What I'm watching, reading, hearing, etc.
Two very different nights at the movie this past weekend.
My wife and I caught "Nebraska," which is in contention for a number of Academy Awards, and rightfully so.
It's a quiet film -- in black and white, even -- about an old guy who's convinced that the sweepstakes letter he's received in the mail will pay off big money, and he sets off from his home in Billings, Montana for Lincoln, Nebraska, to collect.
At first, Woody (played by an extremely understated Bruce Dern) tries to hitchhike. A longtime drunk, he's not allowed to drive himself. But his worried son, David (Will Forte), ultimately agrees to drive, though he's convinced the letter is bogus.
Woody is a guy who never got excited by much -- not work, not his marriage, not his kids. He doesn't say much either. And, when he does, it's often not very nice. But to see his old man excited (in his way) and hopeful, triggers something in David. He's hopeful, too, that maybe he'll get a chance now, in middle age, to finally figure out his dad.
The duo pass through some rough yet beautiful, spare and quiet territory to reach their destination.
It's a film that could be very sad, and sometimes is, but mostly it is hopeful, and also very funny. There's a great, unexpected caper scene that you'll remember pretty much forever, and June Squibb as Woody's long-suffering, and insufferable, wife is side-splittingly hilarious. Where has this woman been all our movie-going lives?
Also very funny, in a completely different way, is Will Ferrell and the gang's second outing as Ron Burgundy and his 1970s news crew cohorts in "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues," which I saw as part of my occasional "guys' dumb movie night" outings. It was an apt choice.
Ferrell is his generation's Chevy Chase -- a guy who can play straight and goofy at the same time, who has absolutely no shame when it comes to seeking a laugh. He's proud to look dumb, and we're happy to see him that way.
For a sequel, it's a solid movie, with lots of laughs and good pacing. There's some cringe-worthy stuff involving Burgundy's discomfort and cluelessness involving race, and a sequence in which he goes blind (I can't really explain), but it's clear that the only one being ridiculed is Burgundy, himself.
Even so, dumb as he is, you've got to admit Burgundy is pretty talented. Who else do you know who can figure skate and play jazz flute at the same time?
And, ultimately, it's Ron who exposes to us in this film the empty sensationalism of 24-hour TV news. This picture actually has a point!
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