Friday, June 5th, 2009 07:15 am
Difficult waking this morning. It was probably a combination of sugar hang-over and the movie i watched the night before.

I'd called on the way home to let Christine know i was feeling like doing something different, that i was rather mind-tired. When i got home she proposed mixing desert with exercise, a bike or walk downtown, and that was just perfect. Netflix had delivered Dr Seuss' The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T [Wikipedia, imdb] so we watched a good bit of the film through dinner, then took an intermission. Knowing just how packed the next five days will be as i go on a retreat with my Meeting and then have colleagues from out of town, a walk with Christine was perfect. We had carrot cake and a pecan bar at a coffee house, admired the happy couples on their way to a Latin dance club, and walked home, where we finished the film.

The movie has wonderful sets that capture a Dr Seussian sense of mad perspective and crazy line. There's plenty to critique about the cultural subtext: the Sissy Villain (see Do-Mi-Do Duds) and "pedophilic overtones"[1], the only female character in the film is either under The Whammy from the villain or glowing at the only "manly man." The only moment she shows any sense of self is when she's reminded she's a mother. But, ignore that! (Except that's impossible when you watch the scene of the villain's sublimated homosexuality, i mean, the Dungeon of Scratchy Violins where all the non-piano playing musicians are captured and imprisoned.) No, enjoy the silhouettes of Seussian gargoyles, the scene of yellow busses pulling up with the 499 boys, the plumbing and air vents, the holsters on the henchmen.....

I did, and then i did not sleep so well!


[1] Apparently the analysis in Screened Out: Playing Gay in Hollywoodfrom Edison to Stonewall By Richard Barrios, as from this review.
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