A Few Good Men (the Yakkity Yak remix)
So, I went down to Ft. Worth to see Jensen in A Few Good Men on Saturday, and all I can say is it was incredible. Honestly, the whole day was. We flew in at 9:30 on Saturday to Dallas-Love Field, drove to Ft. Worth and checked into our hotel, and then I talked some with other fangirls. Then laprincesasara and I went to the Kimbell Art Museum, which was neat but v. small. I got a cool art print, though, so it wasn't all a bust. Then we hung out at the pool for an hour, where I got horribly sunburned (fair skin is a bitch), and got ready to see Jensen. But first, there was the meet-up at the Ol' South Pancake House (conveniently located within walking distance of our hotel), which was v. cool, and then...to Casa Manana (and the substantive part of this post.)
So, I'm a huge Aaron Sorkin fan, and I've seen the movie enough times to be able to quote large chunks of dialogue, and I was surprised at how very different the play was from the movie. Jo Galloway (Demi Moore in the movie) was a very different kind of character in the play--more self-assured, less lost. Sam had a much larger part with a lot more meaning. Nathan Jessup was a lot more of an asshole :). There was significantly more interplay between Hal and Danny. And the biggest thing of all...Danny went into that courtroom *knowing* Jessup had lied. He had the smoking gun. *That* was weird! But I liked it. In a lot of ways, it was much better than the movie, and not just because it had Jensen instead of Tom Cruise!
I had a few nitpicks, too...the ranks were changed for movie, which was a smart plan. In the play, Markinson was supposedly a Captain, but he had 26 years in the Marine Corps...not at all likely, unless he'd been enlisted before, which we were not led to believe. And as a Lt. Col., Jessup would not be looking at an appointment to the National Security Council. But that wasn't anyone's fault but Sorkin's...bad research, dude! And he did so well with everything else! Also, and believe me, I understand *why* they did this, but it still bothered me (hey, I'm the girl who freaked out in the middle of Chamber of Secrets because they gave Hermione all of Ron's lines!)--there was a scene when Danny, Jo, and Sam all show up to court in their khakis, which is just not done. They needed to be in their Class A uniform, which was underscored by the fact that everyone else onstage *was* in their Class As. But otherwise, everything else was perfect :).
And now to the Jensen part. He was amazing. He's just an incredible actor. It was so exciting to see him live. He played Danny Kaffee so well; he definitely made the character his own. And he had both an excellent sense of comedic timing and Sorkin timing, which are both v. important for a Sorkin show. I was really impressed...not many people can do Sorkin (sadly, not all the cast at Casa could, but then again, half the people on Studio 60 couldn't either, and they were getting paid far more, so I understand :)). And he really is more beautiful in real life than he is on the screen, which shouldn't be possible, but so is. I thought I was going to really appreciate him in the Naval uniforms, and I did, don't get me wrong, but I think my favorite part was when he came out in jeans and a softball shirt. That shirt *clung,* and it was a very nice view :). But I think my favorite part was Jensen/Danny's redirect of his witness. He just *nailed* the timing, and his facial expressions and tone of voice were absolutely perfect. It's my favorite scene in the movie by far, and seeing it live, with Jensen just *shining* in it, was incredible. And, hee! Jensen said "Sam" all the time, and it must be a Jensen way of saying it, cuz it sounded exactly like it does when he's Dean. I appreciated that. When we were standing at the stage door and Jensen came out to sign autographs, one girl asked him what it was like to say "Sam" and look down. Jensen laughed and said that Jared had come to a show and told him that every time Jensen said "Sam," Jared perked up. Then Jensen said he told Jared to just hang on, they'd be back to it soon enough. Which, aww, so cute :)
And not to forget Lou...he did such a great job I didn't think of Jack Nicholsen once. He made Jessup his own, too, which is much harder...Cruise didn't define Danny in the same way that Nicholsen defined Jessup. The guy who played Sam was so cute, and so perfect...he actually stole some scenes from Jensen, which, wow. Hard to do! Besides Lou, he was the only actor whom I paid close attention to when Jensen was onstage ;-).
After the play laprincesasara and I went and waited at the stage door. After a while Lou came out, and he was so friendly and gracious. He's apparently going to be in the national tour of Camelot as King Arthur, which is coming to Chicago and which I think I would like to see. He signed my program and answered a bunch of questions and was just really, really nice. Then this woman poked her head out and asked Lou how it was going. And I thought, Oh, please let her be asking so that they can decide whether or not to send Jensen out! and Lou says it's going great. And about 5 minutes later, Jensen came out. I made a complete dork of myself...I'm normally very articulate, but when I meet someone I admire, I go completely tongue-tied and stupid. So I think I managed to mumble something about him being amazing when he took my program to sign it, and telling him he had Sorkin timing down perfectly, and other completely inane things (I am *such* a dork!), but he was friendly and gracious and oh-so-gorgeous (and at least I didn't tell him that!) But he smiled at me and signed my program, and I was (and am) happy :).
I met up with a couple of other fans at Denny's, and had a completely wonderful time. It was so great to get to talk to other fans and connect, and it sucks so horribly that most of the wonderful women I met live so far away. It just...it was equally as cool as getting to see Jensen, hanging out with the other fans, and it was completely worth the sleep deprivation that resulted from it! Of course, the people at Denny's probably hated us, but we had fun! They just couldn't handle the yak!
And now that I've rambled on and on...
Casa Manana.
a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank">
Jensen's name on the marquee (yes, I am that much of a dork, why do you ask?)
Lou
Jensen (duh)
The program cover...I wish they had used the pics of them in their dress uniforms, but they didn't ask me. Sadness!
Autographs! Eee!
So, yeah...that was it. It was wonderful! I really am so glad I got to meet all you amazing people! You made this trip one of the best ever, really. Well...you and the oregano, of course :).
So, I'm a huge Aaron Sorkin fan, and I've seen the movie enough times to be able to quote large chunks of dialogue, and I was surprised at how very different the play was from the movie. Jo Galloway (Demi Moore in the movie) was a very different kind of character in the play--more self-assured, less lost. Sam had a much larger part with a lot more meaning. Nathan Jessup was a lot more of an asshole :). There was significantly more interplay between Hal and Danny. And the biggest thing of all...Danny went into that courtroom *knowing* Jessup had lied. He had the smoking gun. *That* was weird! But I liked it. In a lot of ways, it was much better than the movie, and not just because it had Jensen instead of Tom Cruise!
I had a few nitpicks, too...the ranks were changed for movie, which was a smart plan. In the play, Markinson was supposedly a Captain, but he had 26 years in the Marine Corps...not at all likely, unless he'd been enlisted before, which we were not led to believe. And as a Lt. Col., Jessup would not be looking at an appointment to the National Security Council. But that wasn't anyone's fault but Sorkin's...bad research, dude! And he did so well with everything else! Also, and believe me, I understand *why* they did this, but it still bothered me (hey, I'm the girl who freaked out in the middle of Chamber of Secrets because they gave Hermione all of Ron's lines!)--there was a scene when Danny, Jo, and Sam all show up to court in their khakis, which is just not done. They needed to be in their Class A uniform, which was underscored by the fact that everyone else onstage *was* in their Class As. But otherwise, everything else was perfect :).
And now to the Jensen part. He was amazing. He's just an incredible actor. It was so exciting to see him live. He played Danny Kaffee so well; he definitely made the character his own. And he had both an excellent sense of comedic timing and Sorkin timing, which are both v. important for a Sorkin show. I was really impressed...not many people can do Sorkin (sadly, not all the cast at Casa could, but then again, half the people on Studio 60 couldn't either, and they were getting paid far more, so I understand :)). And he really is more beautiful in real life than he is on the screen, which shouldn't be possible, but so is. I thought I was going to really appreciate him in the Naval uniforms, and I did, don't get me wrong, but I think my favorite part was when he came out in jeans and a softball shirt. That shirt *clung,* and it was a very nice view :). But I think my favorite part was Jensen/Danny's redirect of his witness. He just *nailed* the timing, and his facial expressions and tone of voice were absolutely perfect. It's my favorite scene in the movie by far, and seeing it live, with Jensen just *shining* in it, was incredible. And, hee! Jensen said "Sam" all the time, and it must be a Jensen way of saying it, cuz it sounded exactly like it does when he's Dean. I appreciated that. When we were standing at the stage door and Jensen came out to sign autographs, one girl asked him what it was like to say "Sam" and look down. Jensen laughed and said that Jared had come to a show and told him that every time Jensen said "Sam," Jared perked up. Then Jensen said he told Jared to just hang on, they'd be back to it soon enough. Which, aww, so cute :)
And not to forget Lou...he did such a great job I didn't think of Jack Nicholsen once. He made Jessup his own, too, which is much harder...Cruise didn't define Danny in the same way that Nicholsen defined Jessup. The guy who played Sam was so cute, and so perfect...he actually stole some scenes from Jensen, which, wow. Hard to do! Besides Lou, he was the only actor whom I paid close attention to when Jensen was onstage ;-).
After the play laprincesasara and I went and waited at the stage door. After a while Lou came out, and he was so friendly and gracious. He's apparently going to be in the national tour of Camelot as King Arthur, which is coming to Chicago and which I think I would like to see. He signed my program and answered a bunch of questions and was just really, really nice. Then this woman poked her head out and asked Lou how it was going. And I thought, Oh, please let her be asking so that they can decide whether or not to send Jensen out! and Lou says it's going great. And about 5 minutes later, Jensen came out. I made a complete dork of myself...I'm normally very articulate, but when I meet someone I admire, I go completely tongue-tied and stupid. So I think I managed to mumble something about him being amazing when he took my program to sign it, and telling him he had Sorkin timing down perfectly, and other completely inane things (I am *such* a dork!), but he was friendly and gracious and oh-so-gorgeous (and at least I didn't tell him that!) But he smiled at me and signed my program, and I was (and am) happy :).
I met up with a couple of other fans at Denny's, and had a completely wonderful time. It was so great to get to talk to other fans and connect, and it sucks so horribly that most of the wonderful women I met live so far away. It just...it was equally as cool as getting to see Jensen, hanging out with the other fans, and it was completely worth the sleep deprivation that resulted from it! Of course, the people at Denny's probably hated us, but we had fun! They just couldn't handle the yak!
And now that I've rambled on and on...
Casa Manana.
a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank">
Jensen's name on the marquee (yes, I am that much of a dork, why do you ask?)
Lou
Jensen (duh)
The program cover...I wish they had used the pics of them in their dress uniforms, but they didn't ask me. Sadness!
Autographs! Eee!
So, yeah...that was it. It was wonderful! I really am so glad I got to meet all you amazing people! You made this trip one of the best ever, really. Well...you and the oregano, of course :).