Dude, trust me—I'd be the first in line to crucify a Steve Carell comedy if it weren't good. This is almost like me recommending a Will Farrell movie.

I would not, however, have recommended that the guy who sat in the row in front of mine bring his third grader to giggle uncontrollably every time a body part was mentioned in or out of a joke.

Dude, trust me—I'd be the first in line to crucify a Steve Carell comedy if it weren't good. This is almost like me recommending a Will Farrell movie

Dude.

It can wait for DVD though, right? It's not run-out-and-get-a-sitter-good, is it?

It's not run-out-and-get-a-sitter-good, is it?

It's not going to lose anything on the small screen, no.

Damn. From the trailers, I didn't really think it was that hysterically funny, but everyone's been saying it...is.

It really is. I just got back from seeing it with Z, and we were both crying with laughter at various points.

I also watched Julie Taymor's Titus today. It was interesting. Very pretty, and kind of cold. I know a certain distance is required from the script, but I think Taymor's too in love with her visuals. Still, interesting.

Ooh, I really liked Titus. Very cool movie.

Concur on the 40YOV love. Funny funny funny. Seth Rogan TOTALLY reminds me of my BF.

Seth Rogan TOTALLY reminds me of my BF.

I had to look up which part he played (Cal), but wow, you're lucky. Though I'd be slightly disturbed to learn Robin=Beth.

I agree with Jessica that it won't lose anything in transition to DVD, Plei. But if you have one of those days where you just have to get out and do something cathartic, I think spending two hours laughing uncontrollably at the movies is a good option.

I really liked Titus.

What worked for you and what didn't? I don't think I liked the framing story, especially the very last minute or so.

I LOVE Seth Rogan. He reminded me of Abe Benrubi.

What worked for you and what didn't?

Well, let me dig up what I wrote about it for my Shakespeare on Film class:

Part I

Some adaptations of Shakespeare choose to use the time period he delineates, like Olivier’s Richard III. Some choose to update it to modern times, like Loncraine’s Richard III. Taymor with Titus, however, does both. She creates this trippy surrealistic world where soldiers wear Roman armor…but ride motorcycles. I really loved the opening scenes with the soldiers, and they’re mechanical movements. Very cool. This kid is really strange, though. I’m not exactly sure what she thinks she’s doing with him. Obviously, he’s supposed to young Lucius, but what is up with the beginning? Him destroying toy soldiers, pouring ketchup on them which looks like blood, that’s all symbolically obvious, but then the explosion and him carried out into the coliseum…it’s really, really weird. And he doesn’t look like he knows what’s going on at first, and then he adapts. What’s his deal? Anthony Hopkins is great as Titus. He’s got the look and the voice for him. Saturninus is hilarious. I love what they’ve done with him. What’s funny is his supporters wave suspiciously German-looking flags, and you can see what looks like a big swastika (at least when framed in the shots with Titus) in his throne room. Lavinia was also well cast. She’s lovely, innocent and beautiful, and she plays the contrast between Lavinia at the beginning, sprightly and full of life, and Lavinia after the rape very well. You can see what it’s done to her. But what were they thinking when they cast Jessica Lange as Tamora? She’s not at all what I imagined. I imagined a raven-haired sexual being. Jessica Lange isn’t, well, sexy, really. She doesn’t have that seductive look about her like, say, Angelina Jolie. And well, what is up with that family? She kisses her son full on the mouth, and her sons engage in obtrusively homoerotic behavior. What fun. Oh, Aaron is awesome. He’s just right. I love his outfit: it’s a business trenchcoat. There’s a shot of him walking where the camera’s at his feet and you see his trenchcoat flowing, which reminded me of The Matrix. He talks to the camera a lot. The first time he says anything, it’s a voice-over, very narrator-like, and he’s perched high above the action. Damn, is Shakespeare obsessed with godlike figures? They’re bloody everywhere. I just like his attitude; he does the “I’m evil as hell, and it’s fun!” thing very well, and he’s all business. It was hilarious when Tamora tried to kiss him and he kept on talking.

So I e-mailed you before about my friend’s complaint that this whole thing was “intellectual masturbation,” and she later explained her comment. She felt it was all style with no substance. The visuals were there for the sake of being cool without any real meaning. I can see some of which she means. Taymor had a field day with this movie. For instance, why exactly is she being so brazenly anachronistic? She can’t pick a time period and stick to it. In the first scenes, the soldiers are Roman and Titus wears his armor; in later scenes, he wears a modern general-type outfit. Demetrius goes from having dyed-blonde hair to having bleached white hair. The cars in the parade are, well, I don’t know enough about cars to guess the decade, but they’re classic cars. Saturninus has a rather modern lighting system. So maybe Taymor’s deal is she’s trying to be all metaphorical and saying that Shakespeare’s plays are timeless or something. And then there are those random interludes of fire imagery and disembodied limbs and angels with horns and lambs and whatnot. To be truthful, I really don’t have a problem with a director doing cool things for the sake of it being cool. I am a simple man. You know Taymor died laughing when she thought of making the podium microphone say “SPQR” in silver letters. Making a movie should be fun, and she’s definitely having fun.