Melodrama sways away as summers end gives fall to all.
Tonight I finished reading Irvine Welsh’s arguably masterful tour-de-force, Bedroom Secrets of The Master Chefs. A tragic story, as are most of Welsh’s, about the slick talking young man, Danny Skinner who, upon the eve of his redemption and epiphany, is blown to bits by a run away oil tanker conducted by his nemesis, and nerdly half-brother, Brian Kibby. The novel is an ugly examination of alcoholism, escapism and fraternal rivalry, combined with some elements of magical realism, voodoo trickery, and heavy doses of Dorian Gray. As always, Welsh’s novels end terribly anticlimactically, leaving you in shock, wonder and if you have some soul, a melancholy flavoured catharsis.
Good thing I’m halfway through the Jesse Eisenberg (cough, Michael Cera clone, cough) flick Adventureland, which is turning into quite the melodrama fest its self, as a different young man comes of age in an entirely different manner all together. Albeit in a far more timid, and sappier, manner. Borrowing heavily from the plot of A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, socially inept english lit major, James, falls for the troubled, been around the block, poor-little-rich-girl, Em. Sparks fly, self-esteem prevents intimacy and a new-found confidence pushes Steve towards further exploits with his co-workers at the theme park where he is working for the summer. Has Em been slighted? Most likely. Will she retaliate with girlish and manipulative trickery? I can only imagine. Will there be a happy ending? Probably, but most likely it will be as bitter sweet as these last days of summer trickle away, and my advertising based career-unemployment looms further. (POST – EDITING NOTE UPDATE: wow….glad that’s out of my system).
Another issue I wanted to raise was this whole Jesse Eisenberg Vs. Michael Cera phenomenon. Do we love Cera, or do we love the idea of the awkward, and paradoxically happy-go-lucky, underdog? Is he a self-embodiment of all that is Gen-Y? The boyish looks, the optimistic outlook on life, and the way he heroically rises to lifes challenges despite being consistently under-equipped?
Maybe that’s stretching it. It’s very weird though, or maybe not. If you examine their acting careers, you’ll see that they both earned their first roles in 1999, and they both have contributed music to indie flick soundtracks (Juno vs. The Squid and the Whale). On screen, they carry themselves in a similar neurotic fashion and share similar physical attributes. I wonder if they hate each other, or if they hate the system that has made them this way. Their only real difference is that one is Jewish, and the other Italian…or wait…maybe that makes perfect sense.
I know that I’m breaking some pretty big style elements, going all emo with this post and wondering if it is even worth publishing. Well FU Bitch, I’m having it my way tonight.
