Thursday, 12/21

I’m a guy, and I like it. Is it THAT big of a surprise?

One of my favorite movies of the last 20 years (right behind “The Martian”, in fact) is “Love, Actually”, a movie that kind of flopped when it came out in theaters but has now taken on a second life as a modern-day holiday classic (in this regard, it resembles “It’s a Wonderful Life”, a film many of my co-workers at TV-19 have never watched, shame on them). Anyway, as happens around this time of the year there have been a slew of articles released about the movie, many of which deal with the same topic--

Did you know guys like “Love, Actually”?

Speaking as a guy, just let me say this--yes, some of us DO like “Love, Actually”. In fact, some of us LOVE “Love, Actually”, and I’m not quite sure why all these writers are surprised. I mean, sure, it doesn’t have any explosions, farts, or fights, and it’s filled with heart and humor, but that doesn’t mean guys don’t like it. In fact, I’ve always been a fan of Richard Curtis, the guy who wrote and directed the film, if only because his movies DO have heart & humor, and conspicuously lack explosions and farts, and when he does include fights, they’re usually between Colin Firth and Hugh Grant, and they’re hilarious.

So there.

Another of my favorite articles on the movie is one that asked people which of the nine subplots they liked best (for those of you who haven’t seen the movie, [and shame on you, by the way, if you haven’t], the movie juggles nine inter-related subplots in the 5 weeks leading up to Christmas), and that’s almost like asking someone which of their nine kids or puppies or classic cars or whatever they like best. I don’t know that I could pick my absolute favorite, although I will admit that I have a fondness for both the Hugh Grant and the Colin Firth story lines. The one that always gets to me, though, is the plot with Keira Knightly and the guy in love with her. Once again, I don’t wanna spoil it for anyone who’s never seen it, but if you aren’t in some way affected after watching that plot line, you’d better check to see if you have a pulse!

So there you go. I’m a guy, and I love “Love, Actually”. Think they’ll write an article about me, now??

8-)

******

I received a note from daily blog reader Rachel, who lives downstate, and who was wondering if I was actually serious yesterday when I wrote about the distinct possibility of another green Christmas here. Yes, Rachel, I am. Here's a picture of our snow cover (at least as of yesterday afternoon)--

The forecast through Christmas? Sun or rain, and temperatures in the upper 30s to upper 40s (!). I'm pretty sure whatever snow we have won't even make it through the end of the day today.

So hope that shows I was actually serious for once, Rachel!

(jim@wmqt.com)