In Which I Squee About PAUL
OMGOMGOMG. Okay, so I was all aflutter about it on twitter and now that I've calmed myself a bit I can talk about Paul coherently! :) It helps.
The tl;dr spoiler free version is that I loved it. I thought it was a lot of fun, and while very much lacking in that element Edgar brings - still VERY MUCH Simon and Nick. You can really tell they put a lot of themselves into it. And Seth Rogan was tolerable, no... I mean it! Good delivery *and* I didn't have to look at his halfhearted mugging.
Okay, now the fun stuff. :P I could not believe how amazingly frank they were about addressing the gay thing, outright saying "Why does everybody assume we're gay?" It was a really great nod I think. That said, HORRIBLY SLASHY OMG SLASH. I'm so writing it already. For me a lot of the slash hinges on the fact that in my mind a big part of Clive's problem is that he's very much attached to Graeme. My reading (given that I've only seen it once and have had the laser surgery for permanent slash goggles) of the character is that he's in love with Graeme, they've probably fooled around (desperation, drunkenness, I'm not sure the how portion) but when it comes down to it Graeme is just not interested in a physical relationship. However, for all intents and purposes they may as well be in a sexless marriage - a VERY HAPPY sexless marriage. What I see in Paul's interactions with Clive separately (particularly that somewhat too long scene where Paul asks Clive if they're gay... and the scene in the front seat of the RV while Ruth & Graeme are "talking" and Clive admits to being jealous of her - and Paul for interrupting their together time) is that Paul's contribution to Clive's life is showing him that it's okay to be bisexual (which is reaching, yes - I admit) and more importantly that he can operate separately from Graeme.
Okay, slash goggles aside I really like the parallels in the film and Simon & Nick's life - I really think it stands as a way of working though the fact that their personal relationship has evolved and they've both moved on to separate lives both professionally and personally. And yes, the lines will continue to crisscross (they are FREGG after all) they can't ever go back to where they were before. They've matured, grown, and made a place for themselves in the world.
I think it's exceptionally interesting.
The film as a whole I thought was really quite funny. Missing the Edgar-ness, quite a bit, but not without merit. There were a few scenes I didn't particularly like and thought were a bit too long (in particular the aforementioned scene with Paul & Clive) and the kind of extreme atheism tilt made me feel a tiny bit uncomfortable given that I know people like the religious nuts... personally.. VERY PERSONALLY. I see why they went that way with the religious subplot, but it ended up feeling a bit preachy. I'm sure they're getting a lot of flack from the Christians about it.
Jason Bateman totally steals the show for me, and his turn around was the highlight of the film for me - I literally shouted "FUCK YEA!" in the theater when The Boss got punched in the face (and that quote?? FUCKING PRICELESS).
And the death. I gotta talk about that, because I knew what was gonna happen and I was freaking out. I like that Clive was right beside him, holding his hand and just looking utterly lost at the fact that he's losing his Graeme while at the same time they BOTH held on to this whole "this isn't actually real, is it?" frame of mind. I think that moment said more about their personalities than the entire film did.
Which reminds me, I am totally fucking pleased as punch their lives aren't really covered at all. The main characters are essentially a blank slate to write for! It's like they had the fangirls in mind. Hah.
So, there you have it. :) Slashy, wonderful, funny as hell. I won't be seeing it in the theater again, but will definitely buy it when the DVD comes out.
The tl;dr spoiler free version is that I loved it. I thought it was a lot of fun, and while very much lacking in that element Edgar brings - still VERY MUCH Simon and Nick. You can really tell they put a lot of themselves into it. And Seth Rogan was tolerable, no... I mean it! Good delivery *and* I didn't have to look at his halfhearted mugging.
Okay, now the fun stuff. :P I could not believe how amazingly frank they were about addressing the gay thing, outright saying "Why does everybody assume we're gay?" It was a really great nod I think. That said, HORRIBLY SLASHY OMG SLASH. I'm so writing it already. For me a lot of the slash hinges on the fact that in my mind a big part of Clive's problem is that he's very much attached to Graeme. My reading (given that I've only seen it once and have had the laser surgery for permanent slash goggles) of the character is that he's in love with Graeme, they've probably fooled around (desperation, drunkenness, I'm not sure the how portion) but when it comes down to it Graeme is just not interested in a physical relationship. However, for all intents and purposes they may as well be in a sexless marriage - a VERY HAPPY sexless marriage. What I see in Paul's interactions with Clive separately (particularly that somewhat too long scene where Paul asks Clive if they're gay... and the scene in the front seat of the RV while Ruth & Graeme are "talking" and Clive admits to being jealous of her - and Paul for interrupting their together time) is that Paul's contribution to Clive's life is showing him that it's okay to be bisexual (which is reaching, yes - I admit) and more importantly that he can operate separately from Graeme.
Okay, slash goggles aside I really like the parallels in the film and Simon & Nick's life - I really think it stands as a way of working though the fact that their personal relationship has evolved and they've both moved on to separate lives both professionally and personally. And yes, the lines will continue to crisscross (they are FREGG after all) they can't ever go back to where they were before. They've matured, grown, and made a place for themselves in the world.
I think it's exceptionally interesting.
The film as a whole I thought was really quite funny. Missing the Edgar-ness, quite a bit, but not without merit. There were a few scenes I didn't particularly like and thought were a bit too long (in particular the aforementioned scene with Paul & Clive) and the kind of extreme atheism tilt made me feel a tiny bit uncomfortable given that I know people like the religious nuts... personally.. VERY PERSONALLY. I see why they went that way with the religious subplot, but it ended up feeling a bit preachy. I'm sure they're getting a lot of flack from the Christians about it.
Jason Bateman totally steals the show for me, and his turn around was the highlight of the film for me - I literally shouted "FUCK YEA!" in the theater when The Boss got punched in the face (and that quote?? FUCKING PRICELESS).
And the death. I gotta talk about that, because I knew what was gonna happen and I was freaking out. I like that Clive was right beside him, holding his hand and just looking utterly lost at the fact that he's losing his Graeme while at the same time they BOTH held on to this whole "this isn't actually real, is it?" frame of mind. I think that moment said more about their personalities than the entire film did.
Which reminds me, I am totally fucking pleased as punch their lives aren't really covered at all. The main characters are essentially a blank slate to write for! It's like they had the fangirls in mind. Hah.
So, there you have it. :) Slashy, wonderful, funny as hell. I won't be seeing it in the theater again, but will definitely buy it when the DVD comes out.