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	04 November 2004 MOVIE: SEEING OTHER PEOPLE (2004). A woman dissatisfied with her thin sexual history proposes to her fiance that they sleep with other people, guilt-free, until the day of their wedding. The only reasons we picked up this odd little male fantasy (it was the woman's idea!) were because a) the likeable Jay Mohr was in it, and b) it had a little Sundance Festival palm d'or thingy on the cover. Why, I now have no idea. The problem with this movie is that its main conceit, that a couple would venture into such an agreement so fraught with built-in problems, leaves the story with no place to go. Think about it for a second. See? You've already called the whole plot line in your mind, McFreud: Sex is never just about sex, sex complicates things, and in the end there's a reason why we humans keep returning to love and companionship as a major goal in life. And...eject disc. Seeing Other People does have some really hilarious moments, especially during Andy Richter's scenes. It indulges a few spells of genuinely witty, Tarantino-esque academic hipster ranting. But the last half of the film, having painted itself into a corner, throws its hands up, tosses all its characters into a blender, and hits Puree, as a last-ditch attempt to provide the trauma needed to give the viewer an exhausted sense of revelation at the end. Just kinda dumb. I love my cats. It's not their fault I'm allergic to them.   Back to main 03 November 2004 PHOTO DIARY. Four more years of fear.   Back to main 02 November 2004 PHOTO DIARY. Ah yes, the cursed "Slow Life" stew, which when consumed penalizes the user with -2 dexterity against all melee & missile attacks (magic attacks excluded).   Back to main MOVIE: SIDEWAYS (2004). A struggling writer takes his has-been actor friend for a week-long bachelor party celebration in Santa Barbara's wine country. Now, Josh said about this film: "If NPR were a movie, it would be Sideways." And he's partly right. Its mores include literary agents, the offhand quoting of obscure poetry, the Industry (that's showbiz for anyone not from LA), and wine connoisseurship. It would all be ripe for parody--if it weren't so damn funny. Remember Election? Same director: Alex Payne. He's got this great talent for drawing absurd microcosms with a deft (and brutal) penstroke, and here he offers yet another well-crafted neo-sitcom on par with Curb Your Enthusiasm. Paul Giamatti plays Miles, a supremely loserly writer, with an intense vulnerability that filled me with despair even as I laughed my ass off. His best friend Jack, a washed-up actor/perpetual horndog with the personality of a misbehaving puppy, brilliantly counters Miles' insecurities and hilariously esoteric pontifications ("hints of rasberry with a frisson of oak"?) with bone-headed winners like, "I think it tastes pretty good," or my favorite, "You need to get your joint worked over, bro." Payne avoids painting himself into a corner of trivial folly by framing his collection of wacky situations around Miles' gut-wrenching & emotional gauntlet. Even the silly, womanizing Jack has a piece of his soul at stake. What could have been a simple two-man comedy riff (Bill & Ted's Excellent Wine Tour) turns out to be a story tempered with the gravitas needed to clear the way for Payne's nuanced sense of humor. Although you could say that the film's final sight-gag is anything but subtle, and one of the best uses of full-frontal nudity I can remember. I'd also like to get a copy of Barely Legal? No--the new one?   Back to main Archives. 17 August 2003 — 24 August 2003 — 31 August 2003 — 07 September 2003 — 14 September 2003 — 02 November 2003 — 09 November 2003 — 16 November 2003 — 23 November 2003 — 30 November 2003 — 07 December 2003 — 01 February 2004 — 08 February 2004 — 15 February 2004 — 22 February 2004 — 29 February 2004 — 07 March 2004 — 14 March 2004 — 21 March 2004 — 28 March 2004 — 04 April 2004 — 11 April 2004 — 18 April 2004 — 25 April 2004 — 02 May 2004 — 09 May 2004 — 16 May 2004 — 23 May 2004 — 30 May 2004 — 06 June 2004 — 13 June 2004 — 20 June 2004 — 27 June 2004 — 04 July 2004 — 11 July 2004 — 18 July 2004 — 25 July 2004 — 01 August 2004 — 08 August 2004 — 15 August 2004 — 22 August 2004 — 29 August 2004 — 05 September 2004 — 12 September 2004 — 19 September 2004 — 26 September 2004 — 03 October 2004 — 10 October 2004 — 17 October 2004 — 24 October 2004 — 31 October 2004 — 07 November 2004 — 14 November 2004 — 21 November 2004 — 28 November 2004 — 05 December 2004 — 12 December 2004 — 19 December 2004 — 26 December 2004 — 02 January 2005 — 09 January 2005 — 23 January 2005 — 30 January 2005 — 06 February 2005 — 13 February 2005 — 20 February 2005 — 27 February 2005 — 13 March 2005 — 20 March 2005 — 27 March 2005 — 03 April 2005 — 10 April 2005 — 17 April 2005 — 24 April 2005 — 01 May 2005 — 08 May 2005 — 22 May 2005 — 29 May 2005 — 05 June 2005 — 12 June 2005 — 19 June 2005 — 26 June 2005 — 03 July 2005 — 10 July 2005 — 17 July 2005 — 24 July 2005 — 31 July 2005 — 07 August 2005 — 14 August 2005 — 28 August 2005 — 04 September 2005 — 25 September 2005 — 02 October 2005 — 09 October 2005 — 30 October 2005 — 06 November 2005 — 13 November 2005 — 20 November 2005 — 27 November 2005 — 04 December 2005 — 18 December 2005 — 01 January 2006 — 08 January 2006 — 15 January 2006 — 22 January 2006 — 05 February 2006 — 26 February 2006 — 12 March 2006 — 19 March 2006 — 26 March 2006 — 02 April 2006 — 16 April 2006 — 23 April 2006 — 30 April 2006 — 07 May 2006 — 14 May 2006 — 21 May 2006 — 04 June 2006 — 18 June 2006 — 25 June 2006 — 16 July 2006 — 23 July 2006 — 06 August 2006 — 13 August 2006 — 03 September 2006 — 17 September 2006 — 01 October 2006 —