Up-to-the-minute film news: It Could Happen to You (1994)
I just found an almost whole box of Wrigley's Extra in the back of my desk drawer. Funny how you buy stuff and forget you've got it. I think it's a sign that you might be spending too much.
I mean, how often have you looked through your CD collection and found records you'd played once and then set aside, not because you didn't like them, but because you forgot about them? Ever bought anything twice because you forgot you had it? I have, and I bet I'm not the only one.
I was thinking about excessive consumption and the anxiety it gives me when I was watching one of my favourite films, It Could Happen To You (aka Cop Gives Waitress $2 million tip), the other night. They always tell you this is based on a true story, don't they? Of course, I wondered about this as I was watching, could it possibly be, however loosely, true? Apparently so.
As I was watching, I got consumption anxiety as they were spending the money. Because, we're told, to be a proper millionaire, you need a minimum of £2.6m, and probably 10x more than that if you really want to live the millionaire lifestyle. Every £100k you spend is money down the drain.
That's inflation for ya. And greed, if you think about it, which is what the little parable of a romantic comedy is all about. because Charlie (Nicolas cage) actually wants to just go on living his usual life - but even more generously than before he was rich. Whereas his shrew of a wife (whatever happened to Rosie Perez?) wants gold taps and a fur wrap.
Except, as Charlie keeps saying, it's not about the money. The reason why I sit through the movie with a tear in my eye is because the wish fulfilment fantasy that the film is really about is that every neighbourhood would have a Charlie in it. A cop who doesn't talk filth and wave his gun about, who treats people with respect, and who does things for the kids of his neighbourhood because he loves kids. So when he's rich, Charlie hires out the Yankee Stadium and takes the kids down there to play baseball. And he and Yvonne (Bridget Fonda, I love you) stand at the Subway giving out free tokens, just because they can.
If every neighbourhood had a Charlie, and every Charlie had an Yvonne (and vice versa), how much better would the world be to live in? A little less selfishness and greed, a little more generosity of spirit.
Want some gum?
I mean, how often have you looked through your CD collection and found records you'd played once and then set aside, not because you didn't like them, but because you forgot about them? Ever bought anything twice because you forgot you had it? I have, and I bet I'm not the only one.
I was thinking about excessive consumption and the anxiety it gives me when I was watching one of my favourite films, It Could Happen To You (aka Cop Gives Waitress $2 million tip), the other night. They always tell you this is based on a true story, don't they? Of course, I wondered about this as I was watching, could it possibly be, however loosely, true? Apparently so.
As I was watching, I got consumption anxiety as they were spending the money. Because, we're told, to be a proper millionaire, you need a minimum of £2.6m, and probably 10x more than that if you really want to live the millionaire lifestyle. Every £100k you spend is money down the drain.
That's inflation for ya. And greed, if you think about it, which is what the little parable of a romantic comedy is all about. because Charlie (Nicolas cage) actually wants to just go on living his usual life - but even more generously than before he was rich. Whereas his shrew of a wife (whatever happened to Rosie Perez?) wants gold taps and a fur wrap.
Except, as Charlie keeps saying, it's not about the money. The reason why I sit through the movie with a tear in my eye is because the wish fulfilment fantasy that the film is really about is that every neighbourhood would have a Charlie in it. A cop who doesn't talk filth and wave his gun about, who treats people with respect, and who does things for the kids of his neighbourhood because he loves kids. So when he's rich, Charlie hires out the Yankee Stadium and takes the kids down there to play baseball. And he and Yvonne (Bridget Fonda, I love you) stand at the Subway giving out free tokens, just because they can.
If every neighbourhood had a Charlie, and every Charlie had an Yvonne (and vice versa), how much better would the world be to live in? A little less selfishness and greed, a little more generosity of spirit.
Want some gum?
posted by Anonymous at
Monday, October 24, 2005
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home