Street Fairs, Hotel Room Chairs and Lots of Pie

The bad news about having a street fair literally right outside your door is that you’re kind of stuck there for the day—you know that if you leave, it’ll be a nightmare getting back so you may as well stay put and enjoy yourself. So the good news is that the Los Feliz Street Fair was a fun time, with lots of food, music, people to run into, all the good stuff. By late last night the street was still closed off as stuff was being taken down. For a few minutes I was tempted to run madly through the empty street like I was Mickey Rourke in ANGEL HEART, but I never got around to it. By this morning it was all gone.

Of the two movies I saw over the weekend, exactly two of them dealt with unwanted pregnancies. This was unintentional. Judd Apatow’s KNOCKED UP was very enjoyable and I particularly liked Paul Rudd for his scene in the hotel room and Leslie Mann (Mrs. Apatow) for any time she says the word “fuck”. No, scratch that—any time that Leslie Mann is onscreen is enjoyable. She steals the movie. One scene she plays with Craig Robinson (Darryl on THE OFFICE) as a club bouncer is the best thing of the entire 132 minutes. There’s also some dialogue about MUNICH that is pretty brilliant. I still preferred THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN, a movie with a main couple in Steve Carell & Catherine Keener that are funnier and more compelling than Seth Rogen & Katherine Heigl and an ensemble that just felt more realized to me. But yes, there are lots of laughs.


I didn’t know that an unexpected pregnancy was part of the plot of WAITRESS. Honestly, I don’t have much to say about it. And far be it from me to criticize the creative work of someone who was brutally murdered. Adrienne Shelly was a very good actress and what happened to her was horrible. She’s very good here in her supporting role as are Cheryl Hines, Eddie Jemison and Keri Russell, who carries the movie nicely. And the pies that Russell’s character creates throughout all look very tasty. It’s a nice movie. A nice movie. Take your mother to see it. That’s about all I have to say about it. Moving on.