I probably have brain damage. I want to state that outright because I think it has had an impact on how I write. Or not. I’ll get more into that, obviously. In yesterday’s post, I talked a bit about how I write. I don’t do what is commonly thought of as the right way to write. I don’t do it the first thing in the morning. I don’t do an outline (except in my head). I write a lot of garbage. That’s normal, but I write more of it because I’m so prolific. I edit as I go, which is a no-no as well.
This is the story of my life. I don’t do what I’m supposed to do just because I’m supposed to do it. It’s why I don’t identify as a woman any longer. It’s why I give a side eye to ‘but tradition’ or ‘but faaaaamily’. I have never understood why I should accept something is good just because society declares it as good. This is doubly so because as a minority, I have had to endure so many different kinds of isms across my life.
I am a weirdo, yes. This has put me on the fringe of society all my life. This has caused me no end of heartache, but it’s also been a strength. I have a bad tendency of being a people-pleaser–except when it comes to my writing. I mean, I do self-edit, but when it comes to how I write and the things I write about, I just don’t give a shit. I know that there is no way I can write about something that will have mass appeal. I just don’t have that in me. I am not a mass appeal person. When I allow even a sliver of the real me to slip through, I get in trouble. I don’t like most of all pop culture, and I’ve learned to keep that opinion to myself.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not going to say I like Star Wars, for example. I don’t. I saw the first movie when I was eight or nine and absolutely hated it. I cannot tell you why, but I loathed it with every fiber of my being. I have seen the second movie (I’m talking the original trilogy), which I did not like either. That was the last Star Wars movie I’ve seen–oh, except for the horrid Christmas movie that Lucas tries to pretend never existed. I have no interest in the series, and I’m gobsmacked how fans just gobble down any shit Disney throws their way.
Same with many popular shows and other movies. The last two movies I’ve seen were Knives Out (Rian Johnson) and Everything Everywhere All At Once (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert). I hated the former and loved the latter. Except the last monologue by Michelle Yeoh, which, sadly, soured me on the movie in whole over time. I still think it’s a great movie, but that last speech from Evelyn to Joy knocked it down a peg for me. And, quite frankly, took it out of 10 out of 10 territory for me.
THe former movie, on the other hand, was not even a 5 out of 10 for me. I went in with high hopes. I love Poirot books and Suchet as Poirot is beyond compare. I am down for a collab of very famous people acting their hearts out in a hijinks murder mystery. Which was what I thought Knives Out would be.
I was not hopeful after watching the trailer, but I tried to tell myself that it could be better than the trailer. Spoiler: It wasn’t. I hate the hypercut nature of the movie and the tired tropes that ran throughout the movie. Also, how pretentious Rian Johnson was in imploring reviewers not to give the twist away.
My dude. Brah. I…I knew the first moment the perp walked onto the screen that they were the perp. I tried to tell myself that maybe it wasn’t true and maybe it was a red herring. It was not, and I was fuming by the end of the movie.
I know I am in the minority about this movie, which is not unexpected. I have not seen the sequel because I hated the original so much. My brother said it was ok, but nothing special. I tweeted throughout the movie in anticipation that I would enjoy it. Boy, was I wrong–so very wrong. The only thing I liked about it was that the cast was really fucking good. Stellar, in fact. There is a scene in which Jamie Curtis is gleefully chewing up the scenery, and it gives me so much life.
Funnily, she was also in EEAO in a much different role. In the former movie, she was a woman in a very rich and prominent family. She is well-kept, dressed in rich clothing, but does not hide the fact that she’s an old woman. She looks great! She finds out that her hubby (Don Johnson) is cheating on her, and she rips him a new one. He’s so good in this, too. That’s one of the things that makes me really mad at the movie. It’s star-studded, and all of the cast except the lead actor are fantastic. And she’s only bad because her role is so hideously written. She is an unknown and she does the best she can, but the script is horrid.
It’s such utter trash. I winced the whole way through. All the characters were one-note and stereotypes. I know I’ve read thousands of murder mysteries, which has honed my perp-recognizing chops, but this movie was painful to watch.
I have always liked Jamie Lee Curtis, though I have not watched many (or any) of her movies. These two movies elevated my respect for her to an nth degree. In the latter, she was a frumpy, grouchy IRS woman who did not take any shit from anyone. The way she was willing to make herself look downright unappealing was a testament to her commitment to acting. I know it sounds weird to say, but given how much it’s drummed in female American actors’ heads that their value was solely in how attractive they were, I admire her for shrugging all that off.
How the hell did I get to that point? Oh, yes. Me being a weirdo doing what I want no matter what. The upside to this is that I don’t give a fuck when it comes to the content of what I actually write. I know it’s going to be outre and fringe, and probably outrageous to more than a few people. There’s freedom in that, and I’m going to use it to spur me on.