The Town

My husband and I were finally able to see The Town or as I prefer to call it: Don Draper (With A Gun!).  I thoroughly enjoyed the film (although I don't think it's quite as good as The Facebook Movie), and I'm really glad that I was able to catch it on the big screen.  

 In the charming documentary about the life of film producer Robert Evans, The Kid Stays In The Picture, Robert Evans says that all Italian mob films prior to The Godfather seemed campy and inauthentic, because most of their directors were Jewish and didn't have the first clue about the Sicilian mafia.  Enter Francis Ford Coppola.  FFC is to Italian mafia movies as Affleck is to Bostonian movies.  In my opinion, Ben Affleck should only be involved with movies that are set in Boston, because when he strays from what he knows we often get mixed results.  In terms of settings, the farther away he is from Boston the worse the movie.  Think about it- Gigli was set in Los Angeles.  

I'm sorry Ben- The Town was excellent.  I didn't mean to bring up Gigli.  You don't deserve that.  

Most reviews will tell you The Town is worth seeing and that Ben Affleck did a great job directing, which is basically what I just did.  

Now let's talk about Jon Hamm.  

First of all, I did think that the wardrobe department was trying to de-Draper him just a tad, because instead of dressing him in what I would imagine most FBI agents wear (a button down with a tie) they put him in a lot of plaid.  And I think some of this plaid was flannel.  And kinda wrinkled.  Eww. 


There were moments when Draper came out to play and I think it worked well for the character whose only function was to serve as a hard nosed yet likable FBI agent with no backstory determined to bring down a crew of bank robbers from Charlestown.  In fact, most of the time I just thought of him as Don Draper.  Like maybe Dick Whitman was trying on yet another hat- FBI Agent.  

This is not to say that I think Jon Hamm has a limited range.  Anyone who saw him on SNL knows that he's capable of more.  And please Hollywood, give me more of him because someday Mad Men will end and I need to see that mug on a regular basis.  

A few more comments before I wrap this up.  

All of the actors did a fantastic job, but the two standouts for me were Jeremy Renner (not a surprise) and Blake Lively (big surprise).  I completely stopped seeing Jeremy Renner the actor and began to believe that this person was in fact a Townie who would pistol whip you within an inch of your life for looking at him.  And Lively- whoa! Nailed the Boston accent and the pathetic, slutty, unfit-single-mom thing perfectly. Oh, and Pete Postlethwaite made the most of his small role and turned out a great performance as usual. 


And last, but not least- the person who came up with the tagline for this movie (Welcome to the Bank Robbery Capital of America) needs to be fired.  Immediately.  

What?!

Last week Matt Lauer interviewed former President George W. Bush.  In the interview Bush declared that the worst moment of his presidency was when rapper Kanye West said that he didn't care about black people.  

What?!

The worst moment?

What?!

Here's the excerpt from the interview in case you miss it (it airs tonight on NBC at 8:00 pm ET).  My favorite part is when George interrupts Matt with "Don't care."   

NBC NEWS “MATT LAUER REPORTS” November 8, 2010

MATT LAUER:
About a week after the storm hit NBC aired a telethon asking for help for the victims of Katrina. We had celebrities coming in to ask for money. And I remember it vividly because I hosted it. And at one part of the evening I introduced Kanye West. Were you watching?

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH:
Nope.

MATT LAUER:
You remember what he said?

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH:

Yes, I do. He called me a racist.

MATT LAUER:
Well, what he said, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH:
That’s — “he’s a racist.” And I didn’t appreciate it then. I don’t appreciate it now. It’s one thing to say, “I don’t appreciate the way he’s handled his business.” It’s another thing to say, “This man’s a racist.” I resent it, it’s not true, and it was one of the most disgusting moments in my Presidency.

MATT LAUER:
This from the book. “Five years later I can barely write those words without feeling disgust.” You go on. “I faced a lot of criticism as President. I didn’t like hearing people claim that I lied about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction or cut taxes to benefit the rich. But the suggestion that I was racist because of the response to Katrina represented an all time low.”

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH:
Yeah. I still feel that way as you read those words. I felt ‘em when I heard ‘em, felt ‘em when I wrote ‘em and I felt ‘em when I’m listening to ‘em.

MATT LAUER:
You say you told Laura at the time it was the worst moment of your Presidency?

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH:
Yes. My record was strong I felt when it came to race relations and giving people a chance. And– it was a disgusting moment.

MATT LAUER:
I wonder if some people are going to read that, now that you’ve written it, and they might give you some heat for that. And the reason is this–

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH:
Don’t care.

MATT LAUER:
Well, here’s the reason. You’re not saying that the worst moment in you’re Presidency was watching the misery in Louisiana. You’re saying it was when someone insulted you because of that.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH:
No — that– and I also make it clear that the misery in Louisiana affected me deeply as well. There’s a lot of tough moments in the book. And it was a disgusting moment, pure and simple.

I think the worst part of all of this (aside from the fact that we have a former president who says that the worst moment of his presidency was when a rapper insulted him) is that now Kanye is weighing in on Bush's comments.

Kanye compares Bush's "not taking the time to rush down to New Orleans" (Kanye's words) to cutting Taylor Swift off during "her moment."  (Her moment = a fake awards show on MTV.) 

I can't seem to get the song "Mad World" by Tears for Fears out of my head.  The Gary Jules version.  Hmmm.  

I wonder what Don Draper would think of this nonsense?  How would he respond? Something tells me he would say, "what?!" as well.  

Wait a minute.  I just thought of something.  We all know Kanye is a publicity-lightening rod.  Could Bush have intentionally ranked the Kanye thing as the worst moment in his presidency because he knew that reporters would question it's validity on air, that Kanye would comment, and the collective interest would be piqued? Has W. become media savvy during his hiatus? Do you think he learned about invoking "the power of Kanye" by watching the 2009 VMAs from his ranch in Crawford?  Did he call Taylor Swift in to consult on how to use West's egomania to his advantage? Does Bush listen to Taylor Swift or does he prefer Texas country? Are we still waging wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? 


For some reason I feel distracted . . .

Mad Men Mega Post

In anticipation of the season finale of Mad Men I decided to dedicate today's post to memorable Mad Men moments.  It was difficult, but I managed to select ten moments that (for me personally) are the most unforgettable.  If you have unwatched episodes on your DVR (or have never watched the show) you should probably avoid reading this post.  


10:  Peggy Smokes Pot

While it might not be her most shocking moment, this scene supplied one of my favorite quotes: "I'm Peggy Olsen. I want to smoke some marijuana."


9:  Freddy Pees His Pants


I could not find a photo of this anywhere!  What's the deal?  This moment stayed with me for two reasons: 1) a guy peed his pants at work and 2) the boys at Sterling Cooper usually make drinking and smoking throughout the work day look thoroughly sexy.  Freddy soaking his slacks definitely took the shine off.  


8:  Duck Seduces Peggy

Here's the thing: Duck grosses me out, and I was not excited about Peggy bedding down with him.  However, it was completely unexpected and provided yet another memorable quote.  


7:  Mrs. Blankenship Kicks The Bucket 

I think we all saw this one coming, but it was great nonetheless. Especially when Don said, "I'd have my secretary do it, but she's dead." 


6:  Joan Plays The Accordion 

Just when you thought Joanie could not be anymore charming, she busts out an accordion and sings for her dinner guests.  In French!




Number 5:  Roger Insults The Japanese


So we all knew Roger wasn't the most progressive of the bunch.

But wow! Sterling holds a grudge!  He somehow managed to reference Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Kamikazes in a span of three minutes.  


4:  Betty Slaps Helen Bishop


Despite appearances Betty is no ordinary housewife-

but this was a complete surprise, and really gave us a taste of Betty's emotional instability.  

3.  Pete and Trudy Dance the Charleston:

This moment is so incredibly Pete-tastic (thanks Matt Godsey!) that whenever I'm feeling down, I pull up this video of Pete and Trudy dancing to Ludacris' Money Maker and suddenly all is right with the world.  


2:  One Word- Tractor

1:  Don Holds Peggy's Hand 

"The Suitcase" is my favorite episode thus far, and this moment which was so beautifully subtle, is the reason why.  


What are your favorite moments?

I've Got A Better Game- It's Called Two Lies and Another Lie

So if you haven't noticed yet, I'm a big fan of Mad Men.  I'm especially fond of Don Draper.  How could you not love a character who uses words like "kabuki"? Or responds to beatniks who condescendingly ask how he sleeps at night with "on a bed made of money."  


If you're not watching Mad Men download the first few episodes and try not to get hooked. It's irresistible. I know this might sound like an overstatement, but it's so good that it doesn't seem like television.  I have never seen a show this well done.  


And if you are watching Mad Men, you'll love this.  

Back Next Week!

Gentle Readers,

I am off to San Francisco for a few days and I know that there will be no time for blogging.  Unfortunately, this means that I will have to postpone both Gen Y and the Culture of Cool: Marketing Tips for 2012 (Part Two) as well as this week's Flashback Friday.  Check back next week- I should have something posted by Friday.  In the meantime I will leave you with this little gem that the girls at gofugyourself.com mentioned on their blog:


http://petecampbellsbitchface.tumblr.com/


And if don't watch Mad Men . . . you should.  If not for Pete Campbell's facial expressions then for Don Draper's voice.