Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Off Season Post 4: I Drink from the Holy Grail


Hello there, Readers, and welcome to the fourth installment of this off season. I received a great round of correspondence concerning my big sex scandal story. I’m thrilled that you enjoyed it. I’ve posted a picture of the now infamous pick up truck from that story on my Guy In Austin Facebook fan page if you’d like to check it out. Thanks to my “partner” MH for sending it to me. That picture brings back more memories than I can fit into my head. Hopefully, my story of teenage irresponsibility forced y’all to relive some of your own good memories. Incidentally, I have one or two more stories involving that particular pool. I’m saving them for a slow week, but now you know you have something to look forward to besides my general ramblings. Let’s get to it.

A bit despondent about some things this week, my thoughts took a darker turn than usual and I began to fear that inspiration would not hit me. Because it’s wildflower season here in Austin and the weather was incredible (sorry Midwesterners still shoveling snow), I decided to go for a run around Town Lake. My office sits on the northern shore of the lake so I packed a gym bag and made an upbeat playlist on my iPod in hopes of knocking some ideas loose after the responsibilities of my “real” job were adequately compartmentalized for the evening.

After work, I donned my running attire and hit the trail. As most of you are aware, I have the strength of ten men. However, on this particular day my mortality clung tightly on my back matched only by the first round of heat that Austin had seen in some time. We don’t technically have a “Winter” here in Austin. In fact, last year “Winter” occurred on a Thursday; however, temperatures through March are traditionally mild. On the day of my run it was unseasonably warm and I was clearly not used to it. Needless to say, inspiration remained several steps beyond my stride as I struggled to maintain my pace. Not even the Duran Duran on my iPod could push me forward. Alright, I’m kidding about the Duran Duran part---maybe.

As I made my way along the trail I turned onto the stairs leading to the Congress Street Bridge—a bridge inhabited by over 1 million Mexican free-tailed bats by the way—and began to run across the walkway on the west side of the bridge. As I did, I noticed my shoe had become untied and I stopped to fix the problem. When I looked up I saw a lone graffito on the newly painted white wall of the bridge. It simply read, “Smile, you look beautiful today.”

“Smile, you look beautiful today.” I love Austin, Texas. Even the vandals here have a positive message. Honestly, I did smile and as I began my run again my mind began to burst with positive ideas like the shores of Town Lake bursting with bluebonnets, Indian paintbrushes, and purple wine cups. I owe a debt of gratitude to the miscreant who defaced the side of that bridge. Indeed a smile can be found anywhere if you’re open to it. Criminal mischief aside, seeing that changed my entire day. Thank you, positive-thinking juvenile delinquent.

Ideas juggling, I finished my run and came home to enjoy a cool shower and a giant glass of water. I read a little, opened some mail, checked some things online, and turned on the television. Flipping around, I eventually noticed the title of a movie I had heard a lot about but had never seen. My inspiration peaked and I knew I had the subject of my next blog. Yes, Readers, I had come full circle from down in the dumps to up in the clouds and I decided right then and there to watch from start to finish with an open mind the Holy Grail of all chick movies. I would review “The Notebook”.

Disclaimer: Look, I realize that it’s my job here to keep you entertained. Sometimes that involves blatant pandering to the audience and sometimes it involves me just saying “f*ck it” and writing what I want. I realize that the movie is one that evokes a lot of emotions in women. In fact, after tipping my hand and telling a couple of my female friends about my intent to write about it this week, one of them actually became visibly annoyed at the fact that I might attempt to slaughter the movie, which in her mind anyway, would lead to the utter destruction of true love itself. If you’re in the same camp, never fear, I’m certain Lincee Ray at www.ihategreenbeans.com will resurrect whatever I tear down.

After pondering the range of emotions that came to me after watching the movie uninterrupted from beginning to end, I realized that it appealed to different sides of my character. Like some modern day male Sybil, I had trouble reconciling my personalities’ reactions to the movie.

Ultimately, I decided to review “The Notebook” in two parts: My Inner Male and My Inner Female. I’ve carefully segregated the various aspects of my persona that had feelings about the movie. I’d love to hear which one you identify with the most. For the record, I liked the movie more than I hated it. Now, allow my personalities to elaborate.

For those of you who have never seen the 2004 movie—I’m probably speaking to my male readers here—it’s a story set in the 1940’s that focuses around a lumber yard worker named Noah Calhoun and a jobless rich girl named Allie Hamilton. The narration takes place in the present day at an old folks home where an old man reads the love story to a forgetful old woman. We soon learn that the old folks are, in fact, Noah and Allie in the waning years of their lives.

Noah reads to Allie in hopes that her dementia will subside long enough for a moment of clarity so he can have her again, if not for just a few minutes. The entire thing is based on the book by Nicholas Sparks. Normally, I prefer a book over a movie, but I didn’t read it in this case. I have no opinion on what type of writer he is, nor do I care for purposes of this post. This one is about the movie.

FINALLY, here are my reviews of “The Notebook” from two, very opposite sides of my personality.

THE CYNICAL, MACHO, UNCOMPROMISINGLY MALE SIDE OF ME

The movie begins with a soft music and some guy rowing on a lake at sunrise while some old broad looks knowingly out the window as if she was trying to remember where she’d seen geese before. I was already bored stiff.

The guy from the Rockford Files comes into her room at the old folks’ home and offers to read to her but the cranky old lady refuses. Frankly, I would have wished her a good day, told her to enjoy her applesauce and water from a plastic cup and bendy straw and left to go play shuffle board on the quad in hopes of hooking up with a lucent sixty-something for one last roll in the hay.

Regardless, Jim Rockford ignores her bitching and begins to read to her about a guy named Noah and a girl named Allie as we flash back to the early ‘40’s before Pearl Harbor was bombed. Noah is played by Ryan Gosling. He’s basically a blonde version of Keanu Reeves when it comes to his range as an actor. He’s wooden, expressionless, and boring. However, he dresses like Brad Pitt, apparently works in a lumberyard, and immediately wants to have sex with Allie when he sees her. The guy who plays “E” on Entourage is his best buddy and despite also dressing like Brad Pitt, he’s basically “E” in “The Notebook”. He tells Noah that Allie and her hoity toity friends are out of his league.

Allie is played by Rachel McAdams who—with the exception of that horrible psycho on a plane movie—plays the same character in every movie, including Wedding Crashers. She’s pretty, virginal but not innocent, and was properly cast. They could have picked someone with bigger cans, but hey, she’ll do. Allie is happy, on summer vacation in Seabrook, South Carolina, and free of responsibility. Ignoring the fact that rich, spoiled girls can never be made whole by the man they marry, Noah decides to c*ck block her date and ask her out.

Noah butts into Allie’s date and Allie’s date sits there like a pansy in a flowerbed despite his date being openly hit on by Noah. Perhaps her date was bored with him as well. At any rate, Noah climbs the Ferris wheel where Allie and her date are riding and proceeds to hang from the ride one handed until she agrees to go out with him. Whatever. If I had been Allie’s date Noah would have been forced to swallow his Brad Pitt hat long before the stunt on the Ferris wheel. Also, if Allie had agreed to go on a date with him while I was shelling out cash for carnival rides and Ferris wheels, she would have been walking her romantic ass all the way home. Romantic moment or not, dance with the one who brought you, Allie. Trolling for men while you’re on a date is not cool; especially in front of your date.

In a very Danny and Sandy-esque fashion, Noah and Allie proceed to gallivant around Seabrook for the entire summer. Despite having a back breaking job in the lumber yard and apparently no money, Noah manages to find time for daytime walks, bike rides, and picnics as he and Allie play a perpetual game of grabass until we learn from Jim Rockford that they fell madly in love. The old lady remains cranky but interested. She bitches some more at James Garner as the stereotypical overweight black nurse enters to give him his medicine before he continues reading. He should have reminded her that Silence is Golden. Either that or he could have reminded her that Duct Tape is Silver. She finally shuts up, preferring golden silence to silver duct tape and he continues reading.

We meet Noah’s affable father played by Sam Shepard, a real life Pulitzer Prize winner, and he makes Allie some pancakes while recounting embarrassing stories about Noah’s speech problem. At least we had a frame of reference for his lack of personality, I thought.

Eventually, Allie’s rich parents come from Atlanta to retrieve their daughter and discover that she’s dating some poor lumberyard worker who dresses like Brad Pitt and acts like Keanu Reeves. Dad and his weird mustache don’t care too much but her domineering, judgey mother does and she and Noah’s plans at happiness are destined to be thwarted.

We later learn that mom fell in love with some guy from the lumber yard but married dad because—all things considered—he was a nice enough guy in spite of his weird mustache and was dripping with cash. Frankly, that scenario was the most believable in the movie. I found her hatred of Noah and her assertion of him as “trash” to be inconsistent with her character. She fell in love with a poor lumber yard guy and ditched the guy for cash; a move she apparently made peace with but regretted for a lifetime. Calling Noah “trash” diminishes the validity of that relationship and her belief in the true love that this whole thing is supposed to be about—in my mind anyway. Allie has family money and is free to pursue her heart. I have no idea why her mother wouldn’t support that. Perhaps it’s because the book was written by a man. It seems that the father should have been the one with the problem and not the mother. Annnyyyyhoooo . . .

Noah takes Ali to a dilapidated plantation home called Windsor Mansion and exposes her to the dangers of unstable ceilings and flammable, brittle wood. He tells her of his dream of restoring the place if only he had the money to do it. Then they stand across from each other and undress before “E” sounds the alarm that Allie’s parents are back in town. Dude. He put up with bike rides, picnics, and flowers all summer and didn’t get any? I began to see why this movie was so sad.

Noah and Allie eventually fight and regretfully break up before her parents haul her spoiled, rich ass back to her mansion in Atlanta. Noah broods a bunch and eventually enlists in the army after hearing about the Pearl Harbor attack. How romantic. Despite undoubtedly being stripped of all his belongings and identity and being shipped off to basic training until eventually ending up on a packed warship and traveling overseas to be placed in the gun sights of angry Aryans vying for world domination and watching “E” from Entourage die on the battlefield, Noah manages to write (and mail) Allie one pristinely penned love letter per day for 365 days. After no response for a year, his pen gives up—but alas, his heart does not. Come on. I laughed to myself at the thought of Noah having the wrong zip code or house number. We eventually learn that her lumber yard-whoring mother has been intercepting all of them.

While Noah is dodging shrapnel, killing Germans, and watching his best friend die, Alli poontangs around the Atlanta social scene with Lon Hammond, a rich guy she met while pretending to volunteer at some place for wounded soldiers. She loves Noah so much that—get this--she boozes it up with the rich folks at fancy galas and eventually gets engaged to Lon Hammond and his money. True love, my ass.

Noah returns home to Atlanta and sees Alli poontanging around with an engagement ring on her finger. Heartbroken, he returns to Seabrook where his dad fortuitously tells him that he’s sold his house so that Noah can buy and renovate the Windsor Mansion. His dad kicks the bucket unexplainably and Noah miraculously and singlehandedly renovates the entire plantation into a perfectly finished and manicured piece of artwork in less time than it takes him to grow a beard and appear Amish despite having limited funds and a new war-widowed girlfriend who undoubtedly insisted on picking out the colors for the walls, drapery, and all of the bedding.

All by himself? Hell, the guy didn’t even ask a contractor for a rough estimate. I asked a guy for a rough estimate once. He kicked me in the balls and then quoted me the price. I’ll be here all week, folks.

Noah even manages to include a furniture shop for himself and a painting studio for Allie complete with the symbolic blank canvas awaiting her return. I assumed the canvas symbolized Gosling’s absence of depth rather than Noah’s undying desire for a blank future with Allie.

While getting her ass kissed in her wedding dress, Allie sees Noah’s picture in the paper next to his high dollar house and faints because she believes he is now Amish. She bathes in her veil and eventually meets her rich, understanding, good looking, tolerant, well-mannered, doting, successful, non-possessive, supportive, giant ring-buying, sensitive fiancé at his office where he happily takes a few moments away from earning a living so she can have the finest things to which she’s become accustomed in order tell him that she’s going to Seabrook to poontang around there for a bit. Incredibly, the guy agrees. Bull. Sh*t.

Allie fills the car her fiancé bought her with gas purchased by money he gave her and heads to Seabrook in search of Noah. She arrives at the new house and after faking like she’s not there to sleep with him she and Noah have a rekindling of sorts as he respectfully recognizes her pending nuptials and opts for a friendship instead. Sparing her the details of his arduous battlefield missive writing, he instead throws her in a rowboat and takes her to see a flock of digitally created geese in a swamp and pretends like they are romantic symbols of their love rather than the angry, noisy, disease carrying fowl that they really are. Allie sits there in her sun dress in amazement as Noah overcomes his sore, pre-arthritic joints and his post traumatic stress disorder so he can transport her spoiled ungrateful ass across the lake. Meanwhile, her fiancé continues to work in anticipation of a family with Allie.

On the way back to the perfectly renovated mansion Noah confesses that he is not, in fact, Amish even though he dresses like he is, wears a beard like an Amish person, and builds wooden furniture. He tells Allie that he’s dedicated his every waking moment since that day on the Ferris wheel to her happiness, even at the cost of his own. As it begins to pour Allie has the balls to drop a “why didn’t you write me” and Noah eventually realizes that he should have used FedEx with a signature requirement rather then relying upon regular mail.

Allie then makes the conscious decision to cheat on her rich, understanding, good looking, tolerant, well-mannered, doting, successful, non-possessive, supportive, giant ring-buying, sensitive fiancé and ends up getting slammed against an antique cupboard while ripping off Noah’s wet, Amish clothes and throwing them on the newly finished wood floor where they undoubtedly soaked into the finish and ruined that section of the wood before Noah ravishes her in the same bed that he ravished the war widow in the day before. Details.

I’m certain that while Allie was painting topless in the studio Noah built her with nothing more than his bare hands and the labor of his undying love Noah was downstairs the following morning sanding the water damage out of the floor in order restain and reseal it. Eventually, her mother and her fiancé figure it out and we avoid the messy conversation about betrayal, dishonesty, infidelity, and self-centeredness that was appropriate. Instead, we get a watered down version of her rich, understanding, good looking, tolerant, well-mannered, doting, successful, non-possessive, supportive, giant ring-buying, and sensitive fiancé actually being—well, understanding, tolerant, non-possessive, supportive, and sensitive about it all.

We cut back to the modern day where we see that James Garner has suffered a series of heart attacks while Allie has drifted aimlessly in and out of interest in the story. We get a glimpse of their children and grand children as the old Noah tells them that he’s not leaving Allie alone. Eventually, she recognizes him for a couple of minutes and they share a dance before she freaks out and has to be sedated. He ends up sneaking into her hospital room and lying in bed with her and, after they agree that their love and conquer all, they die side by side holding hands and are discovered by the stereotypical overweight black nurse the following morning.

It’s at this point in the movie that we’re all supposed to have a tear in our eye and a tissue in our hand reveling in the presence of true, undying love. That’s not what ran through the cynical, macho, uncompromisingly male side of my brain. Basically, “The Notebook” is Forrest Gump except it’s not funny and Noah is not mentally challenged—arguably. The point of “The Notebook” is that no matter how much you love a woman she will inevitably go crazy and drive you to an early death. The entire movie is about a spoiled little rich girl who always got her way.

Picture this movie:

A poor, attractive, hard working girl from a single parent home with no money ventures out to the state fair where she meets the man of her dreams who is from a well-to-do family vacationing for the summer on the rich side of her town. They fall madly in love and spend a summer sharing the simple things that make life worth living. Eventually, the man’s parents send him away from the town and the woman is heartbroken. She spends hours upon hours writing letters in hopes of his return. She pines for him relentlessly seeking solace in no one and dedicating her entire existence to the hope of his return.

He goes to school, lives the fast life and beds dozens of women while living off his family money. He eventually falls in love with another woman with family money who supports him and buys him everything he wants. He accepts her affection and proposes a marriage of convenience only to return to town years later and pray on the affections of the dedicated woman. He lies to his friends and family and moves into the woman’s house where she has kept a room for him despite his lack of contact. He cheats on his fiancé and eventually calls of the wedding so he can be with the other woman.

Not the same movie, is it?

Double Standard. If a woman does this it’s considered “romance” or “undying love.” If a man does the same thing, he’s a cheater and a louse. It’s along the same lines as when a group of women leave their children and their husbands at home in order to get together to drink pinot grigio and pick out sex toys at a friend’s house. Can you imagine having a husband come home and announce that he was leaving for the evening to hang out with his buddies and use some of the family money to buy a couple of sex toys? I suppose that’s just the way the non-renovated plantation crumbles.

Now, for my sensitive take.

SOFT, SENSITIVE, FEMALE SIDE OF ME

The movie begins with a beautiful picture of a mysterious man rowing through undisturbed water at sunrise as if he is the only man on earth. Sunrise symbolizes a new beginning; the dawn of something real; the new presence of light where only dark had been. The speed of is phallic-shaped boat disturbs the peace of pristine, white geese and they fly away catching the attention of a contemplative looking older woman viewing them from a far off window seemingly in search of an answer she once possessed years ago when her mind was clear and her heart was full.

A handsome, kind man enters the room of what we see is a retirement home and offers to read to the woman as her nurse assists her into her chair. We flash back to a positive time before Pearl Harbor when hope and dreams lived inside all Americans, possibility was abundant, and war was a thing that occurred overseas.

We meet the unassuming Noah Calhoun played by Ryan Gosling. His demure, understated manner does little to hide his masculine build and Southern charm. We also meet Allie, an innocent, happy girl on the edge of becoming a woman. She has no idea that fate has placed her heart—indeed her entire life—on a collision course with young Noah.

Noah sees what he loves and attempts to ask Allie on a date. She doesn’t love the man she’s with but is taken aback by Noah’s boldness. She continues to refuse until he throws all caution to the wind and climbs the Ferris wheel in order to convince her of what she already knows. She agrees to go out with him and from that day on they share wonderful picnics, bike rides, and walks through town. Noah is a perfect gentleman and despite his lack of financial resources he showers her with riches that no money can buy. They fall deeply in love and Allie soon realizes that Noah speaks all of her love languages fluently. She is fulfilled and smitten. He is indeed the man of her dreams. He is like a macho, younger, good looking version of Dr. Phil.

Incidentally, I consider myself a gentleman. I was once in the town of Progresso, Mexico at a bar called Belly to Belly where they had $1.25 Corona beers and a mechanical bull. After getting hammered and riding the bull a few times I offered to remove my pants so that one of the girls in the group I was with could put them on over her mini skirt so she could ride the bull. I sat there in my underwear in a Mexican bar while she put on my pants and rode the bull. Who says chivalry is dead? Back to Noah and Allie.

On a night when the summer air is cool and the humidity is low, Noah takes Allie to a plantation home named Windsor Mansion where he has planned a candlelight picnic with wine and all of Allie’s favorite foods. He shares his dream of remodeling the mansion in her honor; sort of like a shrine to their impenetrable love. Grateful, she undresses carefully in anticipation of his strong, calloused, yet gentle hands exploring her taut, young frame in ways she has dreamed of since seeing him hang like a jackass off a Ferris wheel. She loves Noah and knows that words like “banging,” “boning,” “porking,” and “screwing” are not part of his vocabulary. Indeed, the only thing on his mind is tender, passionate love making followed by spooning and cuddling in the soft candlelight.

Unfortunately, before the tender, passionate love making can occur, Noah’s best friend warns that Allie’s heretofore absent parents have returned to Seabrook in search of their daughter. Undaunted—and still passionately in love —Noah respectfully takes her home and listens as Allie argues with her parents about her forbidden love. Distraught, Noah leaves and eventually get stopped by Allie who passively aggressively breaks up with him in the name of saving his heart—and her own. Heartbroken, she is forced to leave town prematurely.

Devastated at the loss of his one, true love Noah dedicates his entire existence to the profession of that love. He pens daily letters from home, aboard ships, and even from the battlefield where every bullet, every German, every explosion bears with it the reminder of his separation from Allie. He longs for her and his heart breaks each morning as he rises from dreams of Allie and his eyes reveal the sight of the insides of his canvas tent miles from the home he longs to share with Allie after completing some difficult yet not impossible renovations by himself including, a small art studio in the westward facing spare bedroom for his true love.

Simultaneously heartbroken, Allie buries herself in her routine. College, fancy balls, charity events, and social functions fill her days, but not her heart. She secretly longs for Noah while pretending to enjoy partying until dawn with rich people on their dime and eventually settling for the affections of a well-meaning, well-to-do veteran she befriended while volunteering her time at an injured soldier hospital in a vain attempt to fill her heart with the love she knew during that fateful Seabrook summer. No, not even the giant diamond engagement ring that would eventually weigh on her left ring finger could compare with the weight of loss upon her heart. She’s forced to poontang around Atlanta, but never stops loving Noah. Yes, time flies like the wind, but fruit flies like bananas. She longs for a simple plantation life.

Engaged, she eventually learns via the newspaper that Noah has grown a beard and miraculously and singlehandedly restored her dream plantation home in less time than it took him to grow the aforementioned beard. She reluctantly deceives her fiancé and returns to seek her one, true love and his multi-million dollar house. They make passionate, unapologetic love after seeing geese and getting caught in a rain storm and eventually marry, have a family, and live a long, fruitful life before dying together, in love and in peace. Sigh……

CONCLUSION

See the difference? I’ll reluctantly admit that I found the movie both interesting and thought provoking. I really did. Yes, it was sappy, unrealistic from a practical point of view, cheesy at times, and very chick oriented. However, the larger picture is that true love never dies and that every woman wants to feel as loved and secure as Allie ultimately ended up feeling—everything else be damned. I get that and I’d venture a guess that most men would too if forced to admit it. As the lonely war widow told Noah, “a woman knows when a man looks into her eyes and sees someone else.” The same is true for a man. And as the old Noah said to his children, “that's my sweetheart in there. Wherever she is, that's where my home is.” That, too, is the truth. The entire movie reminded me of an old Vern Gosdin song titled “Chiseled in Stone.” That song takes two and a half minutes, not two and a half hours. Download it and listen. Let me know what you think.

Well, there it is: My take on “The Notebook”. I hope you enjoyed it. Until next week, take care of yourselves and remind someone that you love them. In the meantime, if you need me, I’ll be growing a beard and remodeling my mansion singlehandedly. DP

29 comments:

  1. I have to say the "THE CYNICAL, MACHO, UNCOMPROMISINGLY MALE SIDE OF ME" was much easier to read. Nice job with offering up your pants for the lady riding the bull. And i like your thoughts on Duct Tape it Silver, and silence is golden. Very nice indeed. (and muzzles are leather...)

    Glad your graffiti is uplifting too! Time to get used to the heat, it's spring everywhere else, which means it's summer in Texas!

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  2. just so you know... my husband was THRILLED when i went to a sex party. and so that you don't clump me in with other wives, i wouldn't care a bit if he went to one with his buddies. since that is not something guys do together, he gets his guy time doing other guy things with his friends and i don't care a bit. i actually think that is one thing that makes our marriage work- we understand that we need to spend time apart and encourage one another to do it.
    -laurie

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  3. post it, nice job. Thanks for recognizing my chivalrous side. laurie, AMEN. Oh, and I'm not clumping you. That's your husband's job! Thanks for reading and commenting. DP

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  4. DP, I enjoyed both of them and found humor in both sides. Glad to hear that guys can watch "chick flicks" and enjoy the real meaning of them. As for the sex toy party...seriously would any guy go to a home party to spend money on anything let alone sex toys. They would prefer the bar or gambling (of course not over sex,but that comes free most of the time) Women will buy anything and use any excuse to spend the money. I liked the Notebook and thought you did a good job on both outlooks. Kim in Nevada
    PS-Thanks for the picture of the famous truck! Pretty nice if I say so myself. Does MH still own the truck? Quite a classic!

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  5. I have never seen The Notebook, and I'm a girl! So I commend you for sitting through it.

    Truth be told, I liked the Macho Macho Man side better. Your feminine side is too flowery. :)

    My favorite line? "I sat there in my underwear in a Mexican bar while she put on my pants and rode the bull." Just because the picture of you sitting in a bar in your underwear surrounded by a bunch of Mexicans makes me cry from laughter.

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  6. Excellent review, DP! As one of your male readers, I was a little concerned at first when you mentioned that your movie review was of The Notebook and wondered if I would enjoy this post as much as all the rest. However, you have never disappointed me yet, so I figured what the hell?!? After all, my wife has been trying to get me to watch this movie with her for quite a some time and at the very least I figured that I would find out if it was something I would enjoy. I would have probably watched the movie sooner, but my wife has seen this flick already and every time we sit down to watch a movie together we end up choosing a movie that neither of us have seen. As soon as I finished your first review from the male perspective, I told my wife that I would be happy to watch the movie with her this weekend. She promptly asked, "why are you so eager to watch The Notebook now?....OMG! Did you just read the blog from the male's point of view?". I responded, " YES....LOL!! She smiled and told me, "Nevermind, I don't want to watch it with you anymore." I guess my point is that I thought the review was great even thought I have not seen the movie. It's a must now. I was right...you did not disappoint!
    -MH

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  7. When I suggested several weeks ago that you review some movies during the off season, I never dreamed you'd provide two critiques for the price of one. Very creative of you, DP, I must say! In keeping with the masculine-feminine split personality theme, perhaps you should check out and/or review "All of Me" or "Tootsie" next :)

    I've seen and cried during countless chick flicks, but must confess that I've never had any desire to see "The Notebook." It just seemed too sappy to me, and the fact that I preferred your "male" review probably proves I was right! But if I come across it while flipping through channels, I just may need to linger for a while, if only to compare my reaction to (both of) yours. (And to check out "E" - gee, has Entourage gone downhill the last season or two or what?)

    Thanks for another entertaining post (it was a loooong wait since Sex Scandal), and please... keep on smiling!

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  8. Hi Kim in Nevada! I almost forgot. I purchased the truck in 86' and sold it during the summer after my second year in college. Two and a half years in high school and two years in college really took its toll. Cosmetically it still looked ok, but 110k miles on a 79' pickup takes its toll. When the A/C went out a month before summer vacation it was time to part ways. Unfortunately for me, I came home for the summer broke and did not have enough money to purchase another vehicle....not one that would get me through the remainder of college. I sold my truck for $1,500 and my parents offered to match that and make a down payment on a used car only if I agreed to let them pick out the vehicle. It sounded like a good deal at the time, so I agreed. To my surprise they pulled into the driveway with a candy apple red Geo Metro. I hated it and was embarrassed everywhere I went. It had a 3 cylinder engine, was tiny, and could not make it up steep hills without the a/c being turned off. The first time I went out and picked up a date, she told me that it was cute. I would have rather her told me that it was a piece of $%!T. I never wanted a cute care at 20yrs old. I landed my first well paying job about a month after I graduated college and three days later sold it for $600 and purchase a new sedan. I miss that truck now, but not as much as I missed it the second half of college.
    -MH

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  9. A couple of things...
    The Sandy and Danny reference...even in your macho post, you can't escape your feminine side ;)
    AND I loved the Mexican bar tidbit...mostly b/c I love bars, Mexico and mechanical bulls!
    Great review!

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  10. DP- I love that Graffiti. I want that on a bumper sticker or something. If that's at all representative of Austin's character, I need to start looking at houses.

    I have to say, this was one of the better posts in a few weeks. Real funny stuff. "Poontanging around town?" That was about the only thing both sides of you had in common! Maybe next time review a "guy movie" like Lethal Weapon or 27 Dresses.

    Great Job as always!

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  11. MH, well since you are married it sounds like the lovely geo metro did not hinder your girl catching skills. Which is good because I prefer a guy with a truck instead of a geo metro and I am sure many women agree with me. I am pretty sure that is the first reason I even dated my husband at the time. They say the grass is not always greener on the other side and it always seems like when you are in a situation that you have no control over (the money aspect) you are at the will of others. I am sure your parents meant well and maybe they knew it may hinder your girl catching skills. Maybe it was a deploy to keep you focused on college. (-: Really nice truck anyways and we all have something in our lives we let go too soon, but the memories still linger. Good thing you have DP to remind you of all the adventures you had with that truck. Thanks for sharing! Kim in Nevada

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  12. How have I never heard/seen the term "poontang" before? Googling "define poontang" was very, um, enlightening. I've seen The Notebook once, and liked it, but I don't get the general female obsession with it. Of course, I'm more of a period drama fan. Perhaps you can review a Jane Austen miniseries next?

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  13. Love the cynical, macho male perspective (and I'm a girl). I think the movie would have been sooo much better if they cut out all the crap with the old people.

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  14. Loved this one! -- "Frankly, I would have wished her a good day, told her to enjoy her applesauce and water from a plastic cup and bendy straw and left to go play shuffle board on the quad in hopes of hooking up with a lucent sixty-something for one last roll in the hay."
    Enjoyed both sides, saw the movie once ... strangely enough, a nephew who was living with us at the time (and 20 at the time) purchased the DVD to impress his girlfriend. They split up a little while later, the DVD stayed when he moved out, I haven't watched it a second time. Nice enough flick, but once is enough!
    If you ever would like an odd love story, Check out "Once Around" with Richard Dreyfus and Holly Hunter.
    Enjoyed the male vs. female perspective. So true! Especially your bit on the f*&%erware parties. I went to one once. Once.
    And your pantsless Mexican bar story was great! Well done.

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  15. Well, I've been preoccupied with my taxes and my "real" job for the past two days and haven't had time to look at the blog. Thanks for hanging in there in my absense. Shout out to Melissa who just recognized me in the lobby of my building and figured out we work a floor apart. Funny how that works. Maybe I'll make an entire post of the Mexican bar story. That one has some good events in it too. Incidentally, the girl who took my pants is the same girl from my Most Embarassing Moment post. DP

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  16. Hi there - this is so exciting. It is my very first blogging comment - ever! No really, it is. Heck, your blog is the only one I ever read. Please keep up the snideness, wit and charm!

    Fan a Floor away,
    Melissa

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  17. Some Guy:
    Hugely prefer the Macho version... More: I am female, I am (at times hopelessly) romantic, I just finished watching When Harry Met Sally, I adore the movies Serendipity, The Wedding Date, Love Actually, and on and on... oh, and I cry during all of them. But The Notebook? Couldn't stomach the book or the movie.

    Just too sappy and unrealistic for my taste. And I like sap. But with a pinch of realism, please. Well done, well said, Macho Man. (I gave the sensitive side a miss, if you don't mind... :-))

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  18. "I sat there in my underwear in a Mexican bar while she put on my pants and rode the bull. Who says chivalry is dead?" Laughed out loud!!

    I love the graffiti.

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  19. To anonymous a few posts up ... Check out this funnyordie.com post on a follow-up to When Harry Met Sally ... hilarious, they have Billy Crystal and Helen Mirren, Rob Reiner, a bunch of others doing a video about a potential When harry Met Sally II... it's great! Grampires.


    http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/0247468f28/when-harry-met-sally-2-with-billy-crystal-helen-mirren?playlist=featured_videos

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  20. Only a true romantic can dissect the ultimate love story that is 'The Notebook' with such cynicism that it not only makes a girl laugh, but it validates her belief that happily-ever-after really does exist...you sat through it to write about it, clearly you would do the same when you meet your "Allie".... (or perhaps, your Emily).

    ~book

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  21. SG--I've been wondering now since you've displayed what a romantic you are and you seemed to have been quite taken with Emily (a/k/a Brad Womack's woman)-- did you ever think about seeing her in person since she is (according to the mags)spending the summer with him in Austin? You could totally buy an old house and reno it and spring it on her one day over a 6-pack of Lone Star after she has been "poontanging" around town with WOMACK!

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  22. book, good to hear your take on things. You're becoming a regular. That's solid.

    anon, if fate intervenes and I run into Emily, I'll let you know. Perhaps I need to go to the state fair and wait for her and Womack to board the Ferris wheel.

    DP

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  23. As someone who liked the book but hated the movie, I LOVED the Macho Macho Man side. I give you props for sitting through the movie (and finally telling me the ending) - I rented it and stopped it halfway through because I couldn't take the sapiness. Another great blog!!

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  24. @Clare... thanks and LOL I had already been sent that! VERY funny!!!!!!!!!

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  25. DP, I'm thinking your eyes were watering a bit at the end of the movie and you're just not telling us :) Great review! Very cool!
    My faves were: Danny and Sandyesque, duct tape is silver, poontangs around town, rough estimate, the long-winded description of Allie's fiance, and MH's Geo Metro story in the comment sextion.
    I listened to the Chiseled in Stone song. It's fitting. The most touching part was the line about not knowing about sadness until you've faced life alone.

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  26. Browsing online as I take the train home to DC after a fun weekend in NY, I check the comments here and see that Lincee has accepted a mysteriously unnamed "challenge." Suspecting The Notebook is involved and curious about what DP may have up his sleeve, I go to www.ihategreenbeans.com and learn that our two favorite bloggers will be going mano a womano in reviewing a romantic movie.

    Great idea, think I. Can't wait to read their funny, insightful "he said, she said" dueling blogs.

    But shouldn't their talents be devoted to more classic fare than Sweet Home Alabama? Why not opt for an epic romance, such as Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, The Way We Were, or another heartbreaker?

    Or what about an award-winning musical? West Side Story, Funny Girl, The Sound of Music, and many others from before my time might be an interesting choice.

    Perhaps, as someone suggested last week, they should comment on one of the recent Jane Austen flicks. (DP can entitle the post Some Guy On Austen.) Or if they want to maintain the Amish/house building theme from The Notebook, there's always Witness, one of my personal all-time favorites.

    In the end, I'm sure we'll enjoy the reviews you provide, regardless of the movie, especially if you tell us the selection in advance, so we can watch, too!

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  27. Hi, listen, I'm pretty new on this blogosphere and Internet thing, so I don't know if there's a sort of "subscription" method that I can use in order to receive notifications of your new entries...? Thing is I enjoy reading your blog a lot and I'd like to be up to date with your posts!

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