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Re: The Life Aquatic is no Bottle Rocket! by Choson 01/14/2005, 5:50pm PST
Fussbett wrote:

I didn't laugh out loud at Rushmore or the Tenenbaums -- or even very often at Life Aquatic. But in Life Aquatic, I smiled constantly. Then I frowned for a bit, THEN SMILED AGAIN. Life Aquatic is definitely a comedy, because it's got lots of humour and isn't a drama, but I don't think the decibels of your amusement is a valid rating system since Life Aquatic offers more than jokes.


I'm saying that every Wes Anderson movie, EXCEPT for the Life Aquatic, I have laughed out loud. I was even primed to laugh out loud at the Life Aquatic, but instead, I smiled, wryly, and thought: a failure. Pretty, with its moments, but a failure.

Fussbett wrote:

You just didn't like the story. Which is fine. FOR A FAGGOT, or Zsenor Barborito. Nah, I've come to grips with the fact that people have written off the story as incongruous, trite, pandering, pointless, and/or self-agrandizing. Even shallow. The loss is yours. Yours!


The story, or at least the core of it, was fine. Failed hero faces his fears and realizes that he's a hero, after all. There were related themes in his other films, except maybe Bottle Rocket. But I think he slipped over the "cartoon" meter with me and made a movie of gags, and if you're going to make a movie of gags, smiling throughout isn't the certificate of greatness you think it is. I guess we're disagreeing on the success of the story tweaking some latent emotion, which is just so happened to do with you and Ray. It didn't for me, but then, I don't like Jacques Tati movies either.

Fussbett wrote:

It was the lunacy pockets of Tenenbaums cranked to the highest level, such that it was no longer a punchline but an absurdist backdrop to the whole tale, which in turn frees the rest of the movie to do whatever it wants. The fact that you'd say calling the interns "Interns" and that they "share a glock" were failed jokes blows my mind, this laser narrowing. Zissou has interns?! Like 6 of them?! Zissou can't even keep track of his interns?! Or his glocks?! They need glocks?! Zissou is forcing a glock on Ned?! Via peer pressure?! The script girl knows more about the intern glock then Zissou?! The script girl is topless?! There's a script girl?! It's a constant general atmosphere of funniness, but then you focus on the line "They share a glock", and rate is as "not as funny as a Miguel Caulderon painting". Why don't you just marry the Tenenbaums?


Wow, sounds great... in theory. Too bad "a general atmosphere of funniness" didn't actually turn into "funny". I mean, what you just described sounds hilarious, and with Bill Murray as the lynchpin of "the general atmosphere of funniness"? Holy shit, I was ready to die of laughter. And then I saw the movie, and... I smiled constantly. Oh wait, that was you.

And thanks for boiling down what I wrote about the weaknesses of Life Aquatic into the "Glocks vs. Calderon painting", because really that's all I actually said. I'll stand by it, based on my super empirical method of my own laughter to perfectly judge whether a movie is funny or not.
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GALLAGHER ATTACKS by Fussbett 01/12/2005, 8:59pm PST NEW
    Gallagher apologetics. by Senor Barborito 01/12/2005, 9:12pm PST NEW
        Yes, if only we could see the real wit and political satire in Gallagher shows. NT by Creexul :( 01/12/2005, 9:23pm PST NEW
        Re: Gallagher apologetics. by Choson 01/12/2005, 9:32pm PST NEW
        Gallagher begat Carrot Top. by And this I do not forgive. 01/12/2005, 9:49pm PST NEW
        Re: Gallagher apologetics. by Ray of Light 01/12/2005, 10:04pm PST NEW
            No, dude, I'm calling bullshit on this. by Senor Barborito 01/13/2005, 8:04am PST NEW
                Re: No, dude, I'm calling bullshit on this. by Debate Fan 01/13/2005, 8:40am PST NEW
                    Re: No, dude, I'm calling bullshit on this. by Ray of Light 01/13/2005, 12:06pm PST NEW
                        Except I did see Life Aquatic Tuesday night. by Senor Barborito 01/13/2005, 4:59pm PST NEW
                            You're INSANE NT by INSANE 01/13/2005, 6:01pm PST NEW
                            You should write a count-review. I'll argue for days. NT by Fussbett 01/13/2005, 6:17pm PST NEW
                                Counter-review. NT by Fussbett 01/13/2005, 6:17pm PST NEW
                                    Re: Counter-review. by Senor Barborito 01/14/2005, 4:06am PST NEW
                                        Notice that I deleted all refs to other movies. by Fussbett 01/14/2005, 9:29pm PST NEW
                            Compelling. by Ray of Light 01/13/2005, 6:55pm PST NEW
                                Napoleon Dynamite: movie of the year. NT by Creexul :( 01/13/2005, 6:56pm PST NEW
                                Re: Compelling. by Choson 01/13/2005, 8:46pm PST NEW
                                    That's exactly what many people would think. by Ray of Light 01/13/2005, 11:23pm PST NEW
                                        Re: That's exactly what many people would think. by Senor Barborito 01/14/2005, 3:38am PST NEW
                                            content, spoilers by Ray of Light 01/14/2005, 11:30am PST NEW
                                                This thread is exposing my own rock-bottom self-esteem by Zseni 01/14/2005, 11:47am PST NEW
                                                    Broken record and all, but Zseni still hasn't seen The Office. NT by Mysterio 01/14/2005, 6:12pm PST NEW
                                        Re: That's exactly what many people would think. by Choson 01/14/2005, 7:30am PST NEW
                                            Aren't you the one afraid of sex? NT by OPINION INVALIDATED 01/14/2005, 7:39am PST NEW
                                                To me, the definition of scary is posting under a regular nick. NT by Senor Barborito 01/14/2005, 7:42am PST NEW
                                                    WHICH IS WHY YOU POST UNDER A CAJILLION? NT by ROFL-Meister 01/14/2005, 8:22am PST NEW
                                                You mean your opinion? NT by Choson 01/14/2005, 8:38am PST NEW
                                                    *After school* Nu-uh! You! by Bill Dungsrom 01/14/2005, 5:36pm PST NEW
                                                Most appropriate nick ever? NT by Mysterio 01/14/2005, 8:41am PST NEW
                                            Re: That's exactly what many people would think. by Ray of Light 01/14/2005, 11:39am PST NEW
                                            The Life Aquatic is no Bottle Rocket! by Fussbett 01/14/2005, 5:23pm PST NEW
                                                Re: The Life Aquatic is no Bottle Rocket! by Choson 01/14/2005, 5:50pm PST NEW
                                                    So have you married The Royal Tenenbaums yet? (why don't you?) by Fussbett 01/14/2005, 8:56pm PST NEW
                                                        Zseni says your, OJECTIVELY, the coolest poster here! by Burble 01/15/2005, 4:50am PST NEW
                                                        Re: So have you married The Royal Tenenbaums yet? (why don't you?) by Oh SNAP guy 01/15/2005, 10:16am PST NEW
                                                        Re: So have you married The Royal Tenenbaums yet? (why don't you?) by Choson 01/15/2005, 10:17am PST NEW
                                                            O SNAP, GUY! NT by whydirt 01/15/2005, 10:26am PST NEW
                                                                Re: O SNAP, GUY! by Choson 01/15/2005, 10:42am PST NEW
                                                Truely bizzarre footnote by laudablepuss 05/18/2005, 8:59pm PDT NEW
        Gallagher has been perfectly judged. by Fussbett 01/12/2005, 10:55pm PST NEW
    Re: GALLAGHER ATTACKS by Bill Dungsroman 01/13/2005, 11:34am PST NEW
 
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