Monday, December 24, 2007

Secret Knowledge

I want to give you two film synopses.

1) A man receives a letter from a former lover of his. She wants to be his sugar mama. There is no return address. So, he travels to several of his former lovers searching for the one who sent this letter.

2) A man receives a letter from a former lover of his. She says that they have a son. There is no return address. So, he travels to several of his former lovers searching for the one who sent this letter.

The latter synopsis is from the movie Broken Flowers (2005). It was a small, independent movie starring Bill Murray and was directed by Jim Jarmusch. It was very well-received. I read a number of glowing reviews. But at the end of each one, I felt something was missing. This plot sounded so familiar to me, but no one mentioned it. I wanted to know what movie I was thinking of, but I couldn't remember.

I eventually figured it out. Anyone care to take a guess?

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So, no one did care to take a guess. That's cool. I'm not wounded.

To satisfy apparently no one's curiosity, the first plot description belongs to...The Ladies Man!

Perhaps no critic felt it necessary to bring up the similarities, but my guess is that very few of them had seen both. This may be more accurate considering that there are twice as many reviews for Broken Flowers as there are for The Ladies Man on Rotten Tomatoes.

Anyway, I feel I'm part of a very special class of moviegoer who has seen both. That's basically what all this has been about.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

When I grow old, I want to be Robert Mitchum.

Sorry. I've been in rehearsals and unable to write any reviews or anything. Soon, and very soon.

In lieu of a new blog, please enjoy Ebert's interviews with Robert Mitchum.