all been lonely at one time or another and we have all felt some discomfort, especially as adults, in trying to make new friends. After watching the film, I remembered thinking to myself, "What a charming movie. Too bad it would never work in the U.S."

I am not one of those people who worships all things European, but I am an avid movie watcher (perhaps I should get out more?) and as such have observed much about mainstream U.S. cinema. "Buddy flicks" in the U.S. are much more likely to involve crude humor and slapstick comedy, not mature exploration of the dynamics of friendship. Case in point the newly released "I Love You, Man." I saw it over the weekend because 1) I wanted to laugh, and 2) I wanted to compare it to "My Best Friend."

In essence, they are the same movie. In "I Love You, Man" a 30+ year old newly engaged man is in search of a substantive, male friendship (and possible "best man") as his wedding day approaches. There was drunkenness, vomiting, homophobic humor, and references to masturbation - all the usual crude humor necessary to make the "buddy flick" formula work. There were also some comedic moments which showed just how hard it is as an adult to reach out to another person with the hand of friendship. What will he think of me? What will I say? How do I avoid looking like a total loser for admitting that I find someone interesting and want to be his/her friend?

In the end, I didn't leave the theatre with the same warm and fuzzy feeling that I had after after watching "My Best Friend." That doesn't mean that "I Love You, Man" is a bad movie and this isn't quite a movie review anyway. Instead, this is one of those poignant moments when I wish I had a friend to talk about this with. Unfortunately, none of my friends have seen both movies.

Wait for "I Love You, Man" to come out on DVD, and compare them for yourselves. When you do, tell me all about it.

Cheers.

Daylight Savings Time

It's that time of year again. Don't forget to spring forward (set your clocks ahead one hour) before you go to sleep tonight.

Welcome back Spring! Oh how I've missed you....