As sure as eggs is eggs
Sunday was so much fun. We had breakfast at the 5 Spot, then went to the Seattle Center to see ice carving, and took a look at all the Christmas activities there -- ice skaters, the big winter train diorama, and a set of carols played by a tuba orchestra; then we doubled back and caught a showing of "Lady Bird" -- excellent film, it got us both (Noel lived for a while in Sacramento, and I lived for a while as a Roman Catholic). Then we came home.
It was over breakfast that Noel articulated the thing that bothered her the most about "The Shape Of Water", and I hadn't thought about it but now that she mentioned it it bothers me more to consider. I am writing about it under the cut, so don't go past this point if you do not want to read spoilers.
OK?
So here's the deal. They establish the bad guy, the evil army guy, as a guy who wants to live the New Frontier life. He has a little tract house, a perfect housewife wife, two kids. That sort of thing. He gets home, and the kids go to school, and he starts talking about getting a new car. The saucy housewife whips out a boob, plants his hand on it, and says, "How about a Cadillac?" Then they go to it.
Well and good, but later on, not much later, the bad guy is walking through a lavish Cadillac dealership. A salesguy spots him and starts giving him the hard sell on buying a new Cadillac. 'I'm just looking," the bad guy says, and the sales guy retorts "Well, I'm just talking," and flatters and chatters him into the front seat of the car. Next thing you know, bad guy is behind the wheel, and some teens in a convertible pass him, and the girls and guys wave approvingly.
If that isn't one of the most egregious product placements in a film I have seen since "The Coca Cola Kid", I don't know what else. It's a downright commercial for the damn cars, complete with a little sexy reinforcement. And although they burnish the car back into the plot -- of course somebody drives a van into it at one point -- it seems too tidy a sell. I expected better from Guillermo del Toro, but then again, who knows, he has to sell his film to somebody to get the funds for it, maybe the studio expects him to put product placements in. We saw "Lady Bird" and there was a big boost for Doritos at a specific moment, too.
There's a lot more about the film that, thinking about later, I picked out like loose threads from a Bed Bath and Beyond towel; but I'm going to let it all go.
It was over breakfast that Noel articulated the thing that bothered her the most about "The Shape Of Water", and I hadn't thought about it but now that she mentioned it it bothers me more to consider. I am writing about it under the cut, so don't go past this point if you do not want to read spoilers.
OK?
So here's the deal. They establish the bad guy, the evil army guy, as a guy who wants to live the New Frontier life. He has a little tract house, a perfect housewife wife, two kids. That sort of thing. He gets home, and the kids go to school, and he starts talking about getting a new car. The saucy housewife whips out a boob, plants his hand on it, and says, "How about a Cadillac?" Then they go to it.
Well and good, but later on, not much later, the bad guy is walking through a lavish Cadillac dealership. A salesguy spots him and starts giving him the hard sell on buying a new Cadillac. 'I'm just looking," the bad guy says, and the sales guy retorts "Well, I'm just talking," and flatters and chatters him into the front seat of the car. Next thing you know, bad guy is behind the wheel, and some teens in a convertible pass him, and the girls and guys wave approvingly.
If that isn't one of the most egregious product placements in a film I have seen since "The Coca Cola Kid", I don't know what else. It's a downright commercial for the damn cars, complete with a little sexy reinforcement. And although they burnish the car back into the plot -- of course somebody drives a van into it at one point -- it seems too tidy a sell. I expected better from Guillermo del Toro, but then again, who knows, he has to sell his film to somebody to get the funds for it, maybe the studio expects him to put product placements in. We saw "Lady Bird" and there was a big boost for Doritos at a specific moment, too.
There's a lot more about the film that, thinking about later, I picked out like loose threads from a Bed Bath and Beyond towel; but I'm going to let it all go.