@#$#^$*&&^@$# and tits.

Jan 15, 2011 18:10

The King's Speech is reeeally super good. Quite possibly the best film I've seen in theaters since Inception. It was almost like a sports movie, at times, in how Bertie is such an underdog and you root for him so hard and it's this physical challenge he has to overcome and you've got Lionel as his coach figure. I must admit during his speeches I ( Read more... )

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hermione_vader January 16 2011, 01:30:34 UTC
WORD. To all of this: the sports-movie-ness, the awesomeness, all of it. I also kept rooting for him---it's so hard not to. But the montages are a bit more understated than in a sports movie.

I dunno, it's weird, but I really like films about royalty. I find the dynamics of their place in their culture fascinating, especially around and after the Industrial Revolution. Maybe it's because I'm American, so kings and queens and princes and princesses are really confined to fantasy, but these are real people, so there's an element to them that's kind of.. magical? Ancient, definitely, in a living, breathing way nothing in America can touch.Right with you there. I've been fascinated with royalty since childhood. I agree that we Americans are fascinated with them because they're so foreign and connected to some ancient line that we'll never, ever have. They're a giant symbolic pillar of national identity; since our executive leadership changes so constantly, we can't really use it like that. So we're very voyeuristic. For instance ( ... )

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lotus0kid January 16 2011, 02:59:15 UTC
Heh, I'm glad I wasn't the only the one who saw the sports-movie-ness. Of course, the stakes are a little higher here than the championship against the hated rival, but.. well, yeah, that's pretty much the closest we get in America ( ... )

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hermione_vader January 16 2011, 05:30:05 UTC
I thought it was kind of obvious: plucky little guy must overcome a gigantic obstacle, an arrogant jerk, and a "big game" of sorts. ...Like Rocky with speech therapy, only a whole lot better than that sounds.

I wouldn't change it either, but I think the Queen must seem like some sort of long-lasting pillar when they go through a financial crisis. I got up at 5 AM (at age 7!) for Princess Diana's funeral, so I'm definitely watching the wedding. That does sound chilling (and voyeuristic). But dude, you've been to England! *is totally jealous*

Yes, towards the end, I was like, "He really can lead them!" And then reality sank in. When it said "Lionel and Bertie remained friends for the rest of their lives," it was so sad to realize that only meant about another 13 years. I think I need to see the film again, because I think I focused on Bertie and David's (Edward's) relationship so much that I missed the whole Hitler-sympathizing thing. But yeah, it was both an irresponsible and a very good thing. But when David cried when ( ... )

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lotus0kid January 16 2011, 13:07:56 UTC

Yeah, and just kind of mother to the whole country. Not to say there aren't times when she's very unpopular, but still. I didn't watch Princess Di's funeral, but like I said I definitely hope to catch the wedding, it should be quite a sight. Heh, I really remember watching the coronation better than the jewels. But, anyway, it was cool. I hope I get to go there again someday.

There's a line David says about "Herr Hitler sorting [communist Russia] out" and the line about Wallis Simpson receiving seventeen carnations from I guess the German ambassador every day, but mostly I've heard that from discussion of the film (Colin Firth was on The Daily Show last week) and how differently WWII would have gone if Bertie hadn't been made king. The scene with the king's death was strange, because on the one hand I felt the repression of everyone's true emotions that goes hand-in-hand with monarchy, but, yeah, at the same time when David breaks down I really did feel like, "Suck it up, no one else is crying." I guess there's the fact that ( ... )

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visiblemarket January 16 2011, 03:24:47 UTC
You know what made me really sad? Realizing that Bertie died in the 1950's ('52, according to englishmuffin2) and Elizabeth in 2002. Fifty years without him, and they were so sweet together. But yeah, Bertie was adorable, even with his temper, which was nicely humanizing.

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lotus0kid January 16 2011, 12:54:45 UTC
Yeah, exactly, I really couldn't get that line from The Queen out of my head while watching dear Bertie. But, well, you know he'll make the best of it even while his country is at war, and his family knows he loves them, etc.

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ellensparkleyes January 16 2011, 03:50:05 UTC
i usually don't want to watch anything about monarchy/aristocrats etc. but my friend wanted to see this movie, and i can admit to liking it very much, also. i did feel uncomfortable for the character, especially since i'm pretty introverted irl and tend to say inane and awkward things in strange company.

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lotus0kid January 16 2011, 12:57:41 UTC
Yeah, I don't actually own any of the movies I can think of that really explore the theme, but I really enjoy them when I watch them. I definitely felt for Bertie because while I don't have a stutter nearly as bad, words definitely do kind of trip over themselves for me sometimes and I have to stop and get my mouth around them. I'm much better in print.

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fadeintodawn January 17 2011, 05:35:49 UTC
That was such a great movie! I loved it.

The audience around me was definitely full of old people, who did not find the cursing as funny as I did. Oh well, their loss. Hee.

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lotus0kid January 18 2011, 22:29:53 UTC
I need to see it again sometime. Definitely worth two theater viewings.

Hee, it's just the way he's shouting out a stream of profanity and ends on a quiet, perfunctory "and tits." Just killed me.

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