Evergreen Screen, Tinseltown Tannenbaum

Me and 3G have decided to give picture-less posting another try.  Now, usually I use my photos-slash-projects as the basis of my hook.  You know, that thread that, however tenuously, ties all my nonsense together.  So this time -- heads up -- I'm using the pictures in my mind.

Let us consider the Christmas tree.  It's but a pleat in Mother Nature's dark green gown, a relic of the outdoors that we bring indoors and domesticate with acres of lights and ornaments, some store-bought, some handmade, some elegant, some primitive, all of them converging in a joyful jumble that should look ridiculous but doesn't.  Yet even all dressed up, sometimes the Christmas tree misbehaves.  Sometimes it falls, narrowly missing Grandpa as he sleeps off his eggnog; other times it hatches insects and reptiles, reminding us that it's still wild and unpredictable despite our efforts to make it conform to our carefully curated winter wonderlands.  But that's okay.  Because at the end of the (holi)day, it's the crazy that makes it Christmas.

Which is pretty much the message of every Christmas movie ever, including the two I just saw: Daddy's Home 2 and A Bad Moms Christmas.  (See what I did there?  Hook, line, and stinker.) Boys will be boys and girls just want to have fun in these festive family free-for-alls.  No sophomore slumps for these sequels; both assault and then rescue Christmas with all the hijinks and heart we've come to expect from holiday features.  Daddy's Home 2 revisits the blended family blues, this time with a marshmallow of a John Lithgow and a hard-ass Mel Gibson joining Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg to stir the Bailey's-spiked hot chocolate pot.  And in A Bad Moms Christmas, Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn take a break from being bad moms to deal with having bad moms, namely the trying trio of Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines, and Susan Sarandon.  Through criticism, smothering, and good old-fashioned neglect, these mamas serve up fare far worse than fruitcake.  Guess Will Smith was right: parents just don't understand.  Well, at least not until they see the light -- on top of the Christmas tree.  Yep, the very same one harboring larvae and snakes, although no such snafu took place in either movie (but, hey, maybe should have).

You know, the last time I blogged about Daddy's Home, I compared it to Sisters.  And I said (something like) "I liked Daddy's Home better, but Sisters taught me more."  Well, this time I didn't learn anything, and I preferred Bad Moms. Which shows, I think, a modicum of personal growth (because it takes guts to admit that knowledge isn't always power), something our friend the Christmas tree knows lots about.

Oh, Tannenbaum, can't wait to light your candle.

TV Tuesday: Casting My Vote for Parks and Recreation

As I've mentioned in many a TV-related post, it takes me awhile to warm up to new TV shows.  So, when "Parks snd Recreation" joined NBC's Thursday night lineup four seasons ago, I initially wrote it off as an "Office" knock-off.  Yet sometime between then and last season, something shifted, causing me to think, "Hey, what have I been missing?  This is a hoot!"  The "Parks" players are as eccentric as any you'd expect to find in the fictional small town of Pawnee, Indiana.  At the forefront is Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), perky Deputy Parks Director extraordinaire.  Her boundless enthusiasm and can-do attitude lights a fire beneath even the most lackadaisical of her staff, namely her bureaucracy-hating, tells-it-like-it-is boss Ron (Nick Offerman) and chronically eye-rolling, deadpan intern April (Aubrey Plaza).  Luxury-loving and perennially besuited Tom (Aziz Ansari), "most beautiful nurse in the world" Ann (Rashida Jones), childlike amateur rocker Andy (Chris Pratt), overzealous health nut and optimist Chris (Rob Lowe), divaesque Donna (Retta), clueless but well-meaning Jerry (Jim O' Heir), and Leslie's level-headed beau Ben (Adam Scott) round out the rest of the public service circle.

This season we're treated to democracy in action as Leslie faces off with none other than Paul Rudd for a seat on city council.  Rudd is brilliant as pretty boy puppet Bobby Newport, spoiled son of Pawnee's premier candy company owner.  In the most recent episode Knope and Newport engage in that time-honored pre-election nail-biter, the debate.  Bobby vacantly delivers answers spoonfed to him by his shark of a campaign manager (Kathryn Hahn) while Leslie stands classily by, hiding her light under a bushel until the very end when she launches into an impassioned speech about her love for Pawnee and her duty to protect it.  The crowd goes wild; really, it's quite moving and inspirational.  Then, with perfect comic timing, Bobby saunters over to Leslie with all the bonhomie of a high school quarterback and tells her that he's so glad that that's all over with and why doesn't she come on over to the after-party at his dad's lake house?  Even when playing a jerk Mr. Rudd can't help but turn out to be nice :)        

Movie Moment: Our Idiot Brother

When I heard that Paul Rudd was starring in a movie called Our Idiot Brother, I knew I had to see it.  I don't usually get all starry-eyed about actors, but Paul Rudd has a kind of irresistible witty-yet-down-to-earth geek-chic appeal, a new facet of which is illuminated in this indie flick.  Part comedy, part family drama, Our Idiot Brother is the story of Ned Rochlin, a guy who gets arrested for selling pot to a uniformed police officer from his organic produce stand.  But don't be fooled by this wacky opener.  This movie's deep.

Thankfully, there are no prison scenes.  The plot just fast forwards to eight months later when Ned has been released.  He returns to his beloved farm and dog, Willie Nelson, only to find that his girlfriend (Kathryn Hahn) has replaced him with an even ditsier dude.  Suddenly homeless, Ned is forced to move in with his mother, who promptly drives him crazy and out into the world again.  So, he takes turns bunking with each of his three sisters, a trio tailor-made for allegory.  Liz (Emily Mortimer) is the stay-at-home mom; Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) is the career woman; and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel) is the bohemian.  Garbed in a ridiculous collection of striped tank tops and colorful button-downs (well, it's actually just one colorful button-down, worn over and over again), Ned dispenses nuggets of truth that snag the delicate fabric of his sisters' not-so-together lives.  At first they just yell at him, hit him with their handbags, and call him, well, an idiot.  Yet they eventually realize that there's wisdom in Ned's revelations and end up sacrificing the very things that define them to become better, happier people. 

Our Idiot Brother isn't laugh-out-loud funny (although it does have some funny parts, especially at the end).  Still, it's subtle and quirky and interesting.  Rudd's Ned is so endearing that I couldn't help but wonder if ignorance is bliss.  Heck, his blind optimism and faith in his fellow man made me want to be a better person.  I have a feeling that Our Idiot Brother is one of those movies that gets a little bit better each time you see it.  Kind of like Anchorman.