Hanging with Mr. Cooper: A Labor of Doves

Fabulous Felt Doves Above Barrette

Dress: JCPenney

Cardigan: Gifted

Shoes: a.n.a., JCPenney

Bag: Nine West, Boscov's

Belt: Marshalls

Sunglasses: Relic, Kohl's

 Cake Break Necklace

Dress: Ruby Rox, JCPenney

Shoes: Chinese Laundry, DSW

Bag: Princess Vera, Kohl's

Sunglasses: JCPenney

Three if by Sea Necklace

Tee: Macy's

Tank: Worthington, JCPenney

Skirt: Stoosh, Macy's

Shoes: Christian Siriano for Payless

Bag: Glamour Damaged, Etsy

Belt: Izod, Marshalls

Sunglasses: Mudd, Kohl's

Yikes Yellow Stripes Necklace

Dress: Modcloth

Shoes: Penny Loves Kenny, DSW

Bag: Princess Vera, Kohl's

Belt: Candie's, Kohl's

Sunglasses: Mudd, Kohl's

The husband and I were taking a walk last Saturday night, killing time until our crab cakes were ready, when some guy driving by in an SUV yelled, "I just saw Bradley Cooper in _______ (insert name of local supermarket chain)!"  Which was, of course, far better than most things yelled out of car windows.  The husband and I looked at each other.  I'm ashamed to admit that we considered making a beeline for said supermarket.  Never mind that I'd been there just hours before.  I was caught up in the excitement of it all, imagining what I would say.  I could ask him about the highly anticipated, yet still-unseen-by-me "Wet Hot American Summer" Netflix series hijinks.  Also, how he felt about Keegan-Michael Key wearing that Silver Linings Playbook-style trash bag on USA's "Playing House."  (The husband, ever the envelope pusher, wanted to bring up his villainous turn in Wedding Crashers.)  Yet as I mentioned, we were waiting for crab cakes.  We walked on.

But that didn't mean we stopped talking about it.  I had a hard time picturing Bradley trolling the aisles of our little store.  Not just because he'd been nominated for three Oscars.  But because of the cottage cheese-soft cucumbers and eat-at-your-own-risk chicken.  Most of the time I couldn't believe I shopped there let alone this (albeit affable) A-lister.  Heck knows that if I had a handler, I'd send him in for the cheese wheels and fruit snacks.  I guess that's where Bradley and I differ.

Still, it was refreshing that he was out and about in Brigantine sans posse.  Turns out he was here visiting his mom who, according to The Press of Atlantic City, has a house on the island (which makes sense, as she hails from Philly).  I thought it was nice that he was hanging with his mom and going about his business normally (celebrities, they're just like us!), so much so that I debated whether or not I should even write this. After all, it's not as if I saw him, otherwise engaged as I was with fried shellfish.

But a celebrity siting is a celebrity siting, even if experienced secondhand.  And this stretch of beach is as good a spot as any.

Ah, Brigantine.  In the summer it's crowded, in the winter it's isolated, and, from a renter's perspective, it's always just a little unreal, as transient as the strict Memorial Day-to-Labor Day operating hours of the corner Rita's.  But it's also magical, a seedling city in a quaint, small-town (sea)shell.  Sweet and savory treats are just a short walk away, and you never know who you'll run into.

The more I think about it, I'm glad I let Mr. Cooper sniff his chicken in peace.

Movie Moment: Silver Linings Playbook

I didn't think I was going to like Silver Linings Playbook.  But I always go to the movies on my birthday, and that was the only one out that I hadn't seen (or would consider seeing).  Also, I'd already gotten the idea to photograph my silver clothes and accessories to post with the review, and I wasn't about to abandon that pipe dream.

Football and ballroom dancing, strung together by the threads of grief and mental illness, shouldn't have made for a cohesive story, much less a moving one.  Also, I've never really liked Bradley Cooper on account that I think he's cocky.  Yet despite all of this, I was hooked.

We meet Pat Solitano (Cooper) as he is being sprung from a Baltimore mental institution by his mother.  Although the courts have discouraged the release of the bipolar Pat, who nearly beat his wife's lover to a pulp, they have allowed him to re-enter the world on the condition that he lives with his parents, namely said concerned mother and a just-laid-off Eagles fan fanatic of a father (Robert De Niro) who has plenty of problems of his own.

Still obsessed with his high school English teacher wife, Pat insists that his mother stop at the library on their way home (Philly, haven of hardasses and Eagles enthusiasts) so he can check out all the books on her syllabus.  Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms tops the list, and Pat devours it only to hurl it out the (closed) window in the middle of the night and storm into his parents' bedroom to rant about the sad ending and the unfairness of life and the refusal of Hemingway and all his ilk to give an already-suffering world just one measly silver lining.  It's an impassioned and funny scene (and one I appreciated, having never been a Hemingway fan) that shows just how much Pat is hurting.  It is this vulnerability, despite his violence, that makes him so sympathetic.

No second chance saga is complete without a love interest, and Pat finds his in Tiffany, a new widow and recovering nymphomaniac.  Not that he readily admits his attraction.  Tiffany gives him a run for his money in the hard words department, and he initially resists her friendship on the grounds that he wants to reconcile with his wife.  But Tiffany ambushes him one time too many on one of his trash-bag-clad (all the better to sweat in) runs, and after several unfiltered, in-your-face exchanges, he finds himself agreeing to be her partner in - of all things - a ballroom dancing competition.

Character-driven and introspective, Silver Linings is about two damaged people trying to make a go of it in this crazy, mixed-up world.  It's honest and unvarnished and makes sense of the idea that we're all just a little bit crazy.  Believe it or not, I left the theater in a much better frame of mind than when the credits rolled for This is 40.  Uplifting, indeed.

Movie Moment: The Hangover Part II

The bf and I topped off our weekend by seeing The Hangover Part II. In this addition of bachelor parties gone horribly wrong, the groom is dentist Stu (Ed Helms), and the debauchery takes place in Thailand. Vegas was dark, but Bangkok is darker. It's this darkness that lends a sinister edge to the proceedings, which, as you've no doubt by now heard, once again center around searching for a missing groomsman on the strength of a few fuzzy details.

So, does the sequel live up to the original? I think so. Part II is certainly not wanting for bizarre incidents, near-death experiences, raunchy humor, and classic bad-boy behavior. The return of Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) especially ups the weird factor, driving home the point that for this crew, bachelor party mayhem isn't a one-time thing, but a way of life. Indeed, by the movie's end, the bespectacled and seemingly straitlaced Stu is screaming that he has a dark side, and that he likes it. His fiance is so happy to have him back in one piece that she doesn't even interrogate him. In her shoes, I'd have asked more than a few questions. But then, The Hangover is all about men being men and women accepting it, and as viewers we have to accept that too (at least for the two-hour duration of the movie).

Cringe-inducing images notwithstanding, I found the overall story entertaining and look forward to the third and final installment, if only to find out what sort of woman would marry creepy oddball Alan (Zach Galifianakis).