Albert Brooks Poll

oh... writer/director only. bah.

So is Defending Your Life actually any good? I loved this movie when I was a kid. Recently tried to watch it with mrs. but she fell asleep early and we shut it off. The first 15 minutes weren't exactly wowing me.

AlbertBrooks Albert Brooks
That last tweet was a joke. I don't care if you die.

AlbertBrooks Albert Brooks
Don't usually do serious tweets but I have so many friends on the east coast. Stay safe this weekend.

Lost In America just announced as coming up on Criterion..

Cover image:

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/b1eb7e77bfdea1c018cac2f614db0f669ef0de97/c=115-0-2001-1418&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/2017/04/04/USATODAY/USATODAY/636269248154228966-GettyImages-464869899.jpg

The first 15 minutes weren't exactly wowing me.

There's a lot of very bland filler until he dies and enters the afterlife. After that it picks up considerably and the jokes get much better. The big romantic finish is pretty dead, too, because Brooks and Streep never have a single romantic spark as a pairing, but the dud ending only occupies a few minutes compared to the thud at the start.

Apart from the unfortunate dull parts at each end, it is both good and funny.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J43bcbIzfI

i watch this at least twice a day

73 today. Rewatched Lost in America, a deathless classic of course.

I watched Modern Romance years ago, remember liking it, but re-watching yesterday, I didn't think it held up all that well. Gets a little better in the second half. I didn't find Kathryn Harrold's compliance with Brooks's whims all that credible. Lost in America was a quantum leap forward (with a bit of overlap in a couple of spots--Easy Rider, Las Vegas). The funniest moment for me was Brooks's silent reaction to the coke-addled guy's offer to drive Harrold home.

I need to see it again, but do remember a number of classic gags: "I love my albums" (and then playing "A Fifth of Beethoven"; "She's Out of My Life" playing when he picks up his date; and of course the Foley theatre bit about dubbing George Kennedy's footsteps.

Some of the break-up music was interesting, but I found the running joke a bit thin. Surprised they could afford Michael Jackson, even pre-Thriller.

I love the bit where he buys the jogging gear from the salesman (his brother Bob, of course)

Just to clarify, "running joke" meant the running gag of breakup songs--not the jogging gags with brother Bob!

In view of all the disgusting "we care that you play responsibly" betting ads that are part of every baseball broadcast now--and not even just ads; the gambling industry is now incorporated right into the broadcasts themselves--Lost in America is looking weirdly prescient: "The Desert Inn has heart!"

(My dad had a gambling problem, so this is a real sore spot for me. We complain about lots of things on ILB, but baseball getting into bed with the gambling industry is far and away the game's most serious problem now--which I know it shares with every other sport.)