Cinco DeNio

Do you live in Wilmington, Delaware? Our local theater premieres Legally Blonde tonight.

Totally OT but I love the below GIF because there's one guy in the top left who is not applauding. I want to know where this came from but am scared to at the same time. I don't want to destroy the magic.

Two notes about HSM 1: 1) I was REALLY happy to see the hip-hop cheerleader's name was Martha. (I am thrilled to learn she becomes the head cheerleader later.) As soon as I heard her name I thought of Martha Dunstock/Dumptruck from Heathers. I'm glad to see we've come a long way from that toxic shaming. 2) Mrs. Darbus sounded and acted to me exactly like the Teen Witch drama teacher. The Teen Witch teacher had a better relationship with the students but, under the influence of Louise Guzman's spell, just up and left the play in who-knows-what shape. As others have said, HSM stitches together so many tropes and pieces from various influences but I am pleased to see most of them subverted or with a twist.

I'm still catching up on this thread (which means there's NO WAY I'd be able to be on letterboxd) but has no one commented on the name Sharpay? I get that it's supposed to be a pretentious, frou-frou name but she looks nothing like a Shar Pei dog. Are they saying she's supposed to be a dog (ugly)? Was there a different name they could have selected? I might not be saying it right so I'll ask if there was a specific connotation they were going for with that name?

In one month from yesterday we get to see Zac's abs and guns in Baywatch.

ETA: The media link didn't work. The relevant part starts at 1:36. [media=''] [/media]

I haven't seen the other two movies (yet, anyway) but I really appreciated that Kelsi got to be "hot" in the finale and keep her glasses. ETA: I should have read before posting but I hadn't noticed the bowler hat removal winds up being the "glasses" in this case. Trope reestablished.

Just watched HSM and had never seen it before. Very enjoyable! A lot better than I expected.

Guys and Dolls is the only musical I was in during high school. I stunk up the place so it wasn't repeated. (Who in the world holds cymbals but never plays them? This guy!) I've done some straight acting but that's not too notable. I was a choir kid who was good in the ensemble but not good enough for the higher-level Chamber Singers group. Now I just watch musicals. ETA: Meant to add I was a band kid in 5th-8th grade. Didn't want to do band in high school because I didn't like the director. Near the end of 8th grade some guys came up to me (including some bullies so I was on guard) and said "Come on Mark, let's go try out for choir." I'm so glad they did because choir was the highlight of high school.

Are you saying Helen wasn't...ready...to discuss a dragon? I'll show myself out.

Enjoying the back and forth...

Cool! I don't think I've seen it since it originally came out. Looking forward to it!

Smokey and the Bandit has some good songs (neither diegetic or important to the movie plot). Does that count?

I never properly thanked you for posting this. Not only did it help me understand the performance a LOT more vis a vis the musical but "The only thing to do is JUMP over the moon!" is a persistent earworm. Maybe "Thank you" is not the right phrase.

Me too! (Ypsilanti). I am trying to cut back on sodas but Diet Vernor's will always have a sentimental place in my heart. Back in 1996 my mom had bone cancer and Diet Vernor's was the only thing she could keep down. When I moved to Texas in 2005 (moved to Delaware in 2009) I heard about "coke" but never heard anyone actually say it.

Mine's been pretty much unsweetened iced tea for a long time. I'm not much of a drinker but do a lot of road races and know a LOT of drinkers with a running problem. Been curious and, unlike Cameron H., have let my curiosity get the best of me. I think I'll go back to teetotaling. I can be the designated driver and beer and wine don't do much for me.

If I were him I would be late all the time too. It's a lot of fun for you to slide his drink over and for him to say "Domo Arigato, Fister Roboto".

Have you tried this? A little sweet but not bad.

I only knew about fixies through Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Premium Rush movie.

There are too many posts I could and should quote so I'll just start a new one. First, yes I did use a slur in calling them sluts and that was completely wrong. I was trying to make a reductionist argument and went for the lowest level, making it personal instead of commenting on the circumstances. As has been said we never see anyone actually sleep with other people and there are plenty of reasons for the various behaviors. I liked each of the characters just fine on first viewing/hearing. It was just as I would listen to the soundtrack or watch the performance again that something struck me as off. I tried to raise the issue but did so in a completely inappropriate way. I apologize and will never use slut again. I had a long talk with my very good therapist and figured out what I was really trying to comment on. What was actually going on was each woman working to get their very real physical and emotional needs met. In the societies of Kiss Me Kate (both the 1950's of the play and the much older time of Taming of the Shrew) women could only get their needs met through or in concert with a man. (Taming of the Shrew's whole premise is based on this. Bianca can't get married until her older sister does! Kate's not completely free to marry whomever either. Her father schemes against her with several men, promising them all kinds of things if they would take Kate "off his hands". Just that quoted phrase alone is problematic.) Unfortunately that is often in effect today as well. To get done what was needed, each woman understood the society she was in and decided to use it and not be a helpless, hapless victim. Each woman dances on the line society drew without going over. They might use other people occasionally but it's only because they have been used far worse, expected to meet others' needs with little reciprocal concern for their own. Kiss Me Kate/Taming of the Shrew As was reminded to me Lois' boyfriend Bill was a degenerate gambler (emphasis on degenerate). I had forgotten that he had put himself physically in danger. The two gangsters were sent to collect on the IOU that he fraudently signed, putting another actor in mortal danger. On top of that the song I Hate Men is quite accurate as to the common excuses and games men have played through the years to take advantage of loving women in their lives. To top it off he writes a love song for Lois but writes it to Bianca!!! He can't even bring himself to honestly address the woman! What a louse. I can see Lois' behavior as looking for someone else because the person she's ostensibly in love with is in no way worthy of her. She refuses to settle and finally commits to Bill once he has (hopefully) come to his senses and will treat her as she deserves, to be a partner and not an anchor. (Don't get me started on I am Ashamed that Women are So Simple. Even in Shakespeare's time that concept shouldn't have seen the light of day.) La Boheme I have seen the opera twice and both times I thought Musetta had been with multiple men. She is the ex of Marcello and is with Alcindoro in Act 2. However, the Wikipedia synopsis leaves it there. She is seen in Acts 3 and 4 and is lively each time so I assumed she had gone off with someone else each time she and Marcello break up. That was never a valid assumption. She keeps coming back to Marcello and trying to reconcile with him. It's his jealousy and insecurity that keeps driving her away. (Definite parallels with Mark and Maureen here.) As with Bill and Lois in Kiss Me Kate, Musetta wants to be with Marcello but he has a lot of growing and changing to do in order to be worthy of her. Rent I am glad several people have responded while I was unavailable as they brought up points I missed the first time around. I can see both sides and that just means I can't decide if that means you shouldn't be friends with your exes or there should be strict limits to the relationship. It may be honestly trying to help commiserate over a shared experience or it may be more. If it was this one experience I would leave it in the air. However... He shouldn't have asked Joanne to be the lawyer in negotiating the deal with Buzzline. That just further drove a wedge between Joanne and Maureen and seems intended to play them off each other. I don't think he realized Maureen would feel so strongly about not being included. Asking Joanne to take part and not include Maureen is problematic even in the best of situations. There may be secrets to necessarily keep or time spent together with one and not the other. When the meeting is taking place at Buzzline Maureen is talking to the receptionist. I'm thankful to whoever pointed out that we never hear the conversation. I see now that is the entire point. It doesn't matter what was said because Maureen isn't serious. She was feeling slighted by not being included in the meeting and she wasn't going to sit there quietly. Maureen knew talking to the receptionist would push Joanne's buttons and would distract Joanne a little from the meeting. Maureen was asserting her presence without harming anyone. I'm not sure how this plays out with the engagement party so I will refrain from trying to analyze. Final thoughts As with all of the shows as with real life, a happy ending is never assured. As Rent states each person comes to a relationship with their own baggage, their own viewpoints, their own agendas. Building a relationship is a never-ending dance where the two orbits circle each other, each one fully independent as a person but choosing to look to the other and be there for the other. A simple answer is neither possible nor should it be looked for.

Maybe a better way to say it is "How are they showing that they really do want to be faithful?" The couples reconcile in both shows and there wouldn't be drama without conflict so maybe they are just finding their way?

No. In my original post I asked what do we find so charming? In both Bianca's and Maureen's cases they're straightforward about not intending to be true to the person they pledged fidelity to. You make it sound like I want them to be women who gladly go with whoever catches their fancy at the moment and leave the person they promised to stick with. I'm trying to say I want the opposite.

I'm referring to the Always True to You song where she talks about the different men she's met and what she lets them do in exchange for money, furs, jewels, etc. For instance: Just seems wrong to me to proclaim fidelity to one man and then turn around and say "Tex is here to stay" because he gives me money. As far as Rent, I was thinking of the GIFs I posted last week where Joanne was complaining about Maureen flirting at their engagement party. Maureen's like "Relax, babe. There will always be ladies flirting with me. If they flirt with me I have to flirt back."