I don’t usually rent videos. The boy is generally the one in charge of any movie rentals, or netflix films we acquire and I try not to give much input. You see, he has very high standards for cinema and I tend to be a little more forgiving towards the more mundane, stupid movies. That’s not to say I consider 13 Going on 30 a classic or something, but I see that movies such as that have their own time and place. Sometimes I want nothing more than to sit back, relax and watch a silly and completely improbable Rom-Com starring two ridiculously attractive people, neither of whom have anything better to worry about than the only truly interesting issue in their lives: Romance or a lack thereof.
However, just the other day I accompanied the boy to Hollywood Video where I took the reins and insisted I partake in rental choices. I did not have a successful renting experience and hence shall return to taking a passive role in the quest for broadening our movie viewing experience.
I failed firstly by renting Gigantic. Described as a comedy and starring some of my favorite actors (Zooey Deschanel, Paul Dano, and John Goodman) this film lacked any kind of interesting plot, characters or purpose. How it managed to even make it to Hollywood Video shall remain one of the dark mysteries of the film industry.
And speaking of dark mysteries, my strike two movie rental was Dark Streets. I am not sure what prompted me to pick this one; I guess it’s my love for the movie musical and my relentless quest to find a gem in the current film landscape. This was not that gem. This was not even a nice looking bit of granite. This was utter crap; lame story, poorly acted, executed, sung and danced (if dance can even be what it’s called, not sure that I can use that term for the disgraceful wiggling that sullied the screen.)
My third film choice was my only saving grace. Having never seen it, I rented The Red Shoes and absolutely loved it! Can’t believe I hadn’t seen this film till now. It will definitely need to be added to the boy and mine’s dvd collection. Clearly a much higher quality of cinema than my other rentals, and thank goodness for that, or I’d really have to admit that the boy is right and I am incapable of making movie rental choices!
