Melinda and Melinda

I ate a piece of cake and had two cups of coffee this evening. That was basically my dinner. I am getting more and more unhealthy and indulging in whatever pleasures I fancy whenever I so choose.

Then I watched two movies back to back. First, Rosemary's Baby, which I had watched the first half of a couple years ago and was stopped by the unpassable scratches on the DVD. It was nice to finally see the whole movie and also to see it now with a love of John Cassavetes firmly in place. I love how horror movies, more so than just about any other genre, ground themselves so firmly in domestic spaces and instill such a terror of a building. All those haunted houses, museums, and hotels. I was trying to think of why this is so effective at terrifying the viewer, but then realized how obvious it was/is and yes.

Second, Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda, which in really nice ways played with the differences between what makes something comic and what makes it tragic, how thin that line is. Had it been one of his sevenites movies, it would have been awesome. It just sort of diminishes these intelligent conversations (even though it shouldn't) to see them set in the New York that I know with new cars parked on the street, SUV's, and so I am just aware of how distinct these people are from the ones I know. Whereas, watching his older movies, the ornaments of the time are distinct enough from mine that I can imagine that everyone talks this way and behaves so intensely and not see them as awkward constructions. Also, I think there were some bad casting choices. Wallace Shawn had some excellent lines, but when he delivered them, I kept hearing him say "Indubitably" in The Princess Bride. But, I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie.

By the way, tomorrow, I am not calling in sick to work.