Election (1999)

btw ethan I am not a lonely old man

The full Wikipedia excerpt:

When he returns home to Omaha, his narrative to the orphan Ndugu questions what he has ever accomplished in his life. A pile of mail is waiting for him inside the empty house. Schmidt opens a surprise letter from Tanzania. It is written by a nun who cares for Ndugu, and she writes briefly but warmly that Ndugu is illiterate but enjoys Schmidt's letters and financial aid very much. With the financial aid, Ngudu was able to receive much needed medical care. The little boy's hand-drawn picture is enclosed, showing two smiling stick figures, one large and one small, holding hands in the blazing sun. Schmidt weeps with emotion and the film ends.

Clearly the emotion being expressed is revulsion and self-loathing at being empty and worthless, not being overwhelmed that he did actually have a massively positive impact on someone else's life.

xpost shakey, you've fooled everyone on ilx

um people cry for lots of reasons

some weirdos even get upset when people die

like forgotten MST3K actors

shed a lot of tears over Anna Nicole, eh ethan

i need to rent this movie again

"About Schmidt" or "Election"?

i'm thinking both. little double feature action.

i seem to remember about schmidt ending on a pretty low note.

jurassic park 3 was good.

The first and fourth seasons of the O.C. are pretty quality.

some weirdos even get upset when people die

-- and what, Thursday, February 7, 2008 9:04 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

like forgotten MST3K actors

-- Dr Morbius, Thursday, February 7, 2008 9:05 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

nice scale of human worth there

what in hell did Payne have to do with JP3, one draft of the script? and why would anyone know?

he wrote it, it was pretty well publicized actually.

dr morbius shut the fuck up

it originally ended with a raptor alone in his room crying.

which is fine but what does this guy even mean by 'what happened to it?'?

i think brooks was lamenting the death of the 1950s middlebrow -- meaning mostly i think white men with ivy league degrees on network tv explaining classical music and modern art to the masses.

i don't think the distinction has disappeared, but it's changed. if anything the pop/postmodern interbreeding of high and low brow has left middlebrow kind of out there on its own, to be mocked on all those "lol npr" threads.

I find that imagining Ethan as Ed Helms' character from "The Office" interacting with Morbs as Neil Patrick Harris' character from "How I Met Your Mother" with Shakey lurking on the edges as Jon Cryer's character from "Two and a Half Men" makes these threads that much more entertaining.

I guess the fact that Nicholson's character is returning home after failing to connect with his daughter (or stop her wedding) and is still alone and miserable led me to interpret his crying at the letter as a sign of complete and total defeat (as opposed to weeping with joy or redemption).

x-post

who am i?? xp

why haven't you ppl who've read 'ethan's' posts for years had him killed, again?

I thought Shakey was more the Jim Belushi character from According to Jim.

with Shakey lurking on the edges as Jon Cryer's character from "Two and a Half Men"

...

honestly I have no idea what this means

Jim Belushi!?! okay now that's going TOO FAR

Honestly, s1ocki? Chandler Bing.

(don't hurt me)

Dan with the quality-sitcom refs going over our heads

Honestly, s1ocki? Chandler Bing.

(don't hurt me)

-- HI DERE, Thursday, February 7, 2008 9:16 PM (45 seconds ago) Bookmark Link

you're such a monica.

Does that mean we're fucking???????????

OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

so what if he's a shit, alfred? the whole conceit of the movie is the redemption of a once-decent guy who's turned/been turned into an asshole by the unpleasant business of his life. why would you honestly begrudge his elevation at the end of the film? his return to humanity from asshole crotchetyhood?

he's redeemed by loving a boy named Ngudu via penpal letter and Kathy Bates teaching him the joys of obese sex?

My point is that the film says nothing new about alienation and the effect of bureaucracy on the soul. Nicholson's remark at the time that he found a way to play Schmidt by combing his hair a certain style illustrates just how shallow his/Payne's approach was.

ABORT ABORT ABORT ABORT ABORT ABORT

You are Mac from "Night Court". I am Michael from "Good Times".

^^ actors always say shit like that. xp

lololol. xp.

they actually got gay-married on the night court season finale

if "saying something new" is the benchmark of success, i don't know how you handle a vast majority of films, not to mention ILX

xpost

"Ndugu," I mean. I almost wrote "Nboootie" – that's how Jack says it anyway.

gukbe, have you ever been to the movies?

they actually got gay-married on the night court season finale

-- and what, Thursday, February 7, 2008 9:25 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Link

OH NO

You are Rin Tin Tin. I am Mr. Ed.

i saw jurassic park 3

You are Rin Tin Tin. I am Mr. Ed.

-- HI DERE, Thursday, February 7, 2008 9:27 PM (31 seconds ago) Bookmark Link

in real life mr. ed raped rin tin tin to death :(

jp3 was garbage, and i say this as a defender of jurassic park 2: the lost world

seriously, it was as unwatchable as a movie featuring sam neill, william h macy, tea leoni and michael jeter could possibly be

leoni is the only one who seems to "get" the dinosaur thing

it may have already been said and ties in with judgementalism issue alluded to upthread but maybe the greatest thing about this movie is that all of the main characters remain reasonably likeable throughout and i found it quite easy to sympathise with them all fairly evenly.

i'm thinking both. little double feature action.

I don't think either of these movies include that.

S1OCKI WE'RE DOOMED

yr defending lost world?

that's the worst of the three by far

xxx-post

jp3 is good. barely 80 minutes. 10 minutes of set up, then drop 'em on the island, let 'em run from dinosaurs, then military shows up, end. i appreciate a film that does what it's meant to without taking up too much of my time.

jurassic 3 is better than 2 (altho 2 seemed a lot better the second/third times)