Triumph!

Aug. 5th, 2003 09:53 am
[personal profile] oakenguy
It took two hours, much swearing, occasional sprays of water, just a wee bit of frantic bailing...but the plumbing is fixed! The internal bits of the toilet have all been replaced by new, non-broken parts, and we have a working bathroom again!*

I rented Daredevil, and, y'know, if you watch it on DVD and only watch the scenes with Colin Farrell, it's not *that* bad. His character's so fun in an over-the-top "My manual dexterity goes up to 11" way. Plus, it's much shorter.

Still bad, though. That suit just doesn't translate well from the comics. And Ben Affleck just doesn't translate well from a comic book fan to a comic book hero, if you know what I mean. When you're spending your time staring at the screen trying to tell if the actor's pudgy or if it's just the bad outfit, the movie's in trouble. And when he runs? And does that flailing chuff-chuff motion with his arms like he's trying to knead dough that's balanced on his forehead? Sad. Just sad.

I'm in love with this book I'm reading, that I stumbled across by accident--it had been misshelved down in the childrens section of the library. It's got an awful title, "Here Come the Clowns", but it's really a history of physical comedy through the ages, from the first mention of a jester (in ancient Egypt, 2270 BC), up to '78 when the book was written.

Just a sample: in 17th century France, a team of three clowns performed a farce that caused them to be arrested for "deliberate insult to the royal dignity" (they'd done a skit where three tax collectors, ransacking a house, opened a box they'd been warned not to open, whereupon three devils jumped out of the box and thrashed them). King Henry IV, who'd been in the audience roaring with laughter, released them and put them under his royal protection.

The three clowns were Turlupin (the name means "a sorry fellow"), Gautier Garguille ("Gary the Gargoyle"), and Gros Guillaume ("Fat Willy"). Turlupin was a fop with a brazen, deceitful persona and the ability to pick pockets while staring his victims right in the eye. Gautier had an oversized head, staring eyes, scrawny limbs that he could bend like a contortionist and a dry wit. Fat Willy draped himself in a tentlike tunic and "is credited with the discovery of the comic and cosmetic properties of flour", wearing it, sneezing it around the stage, blowing it in his partners' faces. Their musical numbers were famous across Europe.



That's just the info on one page. LOVE this book.


_____________________
*Okay, it took ME two hours. It took Deb fifteen minutes to come home, listen to me vent, find the part I'd forgotten to install, and stop the leak I'd been unable to fix. I like to think of this as teamwork. As opposed to "Deb saving my ass".

Date: 2003-08-05 08:38 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] devina.livejournal.com
Granted, I haven't seen it, but how can you possibly fault a movie with Jennifer Garner in midriff-baring leather and sai??!

Date: 2003-08-05 08:56 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oakenguy.livejournal.com
Because while you're watching her, you're feeling sorry for her! She's got no chemistry with Ben, she gets used for Action Movie Cliche #3 (female character displays awesome competence early in film, then loses that competence when up against the bad guy so that Our Hero can rescue/avenge her)...it's one of those times where the still pictures are much better than the film.

Date: 2003-08-05 09:03 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] devina.livejournal.com
*sighs*
*scratches name off Netflix list*

Date: 2003-08-05 09:57 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oakenguy.livejournal.com
Sorry!

Um...have you seen 'Bride With White Hair'?

Date: 2003-08-05 10:08 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] devina.livejournal.com
No, but it looks sort of neat. I added it. (My queue's only 124 movies, I'll get to it eventually. I think. :P)

Date: 2003-08-05 09:44 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hazeleyedfae.livejournal.com
Here Comes the Clowns, eh? Who is the author/compiler of this history that I may search for it for my library?

Date: 2003-08-05 09:55 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oakenguy.livejournal.com
Lowell Swortzell, with illustrations by C. Walter Hodges. Amazon says it's out of print, durnit.

Date: 2003-08-05 05:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] enidenvy.livejournal.com
ben affleck, or ben whoflick, as i like to call him (thanks to mango) is a total tool. honestly, he should just be wiped off the planet.

Date: 2003-08-06 06:57 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] djjohnnymac.livejournal.com
Hi. On the subject of clowns, I just stumbled across a documentary/movie, White Face (http://www.whitefacefilm.com/home/). "What I started out to do was explore the kind of lives clowns might have if they were an actual race of people, but the more I worked on the film the more I realized it could be more than just a comedy."
Clowns and racism.
(and IMDB (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0275073) suggests if you like it you will also like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)

Profile

oakenguy

July 2013

S M T W T F S
 1 2 3 456
789 10111213
1415 1617181920
21222324252627
28293031   

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Mar. 18th, 2026 08:16 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios