Rachel Getting Married (2008)

Directed by Jonathan Demme
Starring Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, and Debra Winger

This has a lot of elements involved in your typical chick flick;

1) It's called, "Rachel Getting Married".
2) It stars Anne Hathaway.
3) It has chicks named Rachel in it, etc.

But, this isn't necessarily your typical chick flick. Anne Hathaway isn't Rachel and she isn't getting married. She is Rachel's little sister. And, she just got out of rehab.

Now, the drama involved is something that any reality television watching female would love. There are a whole lot of "look at me" scenes taking places in this movie between Rachel and Kimmy (Anne Hathaway). But, there is a little more weight to this then your average chick flick in that it was directed by Jonathan "Silence of the Lambs" Demme. Hmmm, now I've got you thinking ,don't I.

Something about Anne Hathaway makes me think that in real life she is just a little bit shy of bat-shit crazy. I can see it in her eyes. Most actresses are a little nuts, and Anne dials in Kimmy's craziness to perfection. By the end of the film she is no longer Anne Hathaway but a fully believable Kimmy. This was rewarded with an Academy Award nomination (she was beat by Kate Winslet in "The Reader"). She is almost as crazy as Helen Hunt in the following "After School Special";



The film is well directed, and well acted, although, some of the scenes did seem a little improvised. Scenes like, "Everyone get in this room and act". At times, it worked and felt real. Other times, you could almost see the actors staying in character.

For the first time in the history of CHICK FLICK and BEER I paired the film with wine. Selecting slowly and carefully I chose a Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile called Como Sur. It was smooth and fruity. Very easy to drink and very delicious. I slurped it slowly in to my mouth and let the varieties of fruit, strawberries and plum, slowly absorb into my mouth, slowly exciting my taste buds into slow pure ecstasy. It was a very slow process.

"Rachel Getting Married", is a great film for anyone who wants to see a marriage film that is different from your normal cookie-cutter chick flick. While these characters situations are more intense and dramatic than most, the tension between the characters more closely mirrors the reality of wedding/ family drama than say some thing like Anne Hathaway's 2009 disaster Bride Wars .

All I can say is, "Rachel, you are such a bitch. Everything is always about you!"



FORCE THE BOYFRIEND: 7 out of 10 (1 mean he'll hate it, 10 means he'll love it)

Watched if you liked...Anne Hathaway, Reality Television, Decent Movies

Chick Flick: 4 cartons of ice cream (out of 5)- maybe a 4 1/2?
Wine: 4 slow delicious mouthfuls (out of 5)

Terms of Endearment (1983)

Starring Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, and Jack Nicholson
Directed by James L. Brooks

by Joshua Simpkins

In honor of Mother’s Day I chose to watch (due to a recommendation) the 1983 film “Terms of Endearment”. It turned about to be especially appropriate because it is a film about mothers (and a drunk Jack Nicholson, not like that has anything to do with mothers, unless your mother is a drunk and likes Jack Nicholson. Mine hates him and she doesn’t drink). Also, in honor of the maternal day I also decided to drink red wine instead of beer. The wine of choice was a 2008 [yellow tail] Shiraz- Cabernet finely aged (because I cook with it and its been corked for a while, and by cook with it I mean mix it into Prego marinara sauce and throw it in the microwave) and economically easy on the wallet with the friendly price of $5.87. I had to drink it out of juice glasses because I do not actually own any wine glasses.

I know you must be asking yourself why, “Terms of Endearment”? Why not, something like say, “Monster In Law”, or something with Meryl Streep? I ask myself the same questions? Why not something with Meryl Streep? Perhaps “Sophie’s Choice” would be an excellent Mother’s Day pick. Why does J-Lo have such a bubbly ass? These are questions that need answers.

The idea to watch TOE came about during a dinner discussion. I claimed that “Marley and Me” was one of the saddest films I had ever seen. What can I say? Dogs strike a nerve. The counter argument was that nothing is sadder than “Terms of Endearment” when Debra Winger’s character tells her son on her cancerous deathbed, “I forgive you”. I thought there is no way that compares to “Marley and Me” when Owen Wilson bends down to Marley in the Veterinarian’s office and whispers to him; “You know when I told you that you were a bad dog? I was wrong. You’re not a bad dog. You’re the best dog.” Heartbreaking. How can anything be sadder than that?

Well, “Terms of Endearment” is pretty sad. Especially, when you’ve had three full juice glasses of stale red wine. And, the fact that it’s Mother’s Day doesn’t help either. Good Lord. Is it a good film? No, it’s a great film. If you haven’t seen it then you should. And, let me warn you. You are going to cry. It is f-cking sad. I won’t ruin it for you and tell you what it’s all about. It’s about mothers and daughters, and mothers and sons, and drunk astronauts played by Jack Nicholson. It’s funny and its sad as hell, sad sad and good sad. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and then the movie will end and you’ll pass out on your air mattress from the stale red wine at 1 o’clock in the afternoon only to wake up confused 3 hours later.

FORCE THE BOYFRIEND:  7 out of 10 (Great movie!)

Beer Pairing Recommendation

I actually skipped the beer and in honor of Mother's Day

went with a stale 2008 Yellow Tail Shiraz- Cabernet