State Of Mind: "Film Unoriginality"

State Of Mind: "Film Unoriginality"

I've begun to notice more and more that there are almost no truly original movies coming out right now. Everything is a sequel, remake, or just formulaic.

I understand that there are only so many concretely original storylines in existence and that everything we see as original is really just a riff on a previously done storyline. If that's the case, why are one movie great and another movie terrible if they are both riffs on the same basic story? There are a lot of factors in that, but the most important is presentation. For example, let's take the movies "Avatar" and "Pocahontas". People berated "Avatar" for being "Pocahontas" with blue aliens in space. That may be true, but there are tons of stories like that. Stories of one man entering a new culture and messing with their way of life have been around forever. People seem to immediately deem a somewhat unoriginal idea or storyline as automatically inferior to its predecessor. However, a quick trip to Rotten Tomatoes reveals that "Avatar" got significantly better reviews than "Pocahontas". This may be due, in part, to our nostalgia filters blinding us to the flaws in one of the movies of our childhood. We need to realize that similar doesn't automatically mean worse. Personally, I don't think the story was what "Avatar" was really meant to be about. It was meant to be an experience that brought you to a completely new world. In that respect, I think it succeeded. I saw the movie in 3D IMAX, and I was completely blown away the visuals. Yes, once you look past that the story is silly and the characters are pretty flat, but I still believe that the movie succeeded in what it set out to do. I'd also like to note that, when looked at in the right light, "Finding Nemo" and "Taken" can be viewed in a similar way.

My main issue lies with the remakes and sequels that are made as nothing more than cash-ins on certain properties. The films that continue or retell stories that were fine the first time. Did we really need a new Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees? Do we really need to see an old movie again in 3D? Do we really need another "Transformers" movie? And yet, we continue going to these movies for one reason or another. I don't really understand the attraction. I get excited when I see fresh and new ideas being explored on the big screen in new ways. That's one reason why I love Pixar. They can always be counted on to present an original idea in a fresh way. For example, "Up" is about an old man who uses a horde of balloons to fly himself, his house, and a boy scout to Venezuela in order to set the house in the exact spot where his deceased wife would have wanted it. There are also subplots involving the man's childhood hero and his talking dogs and a giant bird's attempts to escape capture. This movie covers themes such as loss, going on without loved ones, and life going on even in old age. These themes have all been done before, but never like this. Name one movie that has a plot synopsis similar to the one I just gave for this movie. The writing, characters, and animation are all beautiful. This movies shows exactly what a creative spin on an old idea can do. It wasn't the second animated film nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars for nothing.

What I'm trying to say is that unoriginality has its good and bad parts. We shouldn't snub a movie just because it's similar to one we've already seen. It's all in the presentation and execution. "Friends With Benefits" was way better than "No Strings Attached", and they're basically the same movie. It's incongruities like that that prove that movies made based on the same idea can have radically different results. I just think that we need to stop supporting all of the terrible sequels and remakes that are coming out that are trying to cash in on our childhoods and don't deserve our money.

After seeing the Hobbit, who is your favourite dwarf?

Thorin is kind of a given, considering that he's such a huge part of the story. The friend that I went with and I had a soft spot for Ori by the end, though. He can be so derpy sometimes that it's really endearing.

The End...

Hey, everyone who follows this blog. I just wanted to thank the few of you who followed me consistently, threw some asks at me, and enjoyed my ramblings. I'm posting this to say that I got an internship writing reviews for a website called The Trendy Spoon. Because of that, my reviews and thought pieces here will probably be considerably less frequent, if not nonexistent. I won't take down the blog, just in case someone wanted to reread a review or something, but there probably won't be much new content. You are always welcome to continue asking me things and following me over at The Trendy Spoon. They're still my thoughts on things, just less rambly and formatted differently. Thanks again for your support. It was these articles that got me the job there in the first place!

Nicki Minaj's verse from "Monster". Nicki Minaj, I am not.

Underappreciated Musical: "Lysistrata Jones"

Here's a musical that never really stood a chance. Even after seeing it and seeing how amazing it was, I knew that it was not meant to last long. If there's a definition of "Too Good To Last" in the dictionary, "Lysistrata Jones" is the picture next to that definition.

I wasn't really interested in seeing the show, as weren't most people. However, I got a discount that allowed me to see the show with three friends for $5 per ticket. I decided it was too good of a deal to pass up, so I went. I soon realized that the show would've been worth full price.

"Lysistrata Jones" follows the Athens University basketball team. They haven't won a game in the last 30 years, and they seem content enough to not even try to change that. In comes Lysistrata Jones, a peppy blonde who forms a cheerleading team in an attempt to get the basketball team to win. When they continue losing, Lyssie J. gets the idea (from the SparkNotes version of "Lysistrata") to get the girlfriends of the basketball players to withhold sex from them until they win a game. Great songs and a copious amount of hilarity ensues.

"Lysistrata Jones" takes the usual high school and college movie tropes and flips them around. Some of the opening couples end up together, while others don't. Every character (with the exception of two) grow past their usual stereotypes to become full and interesting characters. There's a reason that this show got nominated for the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. It's as hilarious as it is heartfelt. You can tell that this was a pet project of the writers and that the actors really did enjoy themselves every second of the way. It has "little show that could" written all over it, and I wish more people could've seen that.

The score is an impressive mix of song styles. Most of the music is somewhat pop-ish, but there's traces of R&B and Latin in there, too. Pretty much every song is good and memorable, though the best two, by far, are "No More Giving It Up" and the amazing Act I finale "Where Am I Now". There was maybe one or two songs that dragged on a bit, but most became better as they went on, which can be hard to do.

The cast was incredible. Patti Murin was energetic and likable as Lyssie J. Lindsay Nicole Chambers was very funny offbeat as Lyssie's slam poem-spouting friend Robin. Arguably the best, however, was Liz Mikel as the narrator muse Hetaira. Her voice was amazing and her comic timing was perfect. She literally had the entire house on the floor with some of her line readings, particularly when she was a prostitute (it's a long story). The rest of the cast is talented and play their parts well. It also bears mentioning, considering that everyone gets almost naked at some point, that the entire cast is very attractive and all have amazing bodies.

This show had it all: a funny book, a great score, a talented cast, and fast-paced and impressive choreography. So, why didn't it last? Well, there's a few possible reasons. First off, there was no precedent for it. It wasn't an adaptation (well, technically it was, but not really), and it didn't have a big name attached. It was also a rather small show. Small shows can do well on Broadway (see "Avenue Q" and "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"), but it tends to be a rare occurrence. There's also the fact that it was very modern. While this isn't necessarily a detriment, the audience tends to be a bit older for Broadway shows. It also doesn't help that jokes about current events and iPhones won't be funny forever. The iPhone jokes were even used as plot points, so they couldn't even be written out. That means that it runs the risk of not having lasting appeal, which can hurt a show even in the short-run.

I think this show has the potential to continue to pull people in. Sometimes, the "little show that could" that made it to Broadway against all odds after a long time and many different locations and productions can build up an impressive fanbase even after closing. I think that the show is quirky and good enough that, despite it's short run, it will become a cult theater hit, like "Carrie: The Musical" and "[title of show]". I know that I will be firmly in that cult, and I'm so glad that it's getting a cast recording. I believe in your magnetic power, "Lysistrata Jones". Hold on, and don't give it up.