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Peep Show (2003)
The Hilarious Dynamics Of A Dysfunctional Friendship
The brilliance of this show can only be truly measured and appreciated by someone who's shared in the best friend/roommate experience. Friendships, especially those of the codependent variety, are ripe with laughter, anger, ambivalence, envy, thankfulness, and a multitude of other incalculable descriptors. The distinguishing factor that makes this show work so well is the perspective. Viewers are entreated with multidimensional orientations via the internal, personal dialogues of the main characters. From these positions, spectators can fully appreciate the hilarious dynamics of a dysfunctional friendship.
Mark Corrigan (David Mitchell) and Jeremy Usborne (Robert Webb) met while they were roommates at the fictitious Dartmouth University. It is at that moment that "The El Dude Brothers" were born.
Mark is a slightly below average-looking man with an above average IQ. He values structure, conformity, and regularity. He has a normal job and a degree in Business Studies, but his true passion can be found in History. His appreciation for historical facts and occurrences only helps to solidify his status as the resident dork. Aside from his love of History, Mark has romanticized the ideal of meeting and marrying the perfect woman. Here, we can see a readied dichotomy when compared to his longtime friend and roommate, Jeremy.
Jeremy is an above average-looking guy with a not so stellar IQ. He is the epitome of a consummate playboy. Blissfully meandering from one beautiful woman to the next, one can only wonder how Jeremy does it without cerebration or money. Generally jobless, Jeremy is disorganized, morally resistant, and sporadic; he is the antithesis of all things Mark.
More often than not, Jeremy seems to come out on top of things without ever trying. Mark, on the other hand, works hard, does the right thing and commonly ends up flat on his face. Not always, though. Sometimes Mark is rewarded for his sacrifices and diligence. Herein lies the comedy. When one friend begins to succeed (work, relationships, etc.), the other is there, by all outwardly appearances, to show their support. At the same time, their internal thoughts are often flush with feelings of jealousy and thoughts of sabotage.
Mark and Jeremy are best friends and love each other dearly. Their symbiotic, perhaps slightly unhealthy, relationship is hilarious to watch on the big screen. Perhaps it is because most of us can relate.
Moon (2009)
Better Than Its Progenitor
Have you ever bought the store or generic version of a name brand product? Usually this process ends with you telling yourself, "Oh, that's why I buy the name brand. The knock-off sucks!" However, sometimes you stumble upon a generic version that's as good as or even better than the more-accepted brand. Good news! This picture is better!!
At first, this movie seems strikingly analogous to the Sci-Fi Classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Both pictures share a lunar connection, although this one (Moon) takes place entirely on...well...the moon. The eerie, melancholic voice of an AI (Artificial Intelligence) seems to be the only break in what can almost be described as a maddening tranquility. Yet, GERTY is very different from HAL 9000; the sine qua non lies in its programming, and in its unique relationship(s) to Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell).
Aside from lunar scenery and computer sentience, this cinematic wonder offers up some unique perspectives on death and dying, friendships and family, Jungian Archetypes (with the grand conclusion of the Individuation process - e.g., the making of the model town), and even Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple personality disorder). And, all of that fits comfortably within the realm of cloning and psychosomatic auditory and visual hallucinations.
I guess what I'm saying is that this movie rocks. It might be a bit too slow for the average moviegoer, but the serious watcher will surely enjoy it. And, yes, I'm serious... and don't call me Shirley.
The Hunger: Triangle in Steel (1999)
Classic Example of the Trickster
This episode was really good. If you're a fan of mythology then you'll think Trickster right away. Radin (1956:xxiii) wrote that the "Trickster is at one and the same time creator and destroyer, giver and negator, he who dupes others and who is always duped himself. He wills nothing consciously. At times he is constrained to behave as he does from impulses over which he has no control. He knows neither good nor evil yet he is responsible for both. He possesses no values, moral or social, is at the mercy of his passion and appetites, yet through his actions all values come into being." That's one of the best descriptions I've seen and it applies here. The main character sticks out right away as a white man building a bridge with Mohawk people. He immediately comes off as brash by climbing up and sliding down the bridge. Also, he fancies the young wife of an elder man (Jungian archetype) to which he is warned to stay away from. He disregards this warning and talks her into sleeping with him. But this "one who dupes others" is eventually "duped himself" (ibid,1956:xxiii) when he gets struck on the head by a red hot rivet and falls lifelessly into the river below.
Many episodes in this series fall short at the very end, but this one came really close to being perfect. In some Native American interpretations the Trickster is coyote, so I would have loved to seen the main character emerge from the river as a coyote. That would have bumped my rating from a 7 to a 10 for sure.