Where is Harvey Dent?!

Harvey, Harvey, Harvey Dent, oh excuse me I want to drive. Sorry I was talking about the wrong movie and wrong Harvey. I truly enjoyed this movie from it comical humor to the underlying message that I will address in a few. The first thing I want to talk about is the characters themselves. The first being Elwood P Dowd because well he is the main character. The first thing I want to point out is that he has a lot of cash. This money was not all originally his because he inherited it from I believe his mother? I believe that his mother gave him the money because she knew he would not squander it away. As we can see he has his routine with have at the bar but nothing more. Also one thing I realized is that he does not flash his cash around. This is a major sign of self-confidence. Which other people in this movie have a problem with. The second character I want to address is Elwood’s sister Veta Simmons. I can say she is as thin as a slice of cheese. She is only concerned with outward appearances and making other people happy. That is why she throws the party in the first place, she wants attention and to please other people. I feel on a deeper level she wants Elwood to be happy but her selfish societally driven mind can’t understand the meaning of Harvey. Myrtle Simmons is another piece of work too. She has zero self-confidence and needs a man in her life to define her. That is why she chose the only man to have to have the world’s cockiest ego.  She believes women have no power and need to know their place. For example can we name the most classic line in this movie? “Can I go and make you a sandwich?”  The last character I want to talk about is the Dr. Chumley. Now to analyze just his name; chum is fish food. I am an avid scuba diver and I have been chumming plenty of time in my life. Chum is a mixture of dead sea life and additives that attract fish. I believe this meaning plays directly into the character we know and see. When we first hear about him we can tell he is stuck up. The first thing we hear is that he dose not even see patients and he works at a mental facility. He is your typical high up doctor. He believes that he has it all together and no one person can tell him any different.

Now on to the point that makes Harvey well Harvey. I believe this more has that same theme as believing in Christmas and Santa Clause.  Imagine if all of the characters were in kid form. It would not matter one lick if Elwood had an imaginary friend, if anything it would be welcomed. I know the moral of the story is that you need to hold on to what is important and not let society corrupt your view and morals. If it takes a Pooka to do that then so be it. 

Le purple rose ....of your FACE!

This movie was a great deal of fun, from the intelligent humor to the outrageously creative visual/audio metaphors. This first thing I want to address is breaking the forth wall. This was a huge turning point in the movie and for us as the audience. In the film we see a tired life beaten woman. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong. Her husband is a monster that occasionally beats her. She can barely hold a job in these hard times.  Finally she is pretty much alone in this world. His she has her friend at the diner but how often does she go to her for help? In breaking the forth wall and Tom jumping of the screen she gets a complete turnaround. This takes her from the land of real life to the land of magic and wonder. Now this whole new world is not only presented to just her but us as well. When Tom jumped out of the screen I stood up out of my chair. This is what I feel the writers had in mind. This first 18 minutes of this movie was so real life that when magic and wonder appeared we were stunned and probably took a double take.

Visual and audio metaphors were abundant in this film. The visual metaphor I found was that of children and adults. When Tom came out of the screen his views on society and how it worked where like that of a child. For example when he went to the brothel he did not see the women as just toys or a tool. No, he saw them for who they really are. This is very important because I feel that children don’t of a judgment tool. Adults judge each other all the time. Life has hardened adults into machines that judge and only think of personal gain. This is where Gil comes in and shows us a perfect example on how adults only think of themselves. He played Cecilia from the beginning just to get Tom back on the screen. The audio metaphor was not as big as the visual one but it was still important. This happened when Tom and Cecilia hopped in the car and he thought it just started driving. She said this is real life cars don’t start without a key. I feel this was a comparison to experience. Life is full of trial and error. What do most of us do when we mess up, we learn from our mistakes. Thomas Edison was stated "I did not fail I found 2000 ways not to make a light bulb." Our tom in the movie was full of hope and wonder but zero on experience. Our world is built on what you know and how well you know it. Look at a college for example; all we do is trial and error. Why do we do this? For experience in a field we might want to enter into.

Please tell me I'm not the only one that laughed out loud when that old lady on screen said you wife is a Tub of GUTS!

Im in a birdcage!

The Birdcage is not only just a movie that pushes the boundaries of sexuality but the boundaries of your own beliefs. As we start off this film immediately we see cross dressing for drag shows. This sets us up in a fashion that we can expect a lot more later on. Another issue it sets up right off the bat is that Armand and Albert are good parents. We can see that their son is doing well. He went off to school and has job offers flowing in. This is a problem that the world is facing today. People in our society belief that children should be raised in a traditional home of a man and women. I feel that this movie reflects not only can the raise a child the can do so without the mother being present.

Time is also a contributing factor in this film. They did a wonderful job of showing just how your past decisions can shape your future. We learn more about Armand’s life before his club. He was a good man and had a dead on moral compass. Katherine was also a part of Armand’s past. This showed us that it was later on in his life that he found out he was gay. This is an important factor because society has taught that either you are born gay or you are straight.  Armand is showing us more than just being straight or gay. I feel his role proves to us that life is a journey and life has to mold you and shape you. Albert fits right in to this feeling of “finding out who you really are.”  About half way through the film we understand that he has been picked on for his life choice. Even though this movie address gayness in a lite hearted manner we can see it means so much more than that.

One scene I would like to point out is the scene when the Keeley’s first arrive. This is the part when both families sit down across from you. I felt this part in the movie was an important visual metaphor. As we see everyone gets a turn to speak in this greeting and it usually switches from one side to the other. I felt this was a visual for a chess board game. We see each person trying to protect or attack on another. Even the chairs they were sitting in possessed symbols that reflect those of a traditional chess piece. This I believe is a factor in human nature. We try to win over people and influence them. It can all be just a game to us sometimes.

As a comparison between movies I feel this movie and NBT share a similar theme. In this theme we can see both movies showing people hiding behind religion. This is becoming more of a common factor than I hide imaged. Maybe hiding behind religion is more prominent than I had thought in the first place. Overall great movie. 

LIFE and DEATH

At first glance this movie was not what I expected. Like all of the other comedies we have seen jokes were “in your face jokes.” This was not Harold and Maude’s style. The beginning of the movie took me for a turn. The start of the movie played on the audience’s ignorance of the character Harold. We start of not seeing Harold’s face. I feel this was a very important element. This element gives us no way of judging that he was a kid, or a nerd, or obsessed with death. The first time we see his face is when it was lite by the match. The fire of the match is symbolic of something that humans cannot control and creates a parallel affect with the symbol of death. Harold likes the fire because it is mysterious and comforting at the same time. He gets the same affect with death.

Now Harold’s mother is an interesting character for many reasons. The first thing I want to mention is that I don’t blame her for the way she acts. She was probably raised in a rich environment. The environment has a tendency to lead to a snotty attitude. I also want to state that I think she wants what’s best for her son or at least what she thinks is best.  When she was filling out Harold’s personality form she would ask him for an answer but give the answer everyone wanted to hear. This is very reflective of society. For example, when you walk around campus and you see someone you know. What happens? You say Hey, how are you? 99% of the time you will hear back “Good, how are you.” Society has trained us to be fine and dandy all the time, even when there are serious problems in our life. Harold, in my opinion, has found out that little problem and in his own way rebelled from it.

Now this is where Maude comes in. She is like Harold in the fact that she, in her on way, has rebelled against society. She loves life all around her and plays on the fact that people hold on to their own little world. For example she loves to steal people cars. This is a bad habit to have kids so don’t do it. I believe the only she can get away with it is because she does not steal the cars for profit. She only use the vehicles to achieve an objective.

The last couple of things I want to mention are the metaphors in this film. The movie was filled with them to the brim. The first is in the beginning of the movie when Harold’s mother is swimming by drowned Harold. She did not know or even care what he was up too. This was a metaphor for the way people move past Harold without really noticing him. The second is Harold and Maude themselves. I feel each one represents life and death and how they are so different but in some way comingle. 

young hunk of a man JK JK

Young Frankenstein was a nice reprieve from the other movies we have had to watch. This movie played on many rhetorical situations as well as a witty humor. This movie was made in 1974 and the director (Mel Brooks) had taken what the country had been through and used it as humor. For example I want to point out the relationship between Frau Blücher and her environment. What happens when you even utter her name, nature screams. Well just the horses but I feel that this was a play on World War II. Frau Blücher was obviously of German descent and it seemed any time she was mentioned the world would cry out against her. I feel Mel Brooks put her in for not only comic relief but to show that the war did not only affect the people but nature as well.

Second this movie was filled with sex jokes, whether innocent or not, they were in there. We see them mostly play on or against women. The one thing that surprised me was that how many penis jokes there   where. It really played on the true fear of every man “having a small penis.” This was something that I did not catch on the first viewing. The majority of the jokes were directed towards women. Inga was I stereotypical blonde women. She was not all there put when it came to sex you could see that she knew what she was talking about. This was an interesting choice for Mel Brooks because this was showing a very open woman about her sex life. Back in that day women were just starting to break out of the veil of not being sexually intelligent.

Names in this movie were of an importance, we see how the Doctor had trouble being associated with his grandfather. This play intensely into the development of the character and how we came to understand how fate made him to be a Frankenstein. This is what I believe the message of the movie is, be who where you meant to be and fallow your dreams. This always relates to the time period that the film was made in. The time was Free Love and what not. Mel Brooks want to stress upon the people that it was ok to fallow your dreams and let them take you to new heights.

The last thing I want to mention is Igor and who his character played a crucial role to the theme of the movie. Igor was the gray area between us and the movie. For example he was the only character to break the fourth wall and talk to the audience. This was very uncommon for that time. I believe that he was the thought of the audience as well. What I mean by this is that he would often say what the audience was thinking. For example when the horses where whinnying at Frau Blücher’s name we see all the characters go inside the mansion. Then Igor emerges and says it one more time and I can guaranty all of would totally mess with the horses. Over all great movie.  

never been watched!

As we have seen in other films that have been viewed in this class this movie sets up the sexual premise right off the bat.  As in Dr. Strangelove with the two planes refueling we see in this movie a “Kock” radio station. This should be a warning to us that in this movie we need to be on the lookout for long going sexual jokes. The sexual jokes in this movie are used in all the different categories of Mise-en-scene. From the way a character dresses to the signs in the background all are leading you towards this theme and ongoing joke.

The background of this movie explains the entirety of the movie.  We are constantly being bombarded with images and sign leading us to make connections between the environment and the characters. For example, when we are being taken through the rich man’s house we can see man signs and one of them has “BALLS” in capital letters. This again refers back to the ongoing joke of sex and the theme of the movie. Another example would be when we are introduced to the firefighter. We can see in the background that there are fire hoses. Now in a fire station this is something that is not out of the ordinary but we can see more and more that the hoses represent the man’s gay sexuality. Even the dialog the fireman says hints at his gay sexuality without coming right out and saying it. “Route through a little rubble and find a couple of treasures, maybe.”  These background jokes are hidden all throughout the movie and play a key part in the plot line.

Now not all jokes on this movie are sexual jokes, one other I saw was a comparison joke. When we a re first introduced to the main character we see him talking about his fridges.  This I feel was a comparison to the way guys talk about their cars. We are always bragging about how fast the can go or how much stuff we can fit into the back of our truck. Same goes for this guy but with his freezers.

One thing I thought was amazing in the movie was the way the characters developed or in a way didn’t develop. The first developing character was shelly and for two reasons. First we see her appearance, when she was a virgin her hair was up and she was mostly in neutral colors, after we see her with her hair down and wearing hats and different clothes. Second, we see her personality change. At first she was up tight and not really sure of sexual lingo. After she lets he body and mind explore new horizons. I only noticed one character that did not change and that was the deaf brother. I have no idea if that was an ongoing joke or that he had some dipper meaning. But if anything I bet we could all saw what his favorite phrase was, F**K YOU!

idio.. what?

Idiocracy proved to be a lite hearted movie about heavy subjects. It dove deep into many issues and fears that plague us as humans. One of the first things that popped out at me was the fact that we had a narrator. Now the narrator was not as heavily used as we have seen in previous movies, but none the less he was there. I believe that he played the role of father time. Not necessarily the role of God but a being that has been carried us through time and provides the time gap information.

For gender roles we see them cut all ties. In the beginning we see a study done to two different families. With the first family we view them as the average Americans trying to make it in the world with a family. The second family is what I would call a hick family. Right off the bat we see them having problems with adultery. The man in that situation is just using the women for their body and sex.  But both sides progress until they are split up. An interesting little side note is when the “American” women in the study says she has some eggs frozen and just waiting for the right man. I believe that was a foreshadow for the whole plot of the movie. Just after that scene we see Joe Bauers frozen on ice and become the right “egg” for the future world. Eventually we see that both sides of the study fall apart and can’t handle the most natural part of being a human (reproduction).

Names in the movie play a huge role as well. Our first character is Joe. Now what is the most common phrase used with the name Joe. “Average Joe” is blatantly used to describe him on countless occasions as well as described by his actions. Second we see UpgrayDD this is a huge play on words. First we notice the spelling issue. This tells us whoever this name belongs to is probably not the brightest person on the planet. Second we can see it was spelled with two D’s. I believe that this was because he was a pimp and used “double d’s” to describe boobs. Last we see Frito; this was just a reference to the future.  It proved how lazy that generation was and they named a child after a brand of chip.

But this movie dug deep into the fear of the human psyche and brought out our true fear. What problems do you see know that were addressed in the future part of the movie. Trash was the main concern of the future. We are facing that problem today and we see it highlighted in the movie heavily. Also we see this same problem addressed in other movies, Wall-e for instance. The second is crops; we can see this problem all around us today and again it is highlighted in the movie.

Ps. I think I found a trope in the movie, when the wrestler president was making his speech he was using a Rhythmic trope which I think is called Monophonic? But it sure as hell moved the people.

P.s.s I hope you watched after the credits.

MASH my face in!!!!!

MASH is a rock and roll of a film that touches on main aspects of society that so many films can’t seem to address.  A couple of rhetorical aspects that I saw in the movie included ethnicity, sex, gender roles and good situational and slapstick humor. All of these humorous topics pulled together in an army situation made for an excellent film. Just for a historical background the movie used the mid 1900’s to set up that war was bad, but in war the only way to get through it is to push on and smile. The main characters in this film did a wonderful job of portraying a stereotypical army brat. This stereotype is built on the base that all overseas men are sex deprived and always willing to make a joke out of things.

One of the main ongoing aspects of the film was ethnicity. This was portrayed in main characters and in many different ways. This film highlighted both sides of the ethnic realm, whether you were receiving the criticism or dishing it out. The main thing that the movie wanted to point out was that racism is not always coming in a derogative manner but more out of abnormality. One of the main characters Duke Forrest was caught mentioning bout having to deal with Yankees but dealing with a Negro will be hard. This shows us that we was not use to being around black people and was not mean towards them just unsure of them. Later in the movie we notice that during the football game one of the African American men gets called a Coon. So we see both ends of the spectrum.

Sex is a key factor in this movie and a lot of the jokes played in this movie fall in this topic. One part was when the radio broadcast was announcing the sexual game going on with “hot lips” and Major Burns we hear right after that that one army man mention that it was probably the most uplifting program he has ever heard. This is of course talking about the arousal of men physically. Another we hear is about the dentist. They say he was the “most equipped dentist.” If you take this literal you will think he is smart and has many resources at is ready. But this was a mention to the down low compartment, if you know what I mean.  During the dentist death scene did any else notice the picture perfect last supper shot? Food for thought.

Gender Roles play a huge role in this movie. We see that women are an object that men use to cope with the horrible ratio. No matter the situation the men are always willing to notice the women. For example during the football game the coach was yelling but he would stop to notice the women passes then start yelling again. Also during surgery we see that the men will always be talking to the girl and not truly paying attention to the person that is getting the operation.

Dr. StrangeMovie......

Where to being for Dr. Strangelove? Humor is built into this movie but not as you would expect. Some of the more noticeable was the inherent irony and sexual jokes. Some of the ones that may have gone unnoticed were hidden American symbols and race profiling. Also I can point out two different instances that logos and ethos were used. This movie was a great watch and all the factors I discuss contribute to me liking the film.

The irony was a huge factor in this movie that carried it along from beginning to end. The first part I saw irony in the movie was the personal phone call made during the Pentagon meeting. It played on the seriousness of the meeting and joking against the government. Also I want to point out a correlation between General Turgidson’s girlfriend calling the Pentagon and the group commander needing 55 cents to reach the president. This plays the joke on that our own government can barely reach each other in times of need but a girlfriend can call anytime. Another ironic joke that occurred in the Pentagon was that of “You can’t fight in the war room!” This joke is obvious because the purpose of that very room is to determine whether to fight another nation or not, But no fighting in that room!

Sexual jokes riddled this movie, from the joke with the General’s secretary. She stated that it was 3 am and she was not tired noting she wanted to engage in sexual acts. These jokes led into gender profiling. From the comment at the end of the movie with 10 women to only 1 man, that is showing how easily men are corrupted by sex and willing to live underground for one hundred years to get sex. Along with the secretary it played fun off the woman’s working ethic; tanning at 3 am, gossiping, and playing dumb with men.

Some American symbols that you may have missed were the almost constant American music playing in the background. Especially in the B502 bomber, this gave you the feeling that what they were doing was right. Also when the pilot wears the cowboy hat, being is a symbol of America and the “lone ranger.” In a sense that is what the plane would become. The last of its fleet and the only one to complete it mission. Accents played a huge role either leading you to believe that there were too many un-American accents in the leaders and only one Cowboy accent belonging to a soldier. I believe this was joking at our leaders saying that they are letting the Pentagon become a melting pot corrupting our government.

The ethos was apparent in this movie. The comedy was everywhere giving the film a light hearted feel while conveying a message. Logos also played a huge but shadowed role. Many facts were given to you in the entire movie that helped push you towards the message. The movie stated that a single B502 would carry 15 megatons of nukes and was significantly more firepower than any previous war.

Also I saw a fallacy in this movie. The General stated that you don’t see communist drinking water only vodka. Our earth and our body are made up of 70% of water. Ergo the communist was not of this earth and therefore be taken out. I believe this is a hasty generation or genetic fallacy.  

Gods... phhhsss... humans being crazy!!

In this movie we can see many elements some that I would like to highlight on is Love, gender roles, sex, simplicity, and ongoing humor. This film is simple to the eye and an easy movie to sit down any time to watch. Contrast is an ongoing theme that can be easily over looked. At the begging of the movie we see a comparison between two worlds. The first being the indigenous people of the desert. They live there day by day gathering food and water and worrying about nothing else. The second world we see is the city and the inhabitants of the city are living by a thing called time. This time becomes a deterrent a rules the life of a city person.

Love is present in both worlds. To the indigenous people love is simple. It is a part of their culture just like getting water or food. To the people of the city love is complicated because most of the time it is misunderstood for just sex or pleasure seeking. Mr. Stan does a great job of conveying this to the audience. When he speaks to a woman he makes a fool of himself. In this we see that he does not understand the nature of women and the ways of courting a woman.

Gender roles are very apparent in this film as well in the indigenous people we see a clear line between the men and women. The women will gather supplies and tools for the men to use and hunt with. The men gather food and water for the people to use. In the more modern world we see men sewing and women working alongside men to do the same exact job. Now don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with men and women doing the same job but the roles of men and women are mixed in a city atmosphere.

Sex is a key element to both cultures and drives a lot of emotions between people. In the tribe sex is seen as something sacred given to the people by the gods. To the city people it is something that is more for pleasure and self-satisfaction. In the tribe we see women without bras and upper clothing but in society we see women always covering up like Ms. Thomas. Also we see a play on rape and men’s urges to satisfy his needs. Something we do not see in the tribe life.

    Simplicity is something that the tribe knows very well until the city people mess with it. A bottle of coke enters their life and makes the people feel selfish and angry. These emotions are something that the people of the city know too well.

Ongoing humor is apparent all throughout the movie.  With silly quotes for Ey-ya-ya to someone sleeping on a banana peal. Or the car not being able to stop or having any brakes gives this film a light hearted feel. Also I wonder if the narrator was in some form a God watching the people grow and change. Food for thought.

Oh to be Ernest!

Oh how can you be anyone but Ernest! This story is twisted beyond belief. As we start our story we meet two mid age/ young men. The first we meet is a city man by the name of Algy. In this first accouter we see him running form some type of authorities. From this we can derive that he is a rambunctious man that takes action quickly and without hesitation. The second man we meet (Jack) is one of royalty and well dignified. These two men are best friend and have always been there for each other.  Now these two brothers are in means of escape. Algy lives in the city but deeply desires to be in the country. Dear Jack lives in the country and needs the excitement of the city life. So with this conundrum in hand they both devised a concoction, this being that they pretended that they had a brother giving them an escape. Algy had a sick Mr. Bunbury that he must constantly give his attention.  Jack had Ernest that presides in the city. The ruse became quite useful for the both of them.

                Jack would always go into the city hunting for the nightlife. In this he meets a woman of great royalty. Gwendolyn was the women and she fell madly in love with Ernest. Ernest being the persona that Jack put on in the city.  How is there in drama in that, well it gets better. Gwendolyn’s mother is on of extreme sovereigns and has very high standards for the man who would betroth her daughter. So Ernest/Jack must go through an extensive interview with Gwendolyn’s mother Augusta. Which in turn he does not pass, but his love for Gwendolyn is unfailing. Jack retires to his country side to get his mind about him.

                 Algy is Gwendolyn’s cousin and has a good relationship with her. Algy need his escape devises this plan to become Jacks brother and head out to the countryside to meet Jacks ward. This ward is the young sweet Cecily.  Algy meets the young Cecily and they fall madly in love. This is where the pan goes haywire. Both Cecily and Gwendolyn meet and figure out that the two men were lying about who they really are. With this turn of events the two ladies give them the silent treatment.  With this silent treatment the men must win their hearts back. They do so with ease to say the least. Then Lady Augusta shows up to the countryside to retrieve her daughter. She will not allow her daughter to marry Jack because he is not worthy and has no recollection of who his parents are. In a weird turn of event s Jack comes to find out that he is actually Algy’s real brother and all get married.

In this movie there is plenty of comic relief. The first I found was Cecily always had this dream world where the knight in shining armor would always come save her for her boring studies. This is a sign of immaturity and always a play on all the fairytales we hear. Notice that before she meets Algy the Knight always has his helmet on (no face to be seen). Once she has fallen in love with him he is in the armor with his helmet off. Then after he makes her mad the helmet is back on to show that she did not see him as her “Knight in shining” armor anymore.  Also Gwendolyn has a way with words. She uses her vocabulary to describe sex without even saying it. She even at one point describes her anger in such a caring manner.  

Overall I loved this movie and I would recommend its twisted story to anyone!

Life of who!....

Monty Python held nothing back when making the Life of Brian. Our story first starts off with one of the most well know stories in human history. They go straight after the birth of Jesus Christ. In this they do not make fun of him but they poke fun at the situation. This reminds me of a show called Robot Chicken. This show pokes fun at the stuff in between shots. For example they did a Star Wars special in which they took the scene when Boba Fett took Han Solo frozen back to Jabba the Hut. In the star wars movie it does not show the travel between both of the planets. In the Robot Chicken version it shows the plan ride and it comes out very hysterical. Life of Brian mimics this type of comedy with the birth of Jesus Christ. They did a skit in which the Three Wise Men went to the wrong baby at first and presented it with the gifts. The men realized their mistake and took back what they gave to baby Brian and wen to Jesus.

                Soon after that scene we see Brian grown up into a young man. With him now on his own he encounters some crazy adventures. Some of these adventures include him becoming a messiah or even joining a cult. The cult part of this movie is really eye catching because the cult is held together by some dim witted leaders. At one the leaders make Brian go to the palace and graffiti it. It takes the entire night but Brian somehow covers the entire thing After that entire mess Brian gets in trouble with the law and has to pay for his crimes. He goes to jail at one point and at the end of the movie he is crucified. The interesting thing about the crucifixion is that when all of the criminals are up on the cross they start to sing a song. The song is called always look on the bright side of life. This is a true Monty Python ending, first off leaving you with a dead main character and the second on a light hearted feeling.

I commend Monty Python for directing and putting out this movie when he did. I believe any move that goes after religion is going to get turmoil after the release. I think it takes balls to have created thins movie but the manner in which he mad it was not as funny as it could have been. Jokes tend to drag on in this movie. One scene the people believe that Brian is the messiah and they keep yelling at him asking him what to do. His scene goes on for fifteen minutes. Just back and forth back and forth until brain just sends them away. This long drawn out comedy is not for everyone and can be distracting at some points. All in all I would give this movie 4 out of 10 stars. The jokes can be funny, but when you stretch it out to far you can lose you target audience.  

Too funny!!!!

#willsuccessspoilRockHunter #ihatehashtags

Will success spoil Rock Hunter? It did, and it takes you on an amazing ride to prove so! This movies starts off very interesting by breaking the forth wall. This is a term that is used when stage performers address the audience. They somehow include the audience in the play, by either interacting with them or at least addressing that they are there. Tony Randall starts off by making fun of 20^th century fox and their catchy jingle. After that little first laugh you get, he addresses you personally. I found this very interesting because most movies tend to stay away from including the audience. He welcomes you and in a way settles you in to see a thriving comedy.

                The movie begins with a simple man (Rockwell Hunter) and his eagerness to attain success in the advertising business. He is an average Joe trying to make it in the tough world. Another thing caught my attention was that he started out in love. He fell in love with his secretary named Jenny Wells. This is an item you rarely see in movies because usually love can be a very gripping climax in a movie. But we all know if you start off in love you will eventually hit some juicy drama. Believe me when I say that the hilarious lite hearted drama is soon to follow. The start of this drama comes for a famous actress called Rita Marlowe. This actress is a superstar in need of a lover. Who can guess the man that just accidently falls into her lap?  Yup Rockwell Hunter, Rita first uses him to make an old boyfriend jealous. This was a win-win situation for the both of them. Rita got to make an old boyfriend jealous and Rockwell will use her to do a TV advertisement for his company.  But like any good comedy things became out of control. Rita starts to get feelings for Rockwell. This causes a fiasco with the press. Rockwell gets the name “Lover Doll” causing him to become an overnight sensation. At first this success is great. He is getting noticed at work as well as his face on magazines. Heck, he even gets the key to the executive bathroom. I know in our world you are thinking, “Executive bathroom, who really cares?” Believe this movie draws you in and makes you want that key.

                Then the success becomes too much.  His true love starts to slip away while Rita is trying to make him into this famous lover that he was not truly meant to be. But with all of this happening the manager of his company quits and he becomes top dog. Even getting his own bathroom!  But with all this success he is still missing something. Then it clicks inside his head, success is not how much money you make but the things you have in your life that are important to you. After all that mess, things begin to work out. Rita moves on to get her true lover and Rockwell moves on with Jenny to create a happy life together.

                This movie is great and can take you on an amazing and hilarious ride. It takes simple things like smoking a pipe or getting your own bathroom funny and meaningful. Also there is one part in the movie where Jenny and Rockwell are hugging behind a temper glass causing us to just see their silhouette. Rockwell is holding a pipe resembling a knife. I think this is a spoof on another older movie, maybe Physco. I am not sure though. Over all I would recommend this movie to anyone.  I truly enjoyed it.

Modern Times

The film Modern Times was a film based on a hard period for many living in the early 1930’s. Work was hard to find and a stable or secure job was unheard of. This semi-silent comedy film told the story of a factory worker who just got wound up way too tight. He had a mental break down in the middle of the day causing a horrifically funny scene. After that incident he was taken off to jail for causing the wreckage during the mental break down. The rest of the movie is about the main character finding a job. He tries out a couple but soon messes up or causes a ruckus, in turn him losing the job. Within that hunt he meets a vagrant woman who he eventually falls in love with. She is there to give him hope with the idea of having someone to come home too. At one point the two main characters are sitting outside a house and see a stay at home wife sending her husband away. The main characters use this to imagine what it would be like if that was their life. Building an imaginary life and acting out what it would be like to come home for a fresh cooked meal every night. All of this sums up to be a very humorous film.  This picture was meant to be more than humorous, it was meant to address the people living in that tough time.  Many movies that aired in this day and age were about the rich or some sort of adventure. No movie was willing to talk about the little guy, the average Joe trying to find a job. It spoke to the people that could not find a job or could not afford a home. Modern Times showed the citizens that there was hope for the lower class, that life might look bad but you can always find a laugh in the little things. One scene spoke to me the most; at one point the vagrant women and the formerly factory worker found a rundown house. I cannot understand how this house was still standing. My grandma could push it over without even breaking a sweat. They used this house as a temporary living space. Every time the factory worker came inside a board kept falling and hitting him square on the head. Those things are the ones you can find a little laugh in. This was one message conveyed in the movie; find the laugh in the little things. In the bleak and heavily industrial era many people needed to learn to laugh at the little things. Something to note is that the two main characters were never named. I believe they did this on purpose to give the illusion that any person could be in that situation. Also to give the people hope that if they are going through bad times that they can get out of it. Comedy is a great way to reach the people with a message. This movie does just that by mixing reality and comedy to convey an important message. All in all a great movie that any family can enjoy and in some situations relate too.