doug liman, vince vaughn and knowing it all already

But if you marry her and then decide you do not like her, you must let her go free. You may not sell her or treat her as a slave, for you have humiliated her. (Deuteronomy 21:14)

Fucking love Film Four. Until it became all commercial. But still.

Spent a total of 4 hours watching it tonight, which is more than I've watched tv in weeks... First of all Spellbound, which reminded me slightly of the Channel4 documentary on pre-pubescent beauty queens a few years ago. Something they should repeat on the heels of the JoBenet case if only so we can play "Spot the pervert father".

Spellbound sent my Mum out the room in embarrassment when Harry, the boy with ADHD or something certifiably weird about him, was allowed screen time. Adorable kid, but seriously? Sadly my own father had called me "certifiably weird" only 24 hours before. He tried to ameliorate (A-M-E-L-I-O-R-I-A-T-E, ameliorate) the situation with "he's officially wierd, you're certifiably weird but seem normal." Still not sure how that makes things better.

Loved seeing the geeks in action. These are people only glimpsed as amusing cameos in teen movies and as "best friends who don't get it" in programmes like Made. We decided that Neil may well get beaten when he got home and they would all rebel at some point in the next few years. Here's hoping... Brilliant film. Several moments stood out, the most amusing being at a family dinner table, when the mother pauses in verbally abusing the father and the precocious little spelling champ says "you remind me of Archie and Ethel, cos Archie's always telling Ethel how dumb she is."
Silence.
The dog barks.

Then Swingers: Vince Vaughn in his early thirties, looking skinny and more Italian than he may actually be. Jon Favreau, better know for being chubbier and Monica's "Ultimate Fighting Champ" boyfriend several series ago of Friends also stars and incidentally wrote, he has automatically shot up in my estimation. And Doug Liman, of Go fame directed, as his debut. I love discovering earlier directors' works. It reminds me of the feeling when I first heard Definitely Maybe, having been of the What's the Story (Morning Glory) age when I first discovered Oasis. Go is an enjoyable and engaging film. Swingers is more so, perhaps because it involves very few ridiculously attractive women with accompanying charisma, or because Katie Holmes will always be annoying to her female watchers...

There's a moment in Swingers when Vaughn explains what women want to his friend. It made me laugh because I have had that conversation, with a male friend. Frighteningly enough I identified most with the Vaughn character. I'm the dickhead that drags you out when you just want to mope. I'm the one that pulls without the ethical angst, I'm the one that toasts your success from afar. That's as far as the comparison goes, but still - very enjoyable film.

However, I think Vaughn is more attractive older and with a little more girth. Perhaps like the chest hair thing, taste veers towards the genuinely manly as time goes on...