Television Guilty Pleasures

What makes a guilty pleasure? Do you keep it a secret? Do you love it even more because you are embarrassed by it? Well, I'm airing my dirty laundry right here, right now. My guilty pleasure is trashy TV shows, preferably for the teenage set. If the characters are still in high school, then I'd probably love it. As a college graduate and a bit of an entertainment snob, it pains me to admit how much I love my bad TV. Now, don't get me wrong, I have a long list of intriguing, complex shows that I adore. But, I can freely admit on a first date that I watch Dexter. What does it say about me that I love The Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars? Nothing good, I can imagine.

In order to feel more justified in my tastes, I am going to embark of a study of bad TV. I have a list of criteria for any show to become a guilty pleasure. It goes as follows:

1. Are the characters in high school?

2. Do said characters dress and act more adult than I do?

3. Are the mores of the show morally ambiguous?

Don't I sound smart? See, mom, the TV isn't melting my brain. And, finally:

4. Are there lots of handsome men to look at?

Both TVD and PLL fit these criteria in spades. Shall we examine the specimens?

Exhibit A: PLL centers around a group of four friends (clockwise: Hanna, Emily, Aria and Spencer) who are being hounded by the mysterious "A." A year ago, the leader of their posse, Alison, was murdered. She knew all of their secrets, and now "A" knows them too. It's a complicated web we weave when first we deceive, and the plot is a doozy. Characters come out of nowhere, "A" appears to be a coordinated home intruder, computer hacker and mastermind, and, to top it all off, they're all supposed to be 16. Crazy? Yes. Fun? Most definitely. Money is stolen, friendships are betrayed, and one of the liars has a romance with her English teacher, Ezra Fitz. Granted, they didn't know who the other was when they met in a bar (who lets a 16-year-old into a bar?), and Ezra can't be more than 6 or 8 years older than Aria, but it's still a felony. However, I love it. This show is not trying to be something deep. It's cotton candy for your brain; sweet, sugary, and a total treat.

Exhibit B: The Vampire Diaries is the story of Elena (center) and her relationship with vampires Stefan Salvatore (left) and his brother Damon (right). Human Elena is dating Stefan, but she has chemistry with Damon, who is secretly in love with her but can't seem to stop killing people. Oh, and there are lots of other vampires (including one of Elena's best friends and her birth mother), witches (Elena's other best friend), werewolves and general mayhem. There's lots of drinking, killing and other forms of debauchery, but there's something about this show that's fantastic. At times it's spooky, at others it's steamy, and there are lots of sweet moments between the characters. Also, even when the dialogue is a bit hokey, -- with a plot like this, it has to be -- the actors are still very convincing.

I've discovered a lot about guilty pleasures during my extensive field work. I think the key to them is escapism. I'm not in a love triangle between two vampire brothers, and I've never dated a teacher, but I enjoy seeing other people in a melodrama. At the end of the day, these are soap operas that give us a window into someone else's life. And I can shut that window any time I want. But not tonight; The Vampire Diaries is on.

Awards Season: "The King's Speech" Rules All

It is a truth universally acknowledged that I've always been a Colin Firth fan. I know that may sound hyperbolic, but I kid you not. I first saw the 1987 version of The Secret Garden when I was about 4, and, at the very end, a dashing adult version of crippled Colin Firth as Colin Creevey comes back the the garden during WWI; he proposes to Mary Lennox and ruins all other men for a very young me. While this is an obvious liberty taken with the book, and his time onscreen may have been 5 minutes at the most, Colin made a lasting impression. Most Austen-aholics know him as the best Fitzwilliam Darcy ever seen on the silver screen, and I couldn't agree more whole-heartedly. He makes being a regency hottie seem so easy and has become the ultimate Darcy by which all are compared.

But Colin is more than a pretty face; the man can act! His most recent role as King George VI in The King's Speech was nothing short of spectacular. I laughed, I cried, and I basked in Colin's superb performance. He was sheer perfection. As someone who stuttered when she was younger, I was reminded of all of my anger and exhaustion with my speech issues, and I wasn't trying to guide a nation through a war like Bertie. You know a performance is great when the audience forgets they aren't actually in the story. For the last 30 minutes of the film, I held my breath. My stomach churned; my eyes streamed with tears. I was a wreck, and it was all because of Colin Firth being amazing. Yet, as intensely wrought as the drama was, Colin was funny. I couldn't believe that I laughed almost as much as I cried. Don't just take my word for it; people applauded in the movie theater I was in, and friends in Colorado and Missouri said the same thing happened at their viewings. Seems that no one needs convincing about this sweet film's merits.

Colin Firth will sweep this awards season, and it couldn't go to a more deserving actor. While he'll always be Darcy to me, he deserves every accolade that come his way for this amazing performance. Natalie Portman may be the darling this awards season, but I'm thinking strictly of Colin when the Oscars roll around.

What's Coming: Birth of Impressionism at the Frist

Saying "I love museums" for me is like saying "I breathe all the time." It's totally obvious and a bit of an understatement. Ever since I can remember, I have been obsessed with going to museums. In college, I took an amazing art class, and one Saturday in April we drove on a bus 2 hours to go to 3 different museums in St. Louis. To say that I was in heaven might not do justice to that amazing day. Sadly, for the last 4 years during school, I've been a bit museum-deprived. Not only were there zero museums where I lived, but the only way to get to a one would have been to drive 2 hours. So, I'm making up for lost time now that I've returned to my hometown of Nashville.

We have a gem of a museum called the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. It is a fabulous art deco building that used to be the post office; I think that the style is better suited to it's current job as a museum. It's only been open since 2001, and this year has been it's best year yet. The last exhibit was a collection of couture fashion from the Victoria Albert museum in London. I went on the last day it was open, and it was spectacular. Now, opening on October 15, the Musee d'Orsay has loaned "The Birth of Impressionism" mega-exhibit that boasts some of the finest masterpieces from the movement. I am beyond excited to see it. Manet and Degas will be there, and so will I!

The Lost Art of Spontaneity: The Demise of the Video Rental

As a devotee of Netflix, I can't say that I've missed the hassle of going to Blockbuster. I would get there just in time to see the movie I wanted disappear into someone else's hands, and I would end up circling the alphabetized new releases, trying to pick something. Thanks to Netflix and On Demand movies, I can instantly watch any number of of films without having to leave the house; it's fantastic.

Yet, I can't help but miss Blockbuster at times. For instance, I watched Meet the Parents with my family the other night. In the usual banter that happens post-film, we discussed the sequel and how we'd never seen it. If Blockbuster was still around, I could've hopped into my car and 30 minutes later had Meet the Fockers. Instead, I had to add it to my queue, where is has remained for weeks and weeks because I keep on forgetting to return Upstairs, Downstairs. I don't even feel like watching it any more; none of us do. But, it has remained in my queue and in my mind ever since. As far as instantly watching movies and TV goes, Netflix and On Demand are obviously the better choice. And, I can definitely say that late fees were the bane of my family's membership at Blockbuster; every visit cost upwards of $20. However, having the choice to go rent a movie was nice. Gone are the days when I was in high school and would go to Blockbuster with my friends in our pajamas since none of the movies at the sleepover were satisfactory. Waiting for 2 days for a movie takes the fun and enjoyment out of the whole rental experience. And, there's no yellow popcorn or stale gummi bears with my Netflix.

Review: Ate, Prayed, but didn't Love

We all have the best intentions, and I have been meaning to post more. So, to fulfill that promise, I am sharing my opinions about the movie I saw this weekend, Eat Pray Love. I must preface this review by admitting that I am not a big Julia Roberts fan. She plays the same character over and over, and, while I will always love Pretty Woman, I find it hard to part with my $10 to see Vivian again and again. Also I feel I should say that I didn't like the book Eat Pray Love. I couldn't even finish it because I got fed up. I loved the idea of the story, and I thought that the part of the book in Italy was fantastic. And, I admire Liz Gilbert's writing voice, but, after 200 pages, I couldn't hep but feel like I was being preached at. However, I still wanted to see the film version of the story to at least marvel at the scenery and see Julia Roberts' 140 costume changes (what a suitcase she must've had, huh?).

These are my problems with the film: 1. In one scene, Liz is extolling the virtues of getting rid of the guilt of indulging in food and loving your muffin top (the bit of fat that creeps over the sides of your pants like the top of that fluffy breakfast pastry). Yet, in the very next scene, the film cuts to Liz lying on the floor while her firend tries to zip her into some pants. Isn't that a contradiction? If you aren't worried about your size, why not get some bigger pants? And, 2., my other qualm with the story is that, everywhere she goes, Liz sees herself through the men she's with. Husband, rebound relationship, dreamy Italian tutor, bumper-sticker-talkin' Richard from Texas, and Brazilian hottie Felipe. Even though she's on a path of self-discovery and awareness, Liz still needs men on her journey from misery to mistakes to learning a new language, to forgive, and to love.

There were 2 things that I loved in the film. First, was Richard from Texas, played by the fabulous Richard Jenkins. The character's wisdom was solid, but it was Jenkins' honest, heart-wrenching vulnerabilty and tough-love attitude that made him my favorite character. He might have had only 20 minutes of screen time, but it wasn't nearly enough. When Richard left the ashram in India, I felt sad and wished he could've stuck around for the rest of the story. The second best part of the movie can be summed up in 2 words: Javier. Bardem. Super dreamy, super sexy, and a great actor to boot. What more does a movie need? I couldn't stand dealing with Liz's wishy washy ways, and her mimsy-mumsy mumbling about not being ready to commit seemed even more ridiculous with Bardem onscreen. He can make me a mix tape any time he wants.

Overall, the movie wasn't bad, but I didn't love it. The saving graces were the above actors, the beautiful locales, and the serious closeups of food that seemed almost erotic in the cinematographer's treatment of them. It was a beautiful movie but, like a big plate of pasta, a few hours later, I was unsatisfied.

Art Imitating Life: The Post-Grad Ennui

Now that I am officially a college graduate and have joined the legions of unemployed Americans (hello comrades!), I thought I would make a list of characters from films, books and TV that have all experienced what I am lovingly calling "post-grad ennui." What is P-GE? It's the feeling after leaving college where the world is your oyster, but you can't shuck it for the life of you. I think that all of these characters understand. Class, shall we begin?


1. Ben Braddock- The Graduate

First and foremost we have Ben from The Graduate. I know it's an obvious choice, this being a post-grad list and all, but Ben practically invented P-GE. Even though this film was made over 40 years ago, it still rings true today. Well maybe not all of Ben's story (ahem, scene above), but the very beginning of the movie is eerily familiar to everyone who has completed his or her higher education. Surrounded by people asking him what he's going to do now, Ben is so obviously uncomfortable that the audience begins to cringe too. Who from the class of 2010 hasn't felt like this?


2. Harold Chasen: Harold and Maude

OK, I know that Harold is only 19, but what he experiences in this gem of a film is equivalent to graduating from school (he just graduates from the school of life). Harold is morbid, to say the least. He constructs several fake suicides, drives a hearse and attends funerals...for fun. He's twisted, but all of that changes once he meets the vivacious Maude. Maude is almost 80, and she has lived enough to fill 10 lives. She steals cars, dances in fields and shows Harold how much fun being alive can be. Thanks to Maude, Harold's ennui dissipates, and he goes on with life, dancing and playing the banjo to Cat Stevens ("If you want to sing out, sing out!").


3. Rory Gilmore- Gilmore Girls

As a devotee of this beloved TV show, I can't help but think of the younger Ms. Gilmore when wondering about life after college (and no, I'm not going to mention that trite disappointment Post-Grad Survival Guide...it was a solid effort by Alexis Bledel, but I think Rory's experience can resonate with more people.). Rory was a super star at Yale; she edited The Yale Daily News and got great grades. She had job offers at small papers, but she decided to go for the top and apply for a fellowship with the holy grail of newspapers, The New York Times. Imagine the audience's shock when Rory, perfect, over-achieving Rory, didn't get the fellowship. Granted this was during the show's final season when the creators of Gilmore Girls got into a tiff with the network and left the series and the plot in the lurch, and many die-hard GG fans chose to think that this season doesn't exist. I, however, liked some parts of the storyline, and I think that Rory's career heartbreak was poignant and realistic. She shook out in the end, getting to ride around on Barack Obama's campaign bus (this was back in 2007) and write about him. Her P-GE was short-lived but keenly felt.


What I love most about these characters is the fact that, in the end, things worked out, in their own way. Ben, Harold and Rory's stories all end differently, but they do leave room for the future because, once you've graduated, the future is all you've got.

3 things: Good, Better and Best

I have three matters of business to discuss today, and the first is only OK. This weekend I saw Date Night. As an avid lover of all things Carell and Fey, I was beyond excited for this movie. Two of the greatest comedic actors of the day in one movie...how could it go wrong? Well, folks, it did. I liked it, but my expectations were not met. It was as if the filmmaker was so focused on the film's stars that he forgot about one important thing: the plot! The story careened and meandered for the duration of the film, and I think that the plot was sacrificed to give the actors time to ad lib. Unfortunately, the best part of the movie was the credits. The bloopers showed the genius of Steve and Tina, and I wish that the unfortunate scene involving a stripper pole (an eternity for the audience was endured while the married couple awkwardly danced in the most unlikely situation) was shortened so that the bloopers could have been longer. Date Night wasn't bad, but I wouldn't go out with it again.




You know what made up for that disappointment? PBS's Masterpiece Theatre! I love Masterpiece; my whole life, my family and I have gathered around the TV on Sunday nights and watched the bst programming on TV. Last night's presentation of The Diary of Anne Frank was amazing. It's one of my favorite books, and I've lost count of how many times I've read it. I've watched many film adaptations of it, and I think that this one was by far the best I've ever seen. Many films try to portray Anne as a perfect, sweet child, but that's not who Anne was. She was trapped in a tiny space with seven other people. She was angry, mean, and at times very selfish. That's what makes her so wonderful and compelling! She was real. What happened to her is awful, but her legacy has lived on thanks to her diary. She became a woman during perhaps the darkest time of the 20th century, and she writes about the world around her with poise and passion. This movie captured that essence, and I think eighth graders all over the country will watch this in their schools. It's that good. Seriously, watch it now.


And, finally, Glee comes back tomorrow!! Yay! Now, for the tough question...do I watch it or Lost? Decisions, decisions...