Livin' the Dream

8.31.2010

Is America Anti-Aniston?

Jennifer Aniston's newest movie "The Switch" opened in theatres last weekend and let's just say that it didn't exactly do well. The film earned only 8 million dollars and was outdone by "Pirahna 3D" and "Vampires Suck". No bueno Jen.

Yahoo ran an article from Forbes.com that talks all about how Aniston's bid to be queen of the romantic comedy is quickly falling short. It mentions that when she plays alongside another (usually more talented) actor, she does great. But when trying to carry a film on her own, she can't deliver.

Let's look at the last few films she's made:
2003 - Bruce Almighty
2004 - Along Came Polly
2006 - The Break Up
2008 - Marley and Me
2009 - He's Just Not That Into You
2009 - Love Happens
2010 - The Bounty Hunter
2010 - The Switch

Not a bad list. But there seems to be a common theme: she plays the same type of character over and over again. She's either the hot wife, the hot girlfriend, or a hot girl who can't quite seem to make love work.

She's Rachel Green. All the time.

Her character on Friends was fantastic. But maybe that's also been her downfall. I can't watch a movie of hers without seeing or hearing something that reminds me of Rachel. I can't move past her in that role. She's been typecast and she's not a versatile enough actress to break out of that. She can't do action, she can't really do drama, so she's left with playing the funny, aloof, kind of ditzy hot girl.

Being typecast isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't really work once you hit 40 and your characters' lives are mirroring your real life. If we have to read about you in the tabloids wanting a baby or maybe having a baby, I don't also want to watch a movie where this is potentially happening. They talk about art imitating life but come on already...

I also do agree with the statement that her movies do better when she's acting alongside a strong actor. "The Break Up" was great because Vince Vaughn is hysterical. Same with "Along Came Polly" (Ben Stiller) and "Bruce Almighty" (Jim Carrey). "Marley and Me" was a little different because Owen Wilson is not in any way a good actor, but I think it was the puppy that made that movie more than anyone. She's just not a marquis actress. She's strongest in an ensemble and there's nothing wrong with that. So own it.

I'll be the first to say it: Jennifer Aniston is very pretty. But maybe it's time for her to give up on the whole acting thing. She can be a spokesperson and get paid from Friends royalties but maybe her time as America's sweetheart has passed.

8.30.2010

Video of the Day 8/30/10 - Um You are NOT on Glee Edition

That show "America's Got Talent" is now in the semifinals I guess. I first saw this video on an episode of Chelsea Lately which, if you haven't watched that show, you should seriously start. Hysterical.

Anyway, so this girl starts to sing "Pokerface" by Lady Gaga except she tries to remix it and fails. But it's not like she came up with her own rendition of it. No. This chick decides she is going to sing the version that Lea Michele and Idina Menzel performed on Glee last season.

Observe:

The worst part was that all of the judges (and Chelsea Handler) all thought she came up with this on her own. And they all hated it.

She did NOT come up with it on her own. Lady Gaga actually does a sick piano version of it herself and then the geniuses at Glee created a duet for Lea Michele and Idina Menzel who KILLED it.

Observe the Lady Gaga version:

Observe the Glee version (sorry the video is kind of crappy but it's the only one I could find):

Come on girlfriend. If you're going to do this version, you'd better work. it. out.

Book Review: Whatever You Do, Don't Run

Whatever You Do, Don't Run
Author: Peter Allison
Number of Pages: 264
Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir
Where I Got It: Library

Synopsis: At age 19, Australian-born Allison headed to Africa for challenge and adventure, planning to stay no more than a year; having found work as a safari guide, he's still there some 13 years later. In this fun, fearless memoir, Allison shares his experiences taking "guests" through the African wilderness, trips that often don't go quite as planned-due especially to the unpredictability of the animals around them.

This book was really great for so many reasons. It was just a collection of stories and anecdotes compiled by Allison from his time spent as a safari guide in Africa. Simple to read, I flew through the pages wanting to know what adventure or mishap Allison gets into next. From suffering a lion attack to watching an elephant he had seen on the savannah for years give birth, each story is filled with just the right amount of humor, suspense, or touching emotion to leave their own imprint while you read.

Allison also manages to work in some completely fascinating facts about the animals he encounters while on safari. I learned about animals I had never even heard of before and I loved it.

I want to go on a safari now because of this book. Highly, highly recommended.

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Coming up next: The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
Set in Boston at the end of the First World War, The Given Day tells the story of two families--one black, one white--swept up in a maelstrom of revolutionaries and anarchists, immigrants and ward bosses, Brahmins and ordinary citizens, all engaged in a battle for survival and power. Here, too, are some of the most influential figures of the era--Babe Ruth; Eugene O’Neill; leftist activist Jack Reed; NAACP founder W. E. B. DuBois; Mitchell Palmer, Woodrow Wilson’s ruthless Red-chasing attorney general; cunning Massachusetts governor Calvin Coolidge; and an ambitious young Department of Justice lawyer named John Hoover. Coursing through some of the pivotal events of the time--including the Spanish Influenza pandemic--and culminating in the Boston Police Strike of 1919, The Given Day explores the crippling violence and irrepressible exuberance of a country at war with, and in the thrall of, itself.

Audio Reviews
Heat by Bill Buford: Tells the story of a writer who decides to become a chef in the kitchen of Mario Batali. This was an okay audio book. Not very memorable though and I had to rewind a lot. Plus the author's voice was kind of weird and all the talk about the Italian food kept making me hungry.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink: A 15-year old begins a love affair with a woman twice his age, they separate, then he is reunited with her when she is on trial for some WWII crimes. Fantastic story and this audio book's narrator, Campbell Scott, was really great.

8.27.2010

I Swear...

...if the onset dating between the Glee cast members ruins the show, I will not be pleased.

(Sidenote: Naya, you go girl.)

Glee returns in only a few short weeks and I of course have been reading all the rumors and some of the spoilers. Does this ruin the show for me? Nope. Because spoilers don't give away this magic:

So like I said, there's going to be a lot happening on the next season of Glee. But is it too much? I'm not gonna lie, I get a little bit worried that they're going to try to make every episode bigger and better and more performance oriented than the last and it could lose a lot of what makes it an incredible show.

Attention spoilers ahead.

First and foremost, much like the Madonna episode, there is going to be a Britney Spears-themed episode. But unlike the Madonna episode, Brit will actually make an appearance on the show. That is awesome. However, is this necessary? How does this flow in with the storyline? Apparently they go to the dentist or something, get hopped up on novocaine, and then hallucinate that they are singing Britney Spears songs.

Don't get me wrong... they're calling it a tribute to Britney's most fabulous days and I for one love me some fabulous Britney. "I'm a Slave 4 U" was my JAM in high school.

But I don't want Glee to go down the path of just episode after episode of karaoke-ing the hits of different celebs. A Madonna episode, a Lady Gaga episode, now a Britney episode? Obviously I know that at the end of the day they will work. it. out. because they are Glee. I mean anyone who can turn a Lady Gaga song into something I want to belt out in the car every day on the way to work is mega-talented.

It's always been such a well-rounded show that had a fantastic storyline that was complimented by even more fantastic singing. And I don't want it to shift to become fantastic singing and every once in a while there's a glimpse of a storyline.

Yet, something still tells me I will be completely and very very pleasantly surprised. It is Glee after all. Consider yourself warned LTD fans... there will be a Glee explosion come mid-September.