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Punch-Drunk Love fell in between Boogie Nights and
Magnolia for me on the Paul Thomas Anderson continuum, where
Boogie Nights didn't do a whole lot for me but Magnolia
rocked my world so hard I couldn't stop talking about it for
weeks. Punch-Drunk Love is definitely near the higher end of
the spectrum, even though it was spectacularly uncomfortable to watch
most of the time. There were many beautiful moments, however, and the
dialogue often had an Ionesco-like rhythm that was very very
funny. Emily Watson and Adam Sandler were absolutely ridiculous as a
couple, but I don't think the point was whether they were believable
or not. I think Anderson was taking the piss out of the
romance-by-numbers crap that Hollywood churns out. "See? My
story is no more unlikely than yours, really." I am familiar with the
power of a stalker crush, obsessive interest which would help explain
why Watson's Lena doesn't find Sandler's Barry terrifying once she
actually starts talking to him. I also loved how Anderson used Jeremy
Blake's art to transition from one part of the story to the next. It
was a brilliant convention that gave me little bursts of rapture.
'Tis the season for holiday parties, and I knocked three out of the
way this week. Take one pair of tuxedo pants, just change the tops
and accessories. Highlights so far have included the decadent
gingerbread at the CX party, walking barefoot around the California
Academy of Sciences at the tail end of the Leapfrog party, and warm
camaraderie at Meriko and Russell's
tree-trimming.
Saturday evening I went to
ODC
Theater to see Janice Garrett and Dancers, local modern dance at
its finest. The first half of the show premiered Hither Thither
and Unmarked Boxes, the first a joyous fusion of traditional
and modern movement and the latter a humorously angst-ridden piece set
to the music of the Tin Hat Trio that had an amazing moment at the end
when the four dancers faced the audience and made a motion
as if they were laying their hearts bare. After the intermission Kara
Davis and Heather Tietsort performed the sparse Otherwise, a
perfect evocation of the Arvo Pärt Richard Hawkins played for
them on piano. I was afraid to move or draw breath during the entire
piece for fear of breaking the spell. Finally, the entire company
returned to the stage for the sublime Ostinato as modern
courtiers moving in elaborately ritualized steps. Is it any
coincidence that Garrett got her B.S. in Mathematics before going on
to get her M.A. in Dance?
Later that evening I gathered my posse and headed out to a (literally)
underground house party to hear
Galen. The
posse grew restless, however, and dragged me off to the Tenderloft
for electronic music of a different flavor. In retrospect, I probably
should have stayed at the first party and just cabbed it back to where
my car was parked, but these sort of logistics are never so clear in
the moment.
Punch-Drunk Love
Janice Garrett and
Dancers
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Heidi J. De Vries
