Whoops...Another Month Went By....

It's been over a month since I last blogged on Weekend Fat. Weekend Fat has become something like a plant to me. I know it's there, and I see it, and I like it. I like how it adds to the environment and how it lifts my mood. And on my way out the door, I think...I need to water that. But I'm on my way out the door. And it's just a plant, it's resourceful, it will find a way. Except that then a month goes by and I realize the soil is all cracked, the leaves have turned yellow, and I can pour all the water I want on it, but it's probably not coming back. So I don't pour water on it. I sit in my chair and keep watching TV or keep going out to eat with friends, or reading at Starbucks, because ultimately those things bring me more joy now than the plant once did.

Weekend Fat was great for me during my stay in China. It gave me something to do daily in a place where I had NOTHING to do. It kept me connected and kept me writing and meeting "deadlines." But life is happening now, and it's a good life. And even though I think about Weekend Fat daily, multiple times even...when I sit down to write, I'm overwhelmed. There's just too much to tackle!

Do I talk about Bates' Motel and how prequels are some of the only territory left to explore on TV. (I bet even Walking Dead will do a season or begin flashbacks soon as to how the zombies came to be.)  Or maybe I talk about the fact that the "Strangers on a Train" storyline has shown up on every crime drama on TV in the last month! Do I discuss just how adorable Adam Levine is and confess that I can't stop looking at those pics of him online...you know the ones. Or do I tell you to NEVER WASTE YOUR TIME on the movie LAWLESS even though it has some of the best actors ever in it. Or maybe I could just start a countdown to the Great Gatsby release.

But it's TOM HARDY and JESSICA CHASTAIN!

See!!! Too much. And you know what makes it worse? I feel defeated. I have a thought about what to write, and I fail to act on it in that very moment, and I swear to you, within 12 hours, my FB newsfeed is full of Jezebel, AWL, Huffington Post articles discussing THE VERY THOUGHTS I JUST HAD. But by the time I get to writing them, they've been written. I don't want to be redundant.

What I won't say is that I'm busy. Anyone who knows me and has ever allowed me to lecture them (thanks friends) knows that I cannot stand the words Busy and Tired. Those are excuses. Busy is something we create to make ourselves feel important and to put people off. So I will not tell you I am too busy for Weekend Fat. I am not. At All. I could find lots of hours in my week to keep the blog going...but the truth is that it's no longer a priority for me. That's the real truth of busy-ness people. It's a prioritizing thing. We make time for what we want to make time for. And the honest to god truth of it is that, I just don't want to make time for this at the moment. Now, call me and let's TALK about Lawless (or let's don't) and we can enjoy a wonderful conversation. If China taught me one thing, it's that actual access to actual people is better than any "audience." Social networks and the internet have their role, they just tend to take a backseat to face to face connection for me at the moment.

I will lecture you about the problem with "Tired" some other day.

So unless something brilliant or bothersome pushes me into blogging again, I gotta say for now, I'm just not that into it. Of course it's still getting hits and some attention. As of this post the blog has had almost 100,000 individual viewers. That's in less than a year. The posts between myself and my friend Julie about Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie remain the most popular posts (meaning people are Googling about them all the time) though Anne Hathaway is in 3rd place with her recent "popularity/infamy." The most shared post was about Magic Mike. The most widely read posts mention The Walking Dead.

Thanks for your support and attention to Weekend Fat over this last year. We will just have to wait and see where it leads in time....

Amber

P.S. In case you were wondering, Melancholia is still haunting me.

There Are Things To Say...Weekend Fat Is Back.

Upon my return to the States, I thought I might enjoy a little break from blogging to give me time to  adjust into a new routine....and I did. But now there's just too much to say. So I'm back. Now, let's dive in...

Last night I saw a new trailer for the Gatsby movie, and I'm pretty sure I squealed. I still have my doubts about a few things. Will it be too Moulin Rouge-ish? How did they get Leo to look even younger? Can Carey Mulligan play aloof? Why isn't Tom Hardy in it? But overall, I'm pretty excited.

Can you repeat the past? We're certainly gonna try!

Adele and Barbra Streisand are performing a duet at the Grammy's this weekend. Babs hasn't performed there in 36 years; which means my mother wasn't even old enough to drink when she last took the stage. I hope she finds a respectful and encouraging audience at the show, which shouldn't be a problem since she's singing WITH Adele. I'm sure Adele can adele Streisand's career for this generation, since she's a superhero and all.

A star is born.

Maybe it was the Absinthe in my Sazerac, or maybe it was the fact that I was completely bored by the Superbowl (didn't know they still had Superbowls when the Saints aren't participating), but somehow I missed the fact that the lights went out for...apparently, a while. What I did NOT miss that night was the disgusting sound of a nerd kissing a supermodel, the irony of a farmer appreciation commercial in a country that wants to crack down on immigration laws, and the overwhelming feeling to throw my hands up when Destiny's Child performed.

Angel style.

My friend Julie's gonna hate me for this, but I have to pick on Jennifer Aniston. Did you know she and her new husband are already in counseling? They want to get some of those lingering things from past relationships dealt with. Look, I'm ALL FOR counseling. But maybe do that kind of counseling BEFORE you get married??? Also, when is she gonna announce that she's having a baby already? We all know that's what this is all about. Rumor has it that Angelina's pregnant again. Take that Aniston.

Glowing.

In other news, Anne Hathaway's hair is growing back out. Thank goodness we don't have to hear her whine about this anymore. We will know whether or not she's serious about being a "real" actress based on what she does with it from here on out. It's kind of an understanding that unless you're Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, or Jennifer Lawrence, you'd better keep your hair short to avoid those Rom-Com roles. Of course, if she lands an Oscar maybe that's enough to get her into the "people in Hollywood we can respect" club. It does bother me that she's been heard "complaining" about all the attention surrounding Les Mis and the Oscar nominations. She says she's stopped going to lunch. How devastating. So here's the deal...half of me likes her for being authentic even if it is authentically ridiculous. But the other half of me really wants someone to teach her something about being graceful. Did you know there are actually people called, "Hathahaters?"  In spite of it all, I'm actually rooting for you this time around Anne...

Oh geez.

Mulligan!

I need a do over. 


A few weeks ago I made some claims about Carey Mulligan when I wrote this blog about the upcoming Great Gatsby movie. I was less than thrilled that she had been chosen for the role of Daisy, because I see Daisy as someone strikingly, almost breathtakingly beautiful in a very conventional plastic kind of way. I think I mentioned January Jones would have been better. 


Then I saw the movie Never Let Me Go. It's a dystopian movie about people who are cloned and born for one reason and one reason only, to serve as organ donors until they die. It's a quiet and devastating movie, but I loved it. Carey Mulligan stars with Andrew Garfield and Kiera Knightly in it. And when I say stars, I mean she is the star. She steals the screen in every scene. 

Windows to the soul.

I need to watch more of her movies, and I want to watch them now that I have seen her in action. She reminds me of Juliette Binoche in the way that she is able to communicate so much with a twitch of her mouth or slight raise of an eyebrow. And I think I understand why she was chosen to play Daisy. Because as shallow as Daisy might appear to be, she is deeply sad. And if there's one thing that Mulligan can portray, it's sadness. 


I pre-judged her, and I'm not afraid to say it. My newfound admiration for her has increased my excitement about Gatsby. I cannot wait.


Now Andrew Garfield on the other hand....I'm not ready to make nice on that one.

Can't Repeat the Past? Why Of Course You Can!

It was late Wednesday night in China when I saw that the trailer for The Great Gatsby had been released. I pulled it up on my computer, full screen, and played it. Then I played it again. I played it 6 times in that sitting. Since then, I've played it about a dozen more. Here it is for your viewing pleasure!

Forget polarizing celebrities...this might be the most polarizing movie of the year. Or at least the most polarizing trailer. It's the biggest buzz this week, and people are either thrilled to see it, or angry and critical. Here's my take:


1. The Great Gatsby is the most perfect book ever written. Every word is thought out, impeccably placed. It is not too long, not too short. The language is elevated while still accessible. The images of the bored rich play beautifully against the themes of unrequited love and unexposed vulnerability. It is full of flawed characters that reveal in us our own shortcomings preventing us from judging them too harshly, and yet it toys with the reader's struggle between resentment of money and longing for it, the role it plays in happiness, even while emphasizing that money cannot buy everything. It is timeless in that these themes and characters only repeat themselves and are reborn into every generation, every age of society. It is bold, mysterious, lovely, and tragic.

Those eyes taught me about symbolism.

2. Having said that, it cannot ever be replicated perfectly in movie form. So for the 10% of America who has actually read the book, stop the strict comparisons. Think of it as a cousin of the book. If you go into it with the minimalist expectations that your high school brain wrapped itself around when you first read it, you will feel confused when you watch it. This must be embraced as a tribute to The Great Gatsby, not a replica.

This might be as close to "Gatsby" as Leo gets.

3. I'm not gonna lie...I have my doubts about the cast. First of all, I would have liked to see Topher Grace as Nick Carraway instead of Tobey Maguire. Tobey is goofy, Topher is...well, more graceful which I would find more appropriate for someone like Carraway. Instead of Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan, I'd like to see Tom Hardy. Hardy seems scary, and I've always read Buchanan as slightly irrational. Carey Mulligan as Daisy doesn't sit right with me. She's too mousy, not the exquisite beauty that you hope for, and her eyes show layers of depth. January Jones' role as Betty Draper has already showed that she can master the shallow sadness of Daisy. And as for Leonardo as Gatsby. Sigh. I love Leo. But I think Ryan Gosling is more chiseled and could have nailed this one. Leo is too round in the face. But honestly, anyone is gonna have a hard time competing with Robert Redford's Gatsby. At least we know Leo has the acting chops to try. If Leo and Carey can pull off the subdued intensity and anxious emotional connection between Daisy and Gatsby, then the rest of the movie will be fine no matter who portrays who.

Great Indeed.

4. The Baz Luhrmann issue is a non-issue. I mean, of course he's an issue because everything he does is SO HIM that you can't ignore his style or hand in any of his films. His fast paced Romeo and Juliet, and over the top Moulin Rouge won me over, but even if you don't like his colorful, in your face, aesthetic, you can still love it for Gatsby. Because Luhrmann's excessive style is perfectly at home in a movie based on the roaring twenties where everything was happening in the context of booming excess. In writing sometimes we ask the question, should the form serve the content or the content serve the form? The correct answer for me is the first, and that's what you have in Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. It will be beautiful on screen, with vast contrasting colors that Luhrmann is known for, whereas I remember the Redford version of the movie was too....clean, too...white. 

Watching for the longest day of the year.

5. The criticism is running high, people are ready for this to fail. Even down to the music in the trailer, which will probably never show up in the movie itself, people are upset. Everyone slow down for a second. Remember the point of a trailer. It's a marketing tool. It's meant to convince the majority of the people in mainstream America, most of whom are NOT Gatsby fans, to go see the movie. So love it for what it is, something to entice. And also, LOVE that Jack White cover of U2's Love is Blindness.


As for me, overall, I am thrilled about the movie. The biggest bummer...we have to wait until CHRISTMAS!

What are your thoughts on the upcoming The Great Gatsby?