WinnieRouge Reviews

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

If I remember correctly, I like the movie

[23 March 2004]

I saw this with my boyfriend, who at one point threw his jacket over his face out of disgust with what he was watching. He calls this the worst movie he ever saw, but I liked it, eventually. The plot boils down to (believe it or not): boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy tries to get girl back. This popular "romantic" theme takes on a whole new look here (understatement) with man vs. machine and the agony of the death and resurrection of a relationship. I enjoyed Jim Carrey's performance so much. Shy and reticent romantic, he was wonderful. The whole cast was great to watch. But I have to say that the rapid-fire flashback, flash forward, dream/fantasy/exaggeration/symbolism/realism/sci-fi effects were sometimes exhausting. Charlie Kaufman, who also wrote Being John Malkovich, a film I liked, really pushes the imagination envelope. The off-putting shaky-camera cinematic style was initially distracting and irritating, but if there is ever a movie suited to that school of cinematography, this is it. It was long, too long, but is that because it was too long, or because my boyfriend kept groaning? Poor Steve, a good sport for sitting through this movie with me, but I owe him. Maybe we'll see Starsky and Hutch next.

Soapdish (1991)

Such an enjoyable film

[9/10 · 17 March 2004]

Years ago I did follow a soap on TV. So I was curious about this movie, and I was so rewarded for finding it. It's a marvelous spoof of soaps, with jealousies, the usual actors' insecurities, and all sorts of lovely excesses. But more than anything - an amazing cast and an incredible script. How did someone get all those top-notch actors to play in such a silly sort of movie? And how did this little movie get writers to write the perfect lines? I never hear anyone talk about this movie or even admit hearing of it, but it's marvelous and I highly recommend seeing it. Sometimes I'll throw it on while doing housecleaning, and end up sitting on the couch, watching, laughing and thoroughly enjoying the whole wonderful thing. Many congrats to all who made it.