It's been awhile since I've had a celebrity crush.
Though
I've kept my childhood obsession with Billy Ray Cyrus alive for
literary effect, the truth is that somehow, that giddy, love-struck,
bursting at the seams excitement I once felt for his voice on It
Won't Be The Last or Somebody New has transformed itself over
the years into a sophisticated, reasoned appreciation of more tangible
role models with good grammar and better haircuts - professors, CEOs,
family, successful Georgetown alumni... Chalk it up to the downside of
privilege, but flirting with success in the academic and business worlds
led me to forget what it really feels like to be artistically
inspired.
FUCK, though. (Don't curse). If
there's anything more heart-wrenchingly beautiful than watching the man
of your dreams tear off his shirt and do the Achy Breaky in front of a
thousand adoring women, it's watching a sitcom actor that had barely
crossed your radar humbly, seemingly effortlessly, captivate your heart
and mind for hours straight.
I'm hardly a
film c
ritic. But last Saturday night, at the screening of happythankyoumoreplease, I remembered what it's like to be so utterly enamored
with and inspired by someone's work, that you practically lose your
voice searching for words to do it justice.
Josh Radnor
has written and directed a film to which my generation can
intellectually, and emotionally relate. Not in the way that we 'related'
to Shakespeare in senior English or felt moved by Stravinsky's Rite of
Spring in Music Theory 101. The tone he strokes throughout evokes those
moments of ephemeral delight and heartbreak - a bittersweet first kiss
in the rain, funnel cake on a crisp fall day, the sinking
self-disappointment and regret over a drunken, empty one-night stand...
The characters and plot are as enveloping as a southern rainstorm and
as tangible as a scrabble board, to the point you're convinced he's
cheating and worked with at least 8 letters. He strips us of references
as modern as Twitter or as comforting as McDonald's, begging us instead
to re-focus on what's real - the optimism of a generation struggling to
find a voice and celebrate what's right in this world, hidden away from
the clamor of information overload. He reminds us that the suburbia born
and raised, privileged college graduate doesn't need to bear the
burdens of an Ivy League education and a Wall Street career, but can
instead be celebrated for the wit, sarcasm, and authenticity of an
irresponsible but well-intentioned hope.
The director of
SFIFF forewarned the audience that watching the film would make you want
to have sex, over, and over, and over again. For my fellow movie-goers
that night, I can only hope the molecules on the face of the person
sitting next to you rearranged themselves as needed. For my part, it was
if the hustle and bustle of my technology-driven life had disappeared,
and all that remained were the city lights above, illuminating a
slightly different path than the one I was sure to have set out on...
and all I wanted to do was write, over, and over, and over again...
I
can't remember the exact, awkwardly ineloquent words I did manage to
gather when I met Josh at the after party. I almost didn't want to say
Hi, for fear he'd really turn out to be an egoti
stical jerk and my magic
carriage would turn back into a pumpkin. Desperately racking my brains,
I searched all evening for something that might pique his interest, an
intelligent conversation topic other than "oh my god you're amazing,"
but my mind went blank and I essentially blurted out something to that
effect. If you're out there, Mr. Ted Mosby, thank you for humoring me,
with a smile and handshake that will keep me on cloud 9 for quite some
time. All I can say is:
Happy. Thank You. More, more, more,
please?I
think I might be kind of maybe ok who am I kidding please don't get
another gorgeous celebrity girlfriend and break my heart too soon
because I am, officially inspired and in love.
Thank you for the advice. Pauline Kael n'a qu'à bien se tenir;)
Should go out in France soon...
Xavier From the delaville cafe
Posted by: Doobs | July 10, 2011 at 03:51 PM