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stina-is-a-punk-rocker · 4 years

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‘always and forever, lara jean’: a bungled mess of my thoughts while watching the movie

Alright, cards on the table: I never finished reading the book. I got bored a couple of pages in, so I just read up the summary on Wikipedia and called it a day.

Not gonna lie, I expected better from the movies. I loved the first movie; it was cute, it was fun, it hit all the right places. The second movie was… eh. Jordan Fisher is cute, so that’s a plus.

And then we got the third movie; the final in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy.

And it was somehow even worse.

Maybe I’m exaggerating. Despite its shortcomings in the plot and character development-related departments (the fact that Lara Jean wrote addresses for letters she never meant to send is something that will bother me on my deathbed), the movies have their merits. They’re cutesy and charming and enjoyable, overall; movie-LJ is sweet and unashamedly a girly-girl, which is a refreshing change from the #NotLikeOtherGirls, pick-me girls and bruh girls we had in loads of other YA movies growing up. Peter’s pretty cute, too; he’s not a possessive freak like so many other love interests (The Kissing Booth, After, Anna and the French Kiss), and his and Lara Jean’s dynamic is cute, too. Not to mention- we finally have an Asian lead whose Asian-ness isn’t the whole focus of the story!

Again, maybe I’m being extra with all this. The series is, at its core, solely for entertainment purposes. Not every piece of media has to have an underlying message and you shouldn’t need to read between every goddamn line to find something worthy of enjoying. They’re certainly helpful for whiling away a couple of hours; perfect for bingeing with a pint of ice cream in hand, and all of this is in good fun.

Also, it goes without saying, but: spoilers ahead.

The film beings with Lara Jean scribbling a postcard to Peter while she’s in Korea with her family. The inclusion of that little snapshot of Asian culture made me so happy- seriously, fuck everyone who says diversity in media doesn’t matter. I’m not even Korean, and I was overjoyed at seeing a couple of scenes just from the same continent I’m on. The K-pop music in the background was a fun touch, too (although all Korean music isn’t K-pop, but that’s a rant for another day).

(Also: Blackpink has so many more suitable songs than Pretty Savage that go with the theme of the movies. Kill This Love in the second movie while Lara Jean is getting ready to go to her boyfriend’s match is bad enough- they’re supposed to be in love in that scene, goddammit.)

One thing that bothered me throughout the movies is how obviously non-Korean Lara Jean and Margot look. It’s like whoever chose the cast went for any random Asian- Lana’s Vietnamese and Janel Parrish is half-Chinese, and it’s so obvious. You seriously couldn’t find two Korean-Americans who even vaguely resembled each other so they could pass for sisters? The actresses do a stunning job and I don’t want to shit on them, but I just wish they didn’t go with the ‘all Asians look the same, what’s the difference?’ mindset.

Also, a nitpicky thing I’ve noticed in movies with characters who read a lot: no one holds their books up while they’re reading. Your arms start to cramp, which is why you keep your book in your lap while you’re reading, or you rest on your belly and hold the book in front of you. My spine and shoulders didn’t suffer years of torture as a chronic reader for you to include characters who hold their books up while reading.

A major gripe I have with Always and Forever, Lara Jean is how the characters are almost jarringly out of character- not from the books, but from the two previous movies, too. Lara Jean didn’t have much of a character to begin with, so I can’t say much about her (she dissed Oasis at one point; it’s okay for me to be mean to her), but the rest of them are either caricatures of themselves or just totally different people.

Movie Peter >>> Book Peter. He’s almost too perfect (except for the fact that he unironically loves The Fast and the Furious, which… ew), almost too much of the ideal boyfriend. Not that my perpetually single arse would know. How do boyfriends even work? I wouldn’t know the first thing to do with one; how often should you feed it? Do you need to take it on walks?

(In the notes I’ve written towards the end of the film, I’ve complained about Peter being immature and making Lara Jean feel bad about following her dream to go to NYU. He confuses me.)

Not to mention how distractingly adorable Noah Centineo is from some angles and under certain lighting conditions (other times, he reminds me of the human version of Shrek and that bothered me). King of weird Tweets and Instagram captions though he may be, he’s got a really nice smile, and his gravelly voice is both parts sexy and disturbing.

But I digress.

I’ll never forgive the directors for what they did to Kitty and Chris- two of my favorite characters, from both the books and the movies. Kitty’s annoying to the point of being borderline unlikeable- gone is the occasionally snarky comic relief we all came to love; in her place is an annoying brat whose every line comes out forced. Also, making soap is fun; fuck you, Kitty.

Chris is essentially Dixie D’Amelio’s character from that TikToker Grey’s Anatomy ripoff; the main character in One Direction fanfiction from 2012 who doesn’t want to go to the concert but her best friend gets a ticket for her so she can’t bail but Harry Styles sees her in the crowd and falls in love at first sight and 50k of mutual pining and misunderstandings late, they get together. She’s cynical and snarky and hates capitalism and consumerism and prom (because of course she does), but secretly, she’s into it (because of course she is). My guess is that she’s there to appease all the arseholes (including myself) who accused the characters of being too one-dimensional, but it seems too out of place in a movie that doesn’t have much plot to begin with.

I really, really hate how Lucas was done dirty- throughout every single movie. Of course, it’s Lara Jean’s story so not every side character has to be fully fleshed out- but you’d think three. entire. movies. would be enough to give Lucas a bigger role than the GBF and the token black guy for the diversity brownie points. Every single time Lucas shows up, it’s to push Lara Jean and Peter’s story forward. I would’ve liked to see a romance for him pushed forward instead one for Chris- especially because he says, at one point in a previous movie, that it’s hard to find other gay boys, so it would’ve been sweet to see him find love- and Chris’s character arc could’ve been focused on reconciling with Genevieve. Instead, we see the OG Reggie from Riverdale be the one to show Chris the bright side of monogamy, and Lucas gets a date to prom as an afterthought (another darkskin black dude, so no one thinks the film is racist).

Genevieve’s character in this movie gives me whiplash. Look, I’m all for girls supporting girls- healthy female relationships are something way too many YA movies lack- but she goes from bitch queen extraordinaire to friendly the moment the next scene calls for it. Her character isn’t consistent. A redemption arc should be executed cleanly and believably; you can’t have a character be a total prick one moment and then suddenly be, “Hey, if you get into NYU, let me know,” the next.

And Genevieve’s still an arsehole to Chris; at one point, in NYC, while they’re at the NYU campus grounds (I knew that Lara Jean was going to go to NYU the moment she saw all the banners; I fucking called it), Genevieve tells Chris, “University is for people who actually have a future,” and I recoiled. I’m not the nicest of people and yet that was going too far. Chris doesn’t hesitate to shoot back a, “You peaked in high school,”, but still. Y i k e s. You can’t convince me someone’s turned over a new leaf when they say something like that.

Lara Jean’s dad (forgot his name; gonna call him Dr. Covey) is as unremarkable as ever, and his new wife (forgot her name, too… Trisha? Trina? Eh, something like that) is… unsettling. I mean, I get that they’re all loved up and twitterpatted, but there’s something about all the smiling they’ve got going on that chills me to the bone.

Also, Trisha/Trina kinda looks like TikTok’s ThatVeganTeacher and it bothers me.

Another huge problem with this movie even being made is that the series never had enough plot to continue onto a trilogy. Lara Jean’s letters are what the plots of the first and second movies revolve around; the third only mentions them in passing. The final love letter from Peter was a cute callback, but there’s a massive continuity issue with the first two movies and this last one- both character and plot-wise.

Maybe I’m not articulating this clearly enough, so I’ll use an example: take Harry Potter, for example. Harry’s main goal throughout the series is defeating Voldemort. And it takes all seven books for him to get there, to finally achieve this.

Lara Jean’s goal in the first movie changes midway; from keeping up the façade with Peter so she can avoid the crap with the rest of the letters getting out, to making her fake relationship real. It forms a bridge with the second movie; the letter that went out to John Ambrose, and her dithering between Peter and perfection (I’m not sorry). But what does the third movie have to do with any of this?

There were way too many music montages. You couldn’t go five minutes without a random pop song playing in the background, and it was annoying as hell. Don’t Look Back in Anger was w a s t e d on this stupid film. The artsy scenery shots were even worse- no, I don’t give a fuck about the New York skyline or a bird’s eye view of whatever vehicle Lara Jean is in. A few shots of Seoul would’ve sufficed; the rest was overkill. This movie is way too damn long already (almost 2 entire hours!!!); cut out a couple of those. No one cares.

I thought they’d pull the whole Aladdin trope with character-A-keeps-trying-to-tell-character-B-the-truth-about-a-lie-B-believes-in-about-A-but-B-keeps-interrupting, but Lara Jean (typing her name out is annoying, why couldn’t she have a single name, like both of her sisters?) comes clean earlier than I expected. Peter’s reaction about LJ not getting into Stanford is… uncharacteristically mature? No “Why did you lie to me?”, no accusations, not an ounce of betrayal. Which I did not expect from a guy who’s a little bitch for the greater part of book one (I really don’t like Book Peter, in case you couldn’t tell). I know fuck-all about book three’s Peter, so I can’t tell if he really did adopt this mature, well-adjusted persona, or the movie did it to make Peter seem like less of a dick (like they did it with the sextape-that-wasn’t-a-sextape in the first installment).

On a sidenote, how do these main characters in YA books get into really good colleges with zero to no visible effort? These arseholes fuck around for the entirety of the story and have way too much going on to actually do schoolwork, but they waltz into Ivy Leagues at the end. And apparently, I’m not the only one bothered by this.

There’s something to be said about how the movies don’t really sexualize minors (characters who are minors, to be fair. None of the MCs look anything like teenagers), though. It’s almost weird to see them not getting drunk and partying and having sex all the time. Maybe that’s why Lara Jean trying to get her hand on Peter’s dick felt so stilted and awkward (I cringed so hard when she kept trying to touch him and he kept pushing her hand away, holy shit).

And the kissing. It’s to be expected from a romance film, but there was so. Much. Kissing.

The amount of product placements (… actually, I could count only two: Apple and a pair of Beats headphones Lara Jean puts on at one point, but the movie shoved so many iPhones in my face that I’m obligated to exaggerate) would’ve made anti-capitalist Chris mad.

I’m guessing this all takes place in a parallel universe, sans the coronavirus. Still, being in quarantine this past year and being socially awkward for every other one, it was agonizing seeing everyone so close together in NYC. When Peter kissed the ball (lol) (I have the sense of humor of a straight boy in middle school, don’t judge me) when him and Lara Jean go bowling, I had a visceral reaction. And what are the odds of Peter meeting his estranged dad at the very same bowling alley?

Speaking of Peter’s daddy issues (I’ve written “Hardin but diluted” in my notes; I watched this movie at, like, 1 AM; I’m not entirely sure what was going through my head at that point)- I hated how they guilt-tripped Peter into giving his father another chance. In the wise words of Hannah Montana, everybody makes mistakes- but leaving your wife and two kids for another woman is pretty far from a little oopsie on Mr. Kavinsky’s part. I don’t blame Peter for hating him, and I’m not in a place to judge whether Mr. Kavinsky (does he get a first name?) should be forgiven or not, but I feel like they let him off too easy and made Peter seem like a misunderstood teenager with anger issues for not accepting Mr. Kavinsky’s (crappy) apology at once.

And it adds nothing to the story at all; Mr. Kavinsky peaces out after having one (01) coffee with his firstborn, and he’s never seen again. If you’re going to introduce a subplot, make it tie into the main storyline- the very least you could do is make it an important enough part of the story to have more than 10 minutes of the run time. It makes no sense as to why they’d bring up Peter’s dad in this last film, when he’s already gone through two perfectly fine. I guess it was a ‘tying everything up’ part… even though no one cared.

Lara Jean’s handwriting is surprisingly ugly for someone who’s written that many love letters. And her styling took a definite nosedive; her outfits in the first movie were so effing cute, but now they’re just… meh.

There are so many conversations and lines that the writers must’ve thought sounded good enough for someone to type out the quote in curly font and slap it on a screenshot from the movie to post on Instagram, but when it comes to the actual delivery, they just sounded… weird.

Peter says one time near the beginning of the film, “You know what I’m looking forward to the most in college? Never having to say goodnight,” because he expects him and Lara Jean to get into the same college.

But I guess the word they should’ve used was ‘good-bye’, because this just makes him sound stupid.

At one point, Lara Jean asks Kitty how much Kitty’s gonna miss her when she goes off to college, and Kitty says, “A four.” Later on, she confesses, “I’m gonna miss you a twelve, Lara Jean,” and all I could think was, “But we’re endgame, Archie!”

(In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t let people know I’ve watched Riverdale; it lessons my credibility.)

Still, there remains some good to be found: all the baked goods looked very delicious and made me crave chocolate chip cookies. Peter wearing the socks Lara Jean gifted him at the beginning of the movie was a cute gesture, and Lara Jean giving Peter her teal hatbox? The one she kept her love letters in? Was so? Cute? Help?

And hey, it’s a cliché that’s been done to death, but I’m always a sucker for that part in movies where the girl walks down the stairs in a pretty dress with her hand on the banister and the boy turns around and his mouth falls open and all he can say is, “Wow,”- and this film did not disappoint! Not to mention how cute both Lara Jean’s and Chris’s prom dresses were.

Dr. Covey and Trisha/Trina’s wedding was cute, too- I struggled to decide whether Kitty wearing a necklace that says ‘feminist’ and a tux is a bit too on-the-nose, but I’ve decided that it’s nothing to get my knickers all in a twist about (for clarification: it’s not the necklace or the crossdressing that made me debate this; I just wish they didn’t make a big deal out of it- I wish they didn’t have Kitty and Lara Jean get into an argument about her not wearing a dress, if that makes sense?).

And the final letter- the one from Peter to Lara Jean- I ate that shit up; it was so, so, so cute.

In conclusion (why is it so easy for me to crank out 3k about my thoughts on a Netflix movie and yet when it comes to English Lit. at school, I’d stare at a blank sheet of foolscap for ages?), did I enjoy the movie? Not really. There were parts of it that I liked, but it was overall too boring and I kept wishing I’d watched the new SKZ Code episode instead every few minutes.

But that doesn’t mean that it was bad. I kinda feel a little sad, actually, now that Lara Jean and Peter’s story has come to a close; To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, the first movie, is one of my favorites, and bitch though I might about them, the kinda grew on me… like an innocent plant, at first, but then like a fungus. Not a parasitic fungus, just not mutualistic, either… kind of like a commensal.

Maybe I should stop with the biology similes.

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twentiethcenturymoviesandtv · 4 years

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The Wizard of Oz: The Characters

Perhaps the most vital element of any story, whether television show, movie, or book, is its characters. You might have an interesting plot, but without compelling characters, it doesn’t stick, and The Wizard of Oz is no exception to that rule. In fact, The Wizard of Oz has probably given us some of the most iconic and compelling characters ever created. People don’t forget characters Dorothy Gale, or the Wicked Witch very easily. Today, we’re going to be taking a look at just what makes those characters so memorable, and so timeless. First up, let’s check out our heroine. (Spoilers below!)

Dorothy Gale is one of the most well-known and loved characters in all of pop culture history. Despite originating as a character from a children’s book, Judy Garland’s portrayal in 1939 has been firmly cemented as the essential Dorothy Gale, and with good reason.

Every protagonist should have a problem, preferably a problem pertaining to the plot (say that five times fast!) and Dorothy’s problem is, initially, Smalltown Boredom. She is surrounded by adults, authority figures who love her, but don’t understand her, and she’s the only one on her side willing to take action when her dog’s life is threatened. This reveals something important about Dorothy’s character that remains consistent throughout the entire narrative: Dorothy always tries to solve her problems, even if it isn’t always the best course of action, such as deciding to become the Runaway to save her dog’s life.

Despite her willingness to take action when necessary, she’s not a fantasy hero when it comes to the action itself. She never learns to use any weapons, or how to fight; her first instinct is to befriend, and she consistently shows politeness and kindness towards others. Her status as Accidental Hero Trapped in Another World never goes to her head, even after she frees two separate groups of people from underneath the rule of the Wicked Witches of the East and West. She helps the Scarecrow down from his pole, and oils the Tin Man’s joints, listens to their, and the Lion’s, problems, and then suggests that they join her so they can all get help together. For heaven’s sake, she even apologizes when she commits Accidental Murder!

While we’re on the subject, let’s discuss that Accidental Murder for a moment.

The witch’s death wasn’t a dragon-slaying moment, it’s a result of Dorothy’s attempt to save the Scarecrow. Dorothy is certainly not a She Who Fights Monsters character, in any sense of the term. She never craved adventure, she left the house to save Toto. She doesn’t try to attack what she thought was a vicious lion until he went after her dog. In fact, the only times she becomes angry in the film are when someone she cares about is threatened. She even forgives: she asks the Lion to join them after he attacks Toto, and she’s nice to the Wicked Witch’s guards. Dorothy is a character who always tries to do the right, and kind, thing, something that sets her apart from many fantasy heroes that have come before and after her.

Like I said in the last article, Dorothy Gale is an earnest dreamer, a scared, but brave little girl. She’s a nice person and a brave person, but more than that, she’s a good character.

Good characters change throughout the course of a story, and while at first it might not seem like Dorothy changes at all, a closer look reveals a different story.

As I’ve mentioned previously, Dorothy is one of the first and most famous examples of the Hero’s Journey on film, and a character can’t go through the Hero’s Journey without learning and growing. Much like her friends, searching for things they already had, (more on that shortly) Dorothy is searching for home, before finding out that she had the means to get there the whole time. Dorothy’s ‘journey’ in a character sense is discovering her own strength and agency, not allowing herself to helplessly watch others affect her life, while not losing what makes her a good and nice person. Not only is this a different moral than a lot of fantasy stories, where the hero does need to train to gain something before his narrative is finished, but Dorothy’s change also kicks in at a totally different time in the narrative.

The moment where Dorothy’s goal changes, the scene where she stops wanting to get away from Kansas and wants to get back to it, doesn’t happen at the end of the second act, it’s not a dramatic realization after the hero has gone through much of their journey; no, Dorothy’s priorities switch the exact moment she lands in Oz and is hailed for killing their witch. This doesn’t make her a bad character, or a bad example, because it makes a lot of sense for a young kid to immediately realize that they don’t belong in this fantasy world, and that they have family that’s probably concerned about them. Dorothy’s learning and growing is done on the journey to get back, struggling to return to the place she realizes that she belongs.

In summary? Dorothy’s a sweet kid, who doesn’t let adventure turn her into a harder person, just a kinder and stronger one.

But a hero is only as good as their villain, right?

The Wicked Witch of the West is rock solid one of the most memorable villains in film history. Everything from her laugh to her look is firmly cemented in the minds of moviegoers, even though she doesn’t really look like her book counterpart at all. She’s the quintessential witch: shooting fireballs, riding on brooms and cackling, but perhaps the most interesting part about her is the fact that she, like multiple other characters in this story, is not one person, but two.

Ms. Gulch is the original Big Bad of the film, an uptight woman who ‘owns half the county’. Fed up with Dorothy’s dog, Toto, she obtains the legal right to have him put down. We don’t see a lot of her, and there is even evidence to suggest that Toto did chase her cat and run through her lawn often as well as bite her, but there is also a lot of evidence to suggest that Ms. Gulch had it coming. Toto tends to be a good judge of character, and even Dorothy’s aunt and uncle, while legally powerless, don’t let her go without letting her know exactly what they think of her.

It makes sense that Dorothy’s frightened subconscious would exaggerate nasty Ms. Gulch into an evil, hammy, black-clad, laughing mad, Wicked Witch.

In the realm of Oz, that one key character trait of Ms. Gulch (besides overall nastiness) did carry over: power. In our world, she can order around the sheriff, in Oz, she has an army of flying monkeys and magic powers. And once again, just like in the real world, she uses an offense as an excuse to hunt Dorothy and Toto down, using the death of her sister as a way to get her hands on the magical shoes that she wore. Throughout the entire movie, she is never shown mourning the death of her sister, but she is very much focused on those shoes, and the fact that Dorothy is wearing them is enough to make the Witch vow vengeance. (‘I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!’)

In this, the Witch is an extraordinarily good villain. Just scary enough to frighten young watchers, and still mean enough to make older viewers wince with disgust, the Witch proves an excellent foil to Dorothy. She’s the ultimate oppression in a child’s life: an unjust adult with power.

(It’s important to note that Dorothy never ‘overthrows’ her as is often seen in these types of scenarios. Like I’ve stated above, the death of both witches is a total accident on her part, and Dorothy even shows remorse afterwards.)

The Witch maintains a steady threat throughout the film, arriving to throw fireballs, threaten, or just cackle when need be. She also follows through. Towards the end of the movie, she kidnaps Dorothy, which leads to the most important thing about being a villain: being beaten. The Witch goes out in one of the most memorable and iconic deaths in movie history, melted by her Weaksauce Weakness: a bucket of water.

In the end, as with Dorothy, we don’t know a lot about these characters, but in that, both hero and villain feel (fittingly) very much like characters from a fairytale: archetypes for young audiences to immediately grasp and understand. Sure, the Wicked Witch is no Darth Vader, but does that make her a less effective villain? I don’t think so. There’s a reason she’s a Breakout Villain and the second most famous character in the film.

Of course, there’s more to look at here than just the two main driving forces. No movie is complete without its supporting cast.

The first of the trio of supporting characters that Dorothy meets in Oz is the Scarecrow, a more exaggerated version of his own Kansas Kounterpart. The Scarecrow’s defining trait is his value of brains, intelligence, and sense.

The thing about the Scarecrow is that he always had brains, he was just under the impression that he didn’t. Every idea the gang gets is from him. He figures out how to get Dorothy apples, he comes up with the plan to get the trio into the castle, and he even uses the Tin-Man’s axe to bring the light fixture down on the Witch’s guards.

Once again, part of the brilliance of The Wizard of Oz is that both the Oz trio and Dorothy have the same problem: lack of confidence in their own abilities, constantly using what they think they don’t have to reach their goals. If it wasn’t for Dorothy’s realization that she needed home, or the Scarecrow’s idea that he needed brains, neither would have ended up on this adventure and neither would have grown as people the way that they do, or learned that they already had what they were looking for.

Same goes for the Tin Man, probably the most emotional character in all of cinema.

Like the Scarecrow, his Kansas Kounterpart also puts a lot of stock in having a specific trait, this time in having a heart. The Tin Man’s stock is in remaining emotionally open and caring, and also like the Scarecrow, the Tin Man spends most of the movie bemoaning the absence of something he clearly has: a heart.

Like I said before, it’s not an exaggeration to say that the Tin Man might be the most emotional character in the history of movies. He cries over everything. In another example of the truly interesting acting in this film, the performance that Jack Haley gives is dripping with empathy and kindness, directly tonally contradicting his claims of heartlessness. Ironically, the gentlest of the company is also the only one consistently armed, with an axe no less. Also like the Scarecrow, what he actually needs, and what he gets at the end of the story, is belief in the fact that he does have a heart, rather than the vital organ itself. He spends the entire story using and prominently displaying the trait he determinedly says he lacks, and it’s all the more rewarding when he finally believes he’s found what he’s been looking for.

Perhaps the most complicated and difficult of the three to look at would be the Cowardly Lion. Of the trio, he’s the one who does seem to lack the trait he claims to, routinely running away from danger and displaying extreme cowardice, to the point of being afraid of sheep he tries to count to go to sleep. He’s not exactly King of the Forest, Dorothy brings him to blubbering with one almighty smack.

While the Scarecrow and the Tin Man obviously display their own intelligence and emotion, the Lion never seems to portray any bravery of his own. He is drug, kicking and screaming, into danger at every turn, heading into the Witch’s castle, the Haunted Forest, and even the audience with the Wizard. Even during the rescue of Dorothy he begs his friends to talk him out of it.

The real question we must ask is: does this make him a coward?

The definition of courage is not, as the Lion seems to think, a lack of fear. In fact, the real definition of courage, especially from a storytelling standpoint, is being afraid, and doing what you have to do anyway. Many of our greatest heroes from fiction have been afraid during their greatest deeds, but did what they did because it had to be done. With this definition in mind, the Lion’s characterization makes a little more sense.

The Lion does pull through in every case, and yes, he does need some help from his friends to keep him going at times, but if doing everything alone and without fear constituted courage, very few of us would be considered truly brave. Once again, this brings out the emphasis that The Wizard of Oz puts on friendships, which is possibly another one of the reasons that this film holds up for all ages. We all know what it’s like to do things we don’t want to for a friend’s sake, even if it’s not exactly storming a castle.

Just like the Scarecrow and the Tin Man, the Lion never picks up on the fact that he too has what he’s been looking for this whole time, the real prize at the end being his own confidence in his ability. He also shares quite a few similarities to his Kansas Kounterpart, all bluster until Dorothy falls into the pigpen, and despite being afraid, he charges in after her. Like Dorothy and the others, he too ends the journey with what he’s been looking for.

But of course, there wouldn’t be a journey in the first place without our titular wizard, would there?

Of all of the characters in The Wizard of Oz, the Wizard himself is the most similar to his real world counterpart, Professor Marvel. He’s a con artist, a Stage Magician in both worlds, convincing Dorothy of his abilities with his ‘Crystal Ball’ in Kansas, and convincing everyone in Oz that he’s an all-powerful Wizard, with enough parlor tricks and bluster to be in charge without ever having to use any real magic.

Despite this penchant for dishonesty, both the Wizard and Professor Marvel display remarkable amounts of compassion. He’s a nice enough man when it comes down to it, using his ‘crystal ball’ to try to convince Dorothy to go back home to her family, and at the end, again trying to help her get home. He gives Dorothy’s friends symbols to represent their ‘missing’ traits, and even dropping a few words of wisdom on them.

(Yes, he did send a child on an assassination mission, but in his defense, he was probably trying to buy time to figure out what to do with their requests. Once again, all bluster, remember? And furthermore, this is all a dream of Dorothy’s. Cut her subconscious some slack.)

Another tidbit to look at: it’s interesting that his relationship with Dorothy is so very similar in both worlds: a con artist who tries to get her home. It’s also interesting to note that in Kansas, before her journey, she buys it, whereas in Oz, after her adventure, she unmasks him as the Man Behind the Curtain (granted, with a lot of help from Toto).

Despite the fact that in the end, it is Dorothy alone who can get her home, it’s not for lack of the Wizard’s trying.

There are only three remaining major characters in The Wizard of Oz who do not have counterparts in either universe: Auntie Em, Uncle Henry, and Glinda the Good Witch, and rather than sharing similarities with any other characters, this group actually seems to work as contrasts for each other.

Auntie Em and Uncle Henry are introduced as hardworking people, an older couple with a farm in the middle of the Great Depression, by no means an easy job. They are also raising Dorothy, which is another not easy job. As a result, Auntie Em especially comes across as a little stern and stressed, distant, and not really understanding of Dorothy’s young impulsive thoughts and dreams. In a way, they are part of the cause of Dorothy’s journey in the first place by not stopping Ms. Gulch from swooping off with Toto, coming across almost as a betrayal to not only Dorothy, but the audience. Dorothy and the audience both feel that the couple are unsympathetic to her, and don’t help her when she absolutely needs it, which works as a neat foreshadowing that Dorothy will, in fact, be learning to solve her own problems.

It is only later, when the tornado strikes, that you see the genuine concern and love that the pair have for their niece. When Dorothy wakes up, both aunt and uncle greet her with relieved affection. Despite the fact that it is Auntie Em and Uncle Henry’s inaction that drives her away, it is also them that she is so desperate to return to: caring family that she is sure is worried about her. (She’s right.) Dorothy’s self-sufficiency does not come at the cost of her family’s love and support, rather, the message seems to be that through relationships with others, you can learn to handle yourself.

By contrast, there’s Glinda the Good Witch, the first person Dorothy meets in Oz, a super-magical being with the power to scare off the Wicked Witch, and with the knowledge from the beginning that would have saved Dorothy a trip.

Glinda has a similar effect on Dorothy’s life as her aunt and uncle, but in a different way. It is Glinda’s inaction that is part of the reason for Dorothy’s quest. By not telling her about the power of the Ruby Slippers to take her home, she allows Dorothy to take that journey that Glinda knows she needs.

Glinda is the most otherworldly and magical thing about Oz. Everything about her is designed to be different to anyone else in Oz, from her mode of travel to her clothes to her way of speech. She’s immediately friendly and we instantly get the sense that she knows more than both Dorothy and the audience. Glinda is Dorothy’s guide, sending her off, rescuing her from the Wicked Witch’s poppies, and then at the end, when she tells Dorothy how she can get home to her mentors in the real world.

If you think that these characters seem a little simple, you’d be right. At the end of the day, The Wizard of Oz is not a story designed to have complex characters with deep motivations, it’s a fairytale intended to have uncomplicated characters that people immediately connect to and remember. And it works.

Every character in The Wizard of Oz is not only there for a reason, it’s for a good reason. It was a perfect cast that worked well onscreen, with enough relatability and charm that people of all ages come back to them again and again. They carry the story and make us care about it and them, and in the end, that is the mark of a good character.

Whether you like or hate them, a character is there to make you care, and in this case, this group does their job. They leave an impact, and a strong one at that. We remember these characters and their quirks long after the movie is over for a reason.

Join me next time where we’ll be looking at another interesting aspect of The Wizard of Oz: We’ve seen the impact it’s had on the culture, now it’s time to see the impact the culture had on it. Feel free to drop a suggestion or thought in the ask box, and thank you so much for reading!

#The Wizard of Oz #The Wizard of Oz 1939 #PG #1939 #30s #Film #Movies #Adventure #Fantasy #Judy Garland #Margaret Hamilton #Frank Morgan #Ray Bolger #Jack Haley #Bert Lahr #Billie Burke #Victor Fleming

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derryhawkins · 5 years

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I Love Him, Your Honor [2 of ??]

summary: During college, Richie works part time at a law office for the sole reason it pays well, and he honestly thinks it’s utter hell. But then he meets another part time employee who works down in the file room and, well, maybe the law office isn’t completely hellish. word count: 4.1k a/n: our fave boy mike makes an appearance near the end & rich sees eddie’s clothed ass for the first time, so enjoy

AO3 link; chapter one

chapter two: boring as all hell

The work load at the law office ends up being relatively easy. At first, on that Tuesday when he first started once he sorted out the hours he'd come in with the three lawyers, everything sounded complicated and Richie fully believed he had gotten himself into a extremely hard job with just the simple persuasion of money on Bev's part. That, thankfully, isn’t the case at all. The rest of the week goes by smoothly though, much to his surprise. He doesn't really do much Tuesday. Various other employees sat him show him how to do different things throughout the day so he would be able to do what they asked and what they lawyers needed, and he catches on rather quickly, impressing everyone. He essentially becomes their little elf as the rest of the week rolls by - as much as his six foot, lanky being could be an elf. Mostly, he just does things on the computer. He scans stuff in, searches clients, checks people's files in the N-drive or whatever it’s called, and other various boring shit that's mind numbing.

It's easy. But it's so boring.

Richie is just glad he's allowed to listen to his music while he works or else he would have gone batshit crazy on the first day and the ones following. He doesn't even have to work on Fridays; the law office is closed, and people only go in to make up hours or catch up on work they got behind on. He just has to work from eleven to five Mondays, and then eight to three Tuesdays through Thursdays. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

A tune of one of Hozier's songs plays through his ear buds as he sits in the rolling chair in front of the computer. His fingers tap against one of the arm chairs as he checks the releases that had been sent back by clients, making sure they signed where they needed to and that it was stamped correctly. His eyes lifted up for a split second as someone walks by the cubicle, the woman's blonde hair catching his attention, and a split second later the woman is shouting down the hall to one of the other women. It's mostly women who work at the law office, and Richie can only this that this was his teen's wet dream. Only, it's not at the same time. He doesn't find any one here attractive, and he doesn't mind that, and he would include Bev - she's one of the prettiest girls he knows - but she’s engaged and basically his sister so she’s bunched in with the others, but his hormonal side of him wishes there's someone worth his ogling. The only other guys are the two other lawyers, Thomas and Peter; middle age men.

A sigh leaves his lips as he sits up to take the staple out of the papers so he can scan them in, only to stop short when someone enters the cubicle. Richie blinks at the woman and takes out an earbud. Her hair is brunette and looks to be styled in an 80s sort of way. She's probably the oldest one who works at the law office other than Peter, and she has a look that kind of reminds Richie of Stan when the Jew has had enough of his best friend's shenanigans. He half wonders if they would get along, and completely wondering what her name is.

Her dark brown eyes squint a little through her tiny glasses as they look him up and down. "You look tall," she states.

Richie slowly nods as he pauses his music. "I am. My whole family's pretty tall, actually. Dad's over six foot, Mom's close to five nine, and the little demon I have as a sister is probably the tallest girl in her grade."

She grins, pleased. "Perfect! Follow me, there's a few lights out and all of us women aren't exactly on the tall side here," she tells him. With a hand, she hurriedly motions for him to follow and then walks away just as fast. Richie scrambles out of the chair, nearly tripping over his own feet, and follows her closer to the back of the building where the back door is, the one the employees use to come and go when getting to and leave from their job. She suddenly stops and points up. "The bulbs went out, have been for weeks, and the maintenance guy is a slacker."

Richie looks up with furrowed brows. "Listen, I dunno how to tell you this, but I'm not Mr. Fantastic. I gotta have a ladder even if I am six foot."

"Mr. Who?"

"Comic character, I think, Sasha," the blonde woman who he saw pass by his cubicle a minute earlier says, sitting at her desk in the office that's right by them. "DC, maybe? I dunno, my son mentioned something about it the other day."

Richie gives a tight smile. "Marvel," he corrects. "Mr. Fantastic can-."

Sasha waves a hand. "I don't care! I don't care, just fix the lights."

His eyebrows shoot up and he holds his hands up. While Sasha goes to get the new light bulbs, Richie and the blonde, Deb, search for the ladder. They do, eventually, but it’s broken, the things that hold the ladder up right are only attached to one side of it. The next ten minutes are filled with the two searching for something to help Richie get to the ceiling, and he finds a somewhat sturdy green card table. Once he gets back to where the lightbulbs are out, he unfolds the table legs, waving off Deb’s and Sasha’s concerns.

“Hey, it’s better than the ladder,” Richie tells them, leaning on the surface of the card table to see how wobbly it actually is. Then he climbs on completely just as Thomas walks up. The man stares and takes a sip of his coffee.

“Are you trying to get the newbie killed?” Thomas asks. He walks over and goes into Deb’s office to set his coffee down before walking to the card table, holding the edge as Richie reaches up to screw out the old bulb.

“He’s tall and we need them changed, Thomas,” Sasha says.

“You could’ve used the boy in the file room.”

Richie looks down at the adults and hands Deb the old light bulb as she hands him the new one. To make us seem as if he’s not listen, he busies himself with putting the new bulb in.

“He’s out today – something about a test.”

“He is coming in later, though,” Deb says. “After, of course.”

“Also, he’s short. Hence Richard.”

“You women are something else,” Thomas sighs.

Richie grins as he finishes up the first one and climbs off of the table, scooting it under the next bulb that needed to be fixed. He climbs back and on repeats what he did before. The three adults continue to talk about File Boy. Apparently, he’s part time too, but none of them except for Sasha see much of him since her work space is in a room in the very back of the large file room; no one else really goes to the file room unless they need a file, which isn’t too often but often enough to at least see a glimpse of the working boy. Richie keeps his mouth shut from asking anything about him, planning on just bombarding Beverly with them later.

Richie half wonders what the other guy looks like as he does the third and final bulb. Blond or brunet – or, maybe a dyed bright color like blue, or a darker red – with green eyes, or maybe he has brown eyes? Light skin or dark skin; how short is this File Boy anyway? Apparently not as tall as himself, Richie thinks, if any of Sasha’s words are a hint. He blinks rapidly, half from his thoughts and half from the light of the new bulb as it got screwed in correctly. He’s so interested in the file guy already it’s almost comical.

I’ll just blame it on the fact I haven’t gotten laid in three months, Richie thinks. Not whatever Beverly is going to come with – which will be the total opposite of needing and wanting a hookup.

He rubs his eyes under his glasses and gets off of the card table not so gracefully. “There ya go, madam,” Richie grins as he uses a British voice, bowing dramatically at Sasha. A screwing joke sits at the tip of his tongue but he keeps a hold of it. He doesn’t want to get fired yet. “Gives off an enlightening point of view, does it not?” He asks, still using the British accent and still smiling.

Thomas laughs at the pun as Sasha smiles amusedly. Deb half rolls her eyes as if exasperated by the pun, and Richie turns to her feigning hurt.

“Do you not like puns, Deb?”

Deb shakes her head. “Nope. They’re just not funny to me.”

He drops his jaw. “I think you just broke my heart.”

Deb rolls her eyes again but there’s no annoyance or fire in the action. “You’ll heal,” she tells him with a small smile.

Thomas laughs, a loud sound that goes through the building. He lays a hand on Richie’s shoulder. “You’re funny, kid.” Then, he’s grabbing the coffee he set in Deb’s office and leaving, Richie grinning wide.

Sasha chuckles. “You are interesting, I’ll put it that way. Thanks for the help, by the way.”

“Ah, ‘s no problem,” Richie says, almost sheepishly, and puts his hands in his hoodie pocket.

He then helps put the card table back where they got it while Sasha throws the busted bulbs away. Then he’s back at his desk, boredom hitting him like a train.

+++

The café and grill Stan works at isn’t as busy as Richie thought it was going to be. There are still a lot of people about, but it’s not over flowing. The line to the front is just a bit longer than it usually is when Richie normally visits, and more tables are filled. It's nearing close to rush hour, which explains the abundance of people, and Richie knows that its only going to become more busy, but that doesn't stop him and Stan from sitting at a far back table and moaning about their jobs.

"Literally none of my co-workers polite to the customers half the time," Stan tells Richie, angrily sipping on a cold brew tea he made himself moments before Richie entered the building. "I'm amazed we have customers to begin with - and I know there have been complaints about them! Roger needs to fire all these assholes."

Richie bites into the cinnamon muffin he paid for. Crumbs fell into his lap and on the table, but he doesn't bother to brush them away. "Dude, I know," he says with a mouthful of muffin, "That girl - Grits, or whatever - seemed like she wanted to murder when I ordered this muffin. Speaking of, if this were a person, I'd fuck it. Marriage is plausible, too."

Stan's face contorts into disgust. "Who are you, that underage kid in that one movie with a peach kink?"

It takes Richie a moment to understand but then he's belting out a laugh, sliding down the seat he's in. "Stan gets off a good one," he says, still laughing. It's only when he calms down a bit when he talks again. "But, gross, man. No. If I ever actually become that just toss me in piranha infested waters."

"Deal. So, how's the law office?"

Richie lets out a groan and sinks farther down into the chair. "Boring as all hell," he says. He pulls off part of the muffin and stuffs it into his mouth. "I mean, it's easy. Having lunch with Bev like we're in high school again is cool, and the ladies are pretty nice, I guess. Lawyers are chill. But, fuck, it's so mind numbing. And usually I don't mind that, but its all the time!"

"Honestly surprised you're alive." At Richie's slightly confused look, Stan elaborates, "Your ADHD."

His mouth forms an 'O' shape. He hums and nods, things making sense all of a sudden. It's not like he's forgotten about having ADHD - he has to take medicine for it, so it doesn't ever really leave his mind - it's just that it hasn't been such a big deal since his senior year of high school when his parents were finally brought to the realization that their hyperactive son has ADHD. His grades sky rocketed that final year, he was actually on time for school, and his impulses died down. Of course nothing was perfect; even with the meds Richie still struggles. It's become a normal thing in his life within the past few years.

Stan chuckles. "Dude, you're screwed," he says, fixing a few crooked napkins on table.

Richie makes a face. "Tell me about it," he mumbles, eyes watching Stan as he scrunches up his nose when unable to get the napkins just right. Richie grabs them and sets the napkins in his lap, away from Stan's sight. "Speaking of disabilities," he starts, "How's the OCD thing?"

Stan looks slightly annoyed that Richie took the napkins, but the look is gone within seconds. He shrugs and leans back in the chair, but still somehow sitting up straight. "Good, actually. Obviously a few things still bother me, but the meds help. Have since middle school, you know that."

"Just makin' sure, Stan," Richie says, smiling softly. "You're my best friend."

"Oh, don't get all sappy now, bitch!" Stan exclaims, grinning wide.

Richie laughs and says sorry repeatedly for a few seconds. After that, silence falls over them, and Richie finishes the muffin while Stanley finishes his drink. Richie swipes the crumbs onto the floor and sets the napkins back on the table as neatly as he can, and doesn't take them away when Stan reaches over to fix them again, this time satisfied with the outcome. Richie looks around as Stan pulls out his phone to check the time, noticing that it's getting even busier than when he first came in. He's about to ask if Stan needs to get back to work when his eyes land on a guy in a blue polo shirt, and jeans that outlines his ass perfectly. It's unfortunate that Richie can't see the guy's face because there's no doubt in his mind that the guy's face looks as stunning. But Richie can see that he was brunet, the hair styled nicely out of his face; and the guy is tan, and only a few or so inches taller than the blonde girl beside him.

Stan looks up then and to Richie, who's head is tilted at a ninety-degree angle to get a better look. Stan turns around, quickly noticing the boy in the blue polo but also noticing the blonde. She's positively stunning; the hair is in a loose braid, and Stan can see the blue her eyes from where he's sitting. The nice shirt she has on brought out the blue color, and the skinny jeans hugged her legs nicely. Stan forces himself to move his eyes back to her face and a dopey smile forms on his lips as he watches her laugh at something her friend says.

"I think I just fell in love."

"Look at that ass."

Both nineteen year olds still and quickly move to look at one another.

"How are we friends?" Stan asks, brows close together.

"Beats me," Richie says. He goes back to look, but sits up straight. "Where'd they go?" The question causes Stan to turn back around again. They have to look completely weird as they search around the café and grill for brunet boy and blonde girl. With their luck, they don't spot either of them, and it confuses the two best friends, wondering how the hell either of the two people they were staring at disappeared so quickly. "His ass was too perfect, it has to be a hallucination."

Stan rolls his eyes. "That's bullshit!" He pauses and looks at Richie once again. "You gotta stop checking out random people's asses."

"Like you weren't checking out his friend!"

"I was captivated by her beauty, there's a difference, Richard!"

"No-."

"Uris! Back to work! We're getting too busy," the manager calls from a bit away from them.

"Be there in a sec!" He then turns to Richie as he stands. "See you at the game night, Rich."

Richie smiles and stands as well. "Text me if you see the girl again."

"...For why?"

"So I can rush over and embarrass you."

"I hate you."

They then say a quick goodbye, and Stan is heading back to work while Richie grabs their trash and throws it away before leaving, doing one more look over everyone inside just to make sure they didn't over look the two earlier. He shrugs away the disappoint when he doesn't spot them, and leaves, texting his dorm mate if he wants to do a Forensic Files marathon later.

+++

"Y'know, sex is cool - I love it, personally - but that cinnamon muffin might just come back up."

Richie, he realizes, should have known something was up when Mike Hanlon, his dorm mate, never responded. During the Lyft ride back to the university, he just assumed Mike was neck deep in studying for one of his classes. And, technically, he had been studying, Richie guesses; it just wasn't for school.

Mike Hanlon smiles awkwardly and side glances at the boy in bed with him. The two covered waist down thanks to the bed sheet; Richie doesn't know what he would have done if everything had been out for all to see. "Sorry, man, we thought you'd be out longer," Mike explained.

He shrugs. "I mean, I'm not mad, no need for a sorry in that regard," Richie explains, eyes landing on Bill Denbrough. The auburn haired student looks awkward as ever and they both know why. They were friends for a short time in middle school because Bill dated Beverly for a few short months. It didn't last long and the break up was mutual. Nothing had been exactly awkward between everyone until high school when Bill drifted off to become one of the more popular kids after joining the baseball team. It caused a sort of rift between Bill and Richie, where as Stan and Beverly, as hurt as they were, just moved along. The last time the two boys talked had been at graduation when they accidentally ran into one another. Now, almost two years later, Richie is walking in on his former friend and current dorm mate fucking. Things are definitely awkward. "Bill," Richie says, putting on a smile that lacked any emotion.

Bill shifts awkwardly, lifting a hand for a second. "R-Richie."

Mike looks between the two with a frown. "Do... Do you two know each other?" He asks slowly, uncertain whether or not he can ask.

"Yeah, we d-d-do," Bill answers.

"Big Bill here dated my best friend, Bev, in middle school," Richie explains. "They broke up quick, and Bill stayed our friend for a bit. Then he fucked off in freshman year to be with the popular kids, leaving his only friends behind, not bothering to stand up for any of us the following years when his so-called new friends picked on us." Richie doesn't mean for it to come out: bitter filled. He doesn't even realize that he's still mad at Bill for what he did until the words leave his mouth.

Bill frowns. "Richie," he starts but doesn't continue, unsure of what to say.

Richie waves a hand and backs up. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Don't care at the moment," he says. Then, he's walking out to let them have a bit more privacy to get dressed.

Just a couple minutes later, Bill is walking out. Thankfully, the guy is dressed. The only indication that he had been messing around with Mike is sec hair and a hickey right under his jaw. He stops and looks at Richie who is leaning against the wall opposite of the dorm’s door. “Have a g-good night, Rich.”

Richie grunts and pushed himself off of the wall. “Ditto, I guess,” he says. He walks bun Bill and into his room, and shuts the door. He looks to Mike who is sitting on his bed with sweatpants and socks, no shirt. “Genuinely sorry for stopping your good time, Mike.”

Mike shrugs. “It’s fine. Look, if I knew you and Bill-.”

“Dude, You can fuck him or date him or whatever with him, I don’t care,” Richie interrupts as he jumps on his bed, laying on his stomach. He turns his head to look at Mike. “It’s your life. Didn’t even realize I was still mad at him until now, and we’re just dorm mates.”

“Yeah, but it’ll still be awkward.”

“Not if you make it awkward. I mean, other than that shit he pulled in high school, he’s a decent guy. Have your fun with him, Mike ‘n’ Ike. So, what, are you dating? Just hook ups? Give me the details, lover boy!”

Mike laughs and shakes his head. “Just hook ups from time to time. But we are friends, so we hang out too – mostly with his other friends, or guys from the baseball or football teams.”

“Oooh, friends with benefits! Life imitating art!”

“So what about you? Any cute girls or guys?” Mike asks as he gets off the bed. He grabs his phone from the floor and checks his messages as he walks to his closet, pulling out a pack of beer. He gets one for himself and one for Richie, handing it to him after opening both.

Richie sits up, criss cross apple sauce, and takes a sip. “Nope,” he sighs. Then he perks up. “But there was this cute dude at Stan’s – you know Stan, right, he stopped by a few weeks ago when we were watching Snapped-.”

“Yes, I know Stan,” Mike chuckles.

“Right. Yeah. Okay, so I was at Stan’s work earlier after leaving mine. He was on break so we sat for a bit and talked when all of a sudden my eyes land on the cutest ass in the world. On the short side. Brunet. Wish I could say something about his face but his back was to me, but I can’t complain too much. Stan saw too, but was focused on the girl Cute Ass was talkin’ to; said he fell in love or whatever. Then they, like, disappeared into the growing crowd.” Richie gives a disappointed look and takes a sip of the beer.

Mike winces sympathetically. “Nothing more disappointing than a cutie getting away.”

“There’s also this guy at my work who’s in the file room but I dunno his name, or what he looks like, so I can’t say much about him, but I want to meet him just so I can see if he’s as cute in person as he is in my mind.”

A laugh tumbles out of Mike. “You need to get laid, man. Or – fall in love.” He waggles his eyebrows, laughing more at Richie’s reaction.

Richie makes a face. “The day I fall in love is the day pigs fly.”

It isn’t that Richie is opposed to falling in love – the more time he’s around his engaged friends, the more he wants that for himself. Rather, it’s just that he’s a bit scared to, if he’s being completely honest. He doesn’t want his heart to get shattered into a million pieces like it did in sophomore year. Actually, it more like a hundred pieces, because he wasn’t completely in love back then, but he did get a taste of it, and it was wonderful until everything came crashing down. Since then he’s relied on a few months long relationships and hook ups from time to time, not getting too emotionally attached to any of them.

The rest of the night is filled with the two boys neglecting school work that was slowly starting to pile up as they watch a true crime show, sipping on their beers and talking every once in a while. They drop the topics of relationships and love, and move on to ones about the crazy murders, episode after episode, until one in the morning when they went to bed.

Only, an hour later, Richie sits up in the dark. “Wait, Bill doesn’t even go here!”

Mike groans. “How d’you ‘ven know tha’,” he slurs out the question, his mind too plagued with sleep to utter the words correctly.

“Snapchat. The Uni across town’s. He’s been on there multiple times. Holy shit, this is like some Romeo and Juliet shit, our schools are rivals!”

“Stan goes there.”

“Yeah but that’s different. We’ve been friends since childhood. You didn’t go to our high school either, so-.”

“Go t’sleep, Richard.”

Richie lays back down, muttering a few ‘okay’s to appease Mike. Then, “...I ship it.”

#reddie #it #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #the losers club #my writing #*#this fast updating won't stay so enjoy while u can #it (2017)#it chapter two

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lightsandlostbells · 6 years

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Druck season 2, episode 8 reaction

Things go to hell pretty quickly, except Björn, who doesn’t go to hell fast enough.

Episode 8

Clip 1 - Happy ending for now

Mia and Alexander head into school together. Their little sideways smiles at each other warm my cold heart, I’ll admit. She hands him his keys so she drove his car. There was a windshield wiper situation, heh. Really I just love how they’re looking at each other, like they’re deeply pleased to be with each other. I know that seems obvious, but for some reason a lot of fictional couples spend so much time having drama that they don’t seem to actually enjoy each other’s company. Something I like about Mia and Alex is that I do think that they enjoy just hanging out and talking to each other about whatever. It’s not just about attraction, I do feel like there’s some inherent compatibility there.

Mia is rocking that red lipstick, by the way. It seems particularly bold today, reflecting her mood, I guess.

Mia and Alex hold hands when they get inside and people stare, I assume because Alexander Hardenberg is holding hands with a girl. He’s dating someone? Not just banging her??? And it’s Alexander Hardenberg of the Hotel Hardenberg fortune, you know, he’s a big deal at this school.

Also, they’re basically announcing themselves as a power couple, lmao. Let me put it this way, if fandom hadn’t come up with Winterberg as a ship name, the students themselves would have, because that couple is a big deal.

LMAO, Druck gets in its own version of the “I’m so hungover from the weekend”/”It’s Wednesday” exchange from Skam when Kiki says she’s still hungover from the Tangore party and Mia says that was two days ago. I fucking love that they managed to work in that iconic line somewhere without totally copying the scene. (Again, I have to ask: what was Julie’s inspiration for that moment? Did those girls win a walk-on contest?)

Mia and Alexander are going to the movies on Thursday, Valentine’s Day. You know, they’ve actually established movies as a thing that both of them enjoy, a common interest? I know liking movies is not exactly an obscure trait, but we’ve seen Mia and Alexander have a movie night where they both discuss movies briefly, and a day where they watch a film in bed together, and now they plan to go to the movies on Thursday. Mia has a pic of an outdoor movie screen on IG. I forgot if there were anything else, but it’s a small detail that makes it feel more like a real relationship.

We get a Kiki/Carlos conversation as they walk away, so super POV break, although not unusual for Druck. Kiki asks Carlos what they’re doing for Valentine’s Day and he says that’s just something the Americans invented, like Halloween. Carlos, I’m not gonna stand for lumping Halloween and Valentine’s Day together like one isn’t an extremely fun day where as a kid you wear a costume and get a lot of free candy and the other isn’t an extremely bleak day where as an adult you wear sweatpants and eat a whole bag of candy you bought yourself while you try not to think about your love life or lack thereof.

Kiki says she likes Halloween, however, and Carlos pretends to be a zombie and attacks her. It is extremely cute. I’m glad the German Magnus/Vilde equivalent proved to be so delightful, I wouldn’t even mind seeing these two being gross at each other. (I mean. Don’t push it.)

Mia hugs Hanna happily, and Hanna says, “Happy Ending?” which in a fictional context with three episodes to go might as well be putting a curse on Mia. She also knows that Mia and Alex are going to the movies on Valentine’s Day. Already? Alex just said that downstairs? Mia says Kiki is unbelievable. So Kiki just texted that to the girls right then and there, in the middle of a zombie attack no less. That is a special skill

There’s some very cute girl squad interaction, Sam filmed Mia and Alex holding hands, all the girls are so happy that Mia is happy, everybody’s cool with each other, no more drama, yay!

Except some drama, because Mia asks Hanna about Jonas, Hanna is stressed because Jonas is all freaked out because boy Sam flirted with her. I love Jonas but he needs to chill. Poor Hanna has other things to worry about, and you’re not dating anymore so she can flirt with anyone she wants.

Clip 2 - Violence is not the answer but hit him harder

Alex twirls Mia adorably. I’ve said this before but they’re a really enjoyable couple on just a clip-by-clip basis, watching them interact. A scene of them doing mundane tasks like grocery shopping or doing laundry together would probably be entertaining. Assuming Alexander does not pay someone to deliver his groceries or do his laundry.

He’s taking her to an indoor skate park. He did have that skateboard in his apartment! They managed to work in a skater despite German Jonas being more of a musician.

Alex says he goes here to blow off steam. Mia asks if he means from school, and I do not think he actually means from school, probably all his family and personal drama. He clearly knows some guy there and is friendly with him. It’s great that we see Alexander have like … actual interests and hobbies considering that was one of my gripes about William, I had no idea what he did in his free time.

Lol, watching someone else skate is not the most exciting date, like what a typical sidelined-girlfriend activity. I mean, I do think in a relationship you want to learn about your partner’s hobbies and it’s probably really exciting for Mia getting this insight into Alexander, fun to just watch him when they’re in the glow of their new relationship. But on Skam and the remakes we had the Evas watching their Jonases skate, basically them being passive, the Jonases being active. Though I feel like that was part of the point about that relationship, with Jonas having more of an identity and Eva just being a tag-along, and the context is pretty different here with Mia and Alexander. But damn, what’s with all these dudes bringing their girlfriends to dates where the girls are just spectators to the guys’ fun? Where are all the girls and their skateboards? Or where are all the guys watching their girlfriends play sports? It’s not really a criticism of the show, just an observation. We know Mia is driving Alexander’s car so I’m going to headcanon that she also borrows his skateboard.

Lol, Mia even sees the women on the sidelines and is like, are you the players wives and girlfriends? There’s a whole group of women just hanging out and watching their guys do stuff! But they seem nice and offer her a drink.

So I actually missed the first time around that there’s a text message where they plan this outing. It’s Mia who asks about watching him skateboard. She also asks if she can try and he teases her by saying it’s just for boys. Lol, I love that it played out like that and that it’s her idea. I’m sure in the future once their relationship heals, Mia will get her own chance with the skateboard.

We see Alexander skateboarding and being dorky, Mia smiling as she watches him. It’s all fun and games until Björn shows up. The upbeat 50 Cent song fades out and there’s a brief moment where there’s like a tense sound effect as Mia waves to him. It’s gone when Alexander skates over, so it’s like it’s establishing specifically this ominous connection between Björn and Mia, which we know turns into something awful later.

Alexander is pissed and wants to know how Mia knows Björn, and she explains that he was in the flat when she stayed over at Alex’s place. Alexander is being somewhat alarming with his demanding answers from Mia, although his anger obviously is not targeted at her and is motivated by this scumbag not only being in his presence, but having some sort of acquaintance with another person he cares about. After losing Sophie, the thought of losing Mia because of Björn is terrifying. Like I get why Alexander freaks out, knowing that Björn was in his flat, and not only that, but when Mia was alone there and didn’t have a clue who this guy really is and that he’s dangerous.

Alexander walks over and hits Björn with a skateboard twice, so Björn is crumpled on the ground gasping for breath. We get that ringing in the ears sound which is both Björn dealing with getting whacked and Mia having a harsh reality crash into her beautiful love story. People pull Alex away and someone says to call an ambulance, Alexander runs off. He shoots Mia some glances before running, so I’m wondering if he realizes he fucked up, or is just concerned about her well-being, or scared what she thinks of him now, all the thoughts running through his head.

I mean, … violence is not the answer and I do think Alexander should face consequences for that action because that’s just how it works. BUT it’s hard for me to be appalled at this knowing what Björn did to Sophie and later did to Mia. He’s an abuser. Even when this clip first aired and we didn’t have the full story of Björn’s history, I was like, well, if Björn raped/assaulted/did something bad to Alex’s sister, and she’s dead because of it, then I have a hard time judging him for this.

But I also don’t care for William smashing the bottle over that guy’s head, which is essentially the equivalent scene. Is that hypocritical? I’d argue that they’re two different circumstances, and that William didn’t need to do what he did. I think a big difference is that the situation with the Yakuza boys might have been able to be prevented before it got out of hand just by going to the police, which William dismissed at the time as naive. Alexander didn’t need to attack Björn either, but Björn probably wasn’t ever going to face justice for abusing Sophie and influencing her death. Again, not that it’s justified, but I can admit that on a gut level I get it more.

And honestly, looking at the whole season, a lot of it has to do with the respective degrees of investment in this situation by Mia and Noora. The Yakuza plot seems very impersonal because Noora doesn’t have a solid connection to it herself; the whole time she’s a bystander. She watches Chris get out of the car with a black eye, she sees Isak get into Chris’ car, she observes the fight. Sure, Chris and Jonas get beat up and William might face punishment, but she feels so outside what happened. Mia, on the other hand, gets very personally involved in the Björn drama. Björn preys on her, and even aside from that, Mia is more up close and personal with the effects of Björn’s behavior on Alex such as the panic attack. Ultimately it just feels like the Yakuza dudes are a nebulous menace with nebulous motives, I don’t even know the name of the dude who got a bottle smashed on his head, and that makes less aligned with William and more skeptical of his motives in attacking that guy, but I do have a clear idea of who Björn is, why he’s a bad guy, and what he did to Alexander and his family, and later Mia, and so I just find this more engaging and Alexander more sympathetic, even if I get that these are both inappropriate actions.

Intellectually I’m like: violence is bad, vigilante justice is bad, don’t do that, Alexander needs to learn to control his anger. Emotionally I’m all: kick his ass.

Clip 3 - Someone needs to adopt Michi

Mia comes home and flops on her bed. She’s been texting Alex and trying to get in touch with him to no avail. Alex, dude, that is a bad move. Even if you need to cool off and clear his head, you’re leaving your girlfriend in the dark over an extremely shocking, possibly traumatizing moment. Plus, you know, leaving her open to sympathizing and possibly being manipulated by Björn, the guy who ruined your life and Sophie’s.

Linm comes in and offers her soup in Chinese. Michi comes in because he heard someone offering food. Relatable as fuck, my boomerang friend.

Actually he came in because he said Hans went to get pizza but Michi doesn’t know if he’s coming back. DUDE, Hans, did you really go out for pizza but not see if your boy wanted any? You ditched him?

Also, this seems like a parallel to Mia and Alex, which I thought might happen. Hans ditched Michi like Alex ditched Mia. Michi asks if Alex cheated on Mia, with what seems like a casual tone, like it’s expected, which is depressing if you think he’s used to that in his relationship. Mia asks him to leave, lmao.

Mia tells what happened at the skate park to Linn. Linn asks what happened to Björn. You can see Mia get an idea. Oh no, don’t talk to Björn before Alex gives you the story! We know where this is going!!

Clip 4 - Fuck Valentine’s Day

It’s Valentine’s Day. Mia walks through the rain as we hear her leaving Alex a message about being worried about him. The music has some apropos lyrics: “And if you dream you fix me / And if you stay you hurt”

Mia waits outside of the movie theater, like they planned. They’re showing Casablanca. I’m trying to think up some symbolic reason why it might be that movie, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen Casablanca. Errr, it doesn’t have a happily ever after for the couple?

The marquee says “Valentine’s Day Surprise” which is not inaccurate, lol, it’s just a fucking shitty surprise for Mia. She waits for him. Another happy couple shows up and rubs their romance in her face. Always a great feeling on V-Day! A dude in an Alex-typical coat and hoodie strolls up just to rub his Alexness in her face. She’s being hit with reminders of her fraught love situation like pies to the face.

Mia gets a call, not from Alex, from Hanna, saying she got a message from Jonas telling her that if she went to Sam’s gig, that’s it for him. WTF, Jonas? “It” as in him and Hanna? Stop being a drama king. You guys broke up. IDK if there’s a clarification in German, but could he also be like his well-being/stability is over if Hanna goes to the gig? Because that’s even more extreme. No matter what, it’s manipulative. He’s putting something about his quality of life on Hanna, like what is she supposed to do? Not go because it will make Jonas upset?

Mia is getting emotional about being stood up on Valentine’s Day and seeing happy couples show up to the theater isn’t helping. She throws away her card and the movie tickets and leaves.

Bad move, Alex. You could have at least sent her a text. Even if you didn’t want to explain, just say you can’t make it to the movie so she doesn’t wait outside in the rain on Valentine’s Day.

Clip 5 - Happy ending my ass

Mia goes to see Björn, who’s in the hospital. She got the info from a girl at the skate park. The lighting in this room is very warm and bright and I wonder if that’s intentional, to create a sense of security and trustworthiness and to influence us into thinking this guy doesn’t seem so bad. It just struck me immediately when you compare it to Mia outside, or previous clips of her waiting for Alex at the theater.

Mia wants some answers. Björn says he was dating Sophie, who lived in Bali, and when Mia asks if she came back, Björn is like … she died. Shit, so she is dead. I thought they might make her alive but dealing with serious consequences of being with Björn. I will say I am surprised Mia didn’t find any news of Sophie’s death during her Google stalking, or from people gossiping, but I can also buy that the family tried to keep it quiet, especially because of her manner of death. He says that Alexander told her something totally different, and the way he says it, he’s presenting it like, of course Alexander has lied to her, not surprising, like he knows Alexander is the untrustworthy one. We hear that same ringing sound that happened when Alex was attacking Björn, because again, it’s Mia’s world getting rocked, it’s the happy ending being overturned, she’s learning upsetting things about Alexander.

Mia is upset and Björn comes off all comforting, saying it’s not her fault, the whole family is broken. He tells her about the dysfunctional family dynamic and describes Alex’s charming act. Obviously this applies more to Björn rather than Alexander, down to Sophie falling for the act, but it’s unclear how much Björn knows he’s fucked up or whether he’s just projecting like an IMAX. Or you know, lying.

Björn says Sophie committed suicide and that she always suffered from depression but it didn’t fit in with the image her family wanted. Björn and Sophie planned to go to Bali and travel after graduation, but the family didn’t like Björn and constantly tried to get her to come back. I bet Mia is reacting to this strongly because of her relationship with her own family. She also has parents who try to get her to fit into their own image and come back to them when she’s living independently, parents who don’t seem to really get her. It seems like they were most concerned about Mia being away from them because of how people talked about it, not necessarily because they missed her.

You can see why Mia believes him, because this dude isn’t like, radiating an evil aura. He’s very convincing in his manipulation. He seems sincere about caring for Sophie and very broken up about what happened to her. And Alex did lie to Mia about Sophie, and he had a sudden incident of violence, and Björn happens to be hitting close to home when he describes Sophie’s relationship with her family. I get that we know as a viewer that Björn is bad news, but Mia? Mia doesn’t have the benefit of knowing she’s on a TV show and that this storyline played out with a Norwegian girl already.

As Mia leaves, Björn tells her to stay away from Alex, he’s dangerous. And Mia has reason to think this is correct. I mean, she went to meet Björn at a hospital, because Alexander put him there.

When Mia steps outside, she finally gets a text from Alex saying he was at his parents’ place to clear his head and he wants to meet. LMAO, dude, it’s not like you went to a spa to take a break from studying for exams, you ran off and ghosted your girlfriend for days after beating up a guy in front of her. You need to offer a way bigger apology than that. Especially because you want to meet with her? Do you think she necessarily wants to meet up with a guy who’s physically violent?

I like Mia’s face as she walks away. She’s not crying or anything, but she just gives off this sense of being torn and turning over what she just heard in her head. She puts in her earbuds and even though she’s not literally muffling Alexander’s voice like in that previous clip where he meets her in front of her place, in a way it feels like it’s a sign of her blocking him out. She doesn’t wait for his response after she tells him she met Björn, that’s all she needs to say and she’s done.

Social Media/General Comments:

As I mentioned above, Mia and Alexander planned the skateboard date. I wonder what fun activity Alexander will observe of Mia’s? He’s already seen her piano-playing, the true reveal will be when he walks in on her ironing to classical music. Now that tells you a lot about a person.

Mia tried to get answers from boy Sam about Alex’s whereabouts and what the hell happened, but Sam does not tell her anything except to find out from Alex himself. I can respect that, honestly. It might be frustrating for Mia, but Sam isn’t giving away his best friend’s sad backstory without his permission.

Both of Mia’s parents contact her this week:

Her dad makes small talk and then asks if she knows where her mom went, never a good sign. That makes it seem like the mom walked out on him.

Her mom wants to come to Berlin and hang out with Mia. She complains about Mia’s dad getting on her nerves and how they’re so different and she doesn’t know why she got with him. You know, all stuff that you should maaaaybe not dump on your teenage daughter about her father. Tell that shit to a friend. Also, there’s something childish about it, not just the complaining, but that she wants to hang with Mia as a way to escape Mia’s father, not necessarily because she wants to see her daughter.

Druck conveniently did not have to provide any footage from boy Sam’s secret concert by having the invitation state NO PHOTOS - NO INSTA. Saved them the time and expense of staging a performance just for the SM content.

Jonas was bitter about the concert but what else is new. Stupid sexy Sam and his stupid sexy music, being in proximity to Hanna.

Hanna went ahead and posted a picture of her and boy Sam at the concert despite Jonas warning her that it’d be over if she went, which is a power move if there ever was one. I love Jonas but fuck if Hanna needs to listen to his dramatic ass.

So Mia had a crappy V-Day where Alex ditched her, Hanna had Jonas drama weighing on her, Amira and Sam seemed unimpressed by Valentine’s Day, judging by IG posts that suggest so. In fact, I think the only couple who had a happy Valentine’s Day, whatever they did, was probably Kiki and Carlos.

I’m not German so please feel free to correct me on stuff like cultural context and translation issues.

If you got this far, thank you for reading!

#druck reactions #druck

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blschaos3000-blog · 5 years

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Its 12:23 am night

Welcome to “8 Questions with…….”

When I used to book bands,my first booking job was at a small bar called Marsugi’s. It held around 150 heads and we featured a lot of touring acts but the glue to our club were the local bands that played for us. One of the best things about booking or even working there was seeing the excitement and raw passion of giving a band their first shows. The best two best shows I always tried to get were record releases and that all important FIRST show. Why?? Because you knew without a doubt they were going to put on their very best performance and leave everything on the stage….add in the fact they were playing in front of friends and family,on many nights it was pure magic and to see a band take off…amazing.

Meeting Dominic Cancelliere reminded me of those bands….he is hungry and ready to show his skills,drive and smarts on anyone’s film. He is an actor’s equivalent of a “gym rat”,first one to the set,knows his and everyone’s lines,isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and helps out the crew and is among the last to leave. Dominic’s desire to make a name and doing great work comes across brightly even when one is chatting through Facebook. Balancing a home life in Ohio while pursuing a professional life in Atlanta is no small task and many normal folks couldn’t do it for long. Dominic knows he needs the support of his family and friends and through their love and support,this young actor already has worked on over 30 projects in less then two years. With a work ethic like that,it won’t be too much longer before Dominic takes the next step forward in his career…..just remember where you heard his name first….. And now,let’s go ask Dominic his 8 Questions…..

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your latest project.

Hi Patrick, my name is Dominic Cancelliere, I am 24 years old from Cleveland, Ohio. I played college football at Tiffin University, and later transferred to Cleveland State University and finished my degrees in Marketing and Economics. I quit my first 9/5 post college job, because I could not take sitting behind a desk, missing out on opportunities with acting. You only got one life to live and I was not living my life to the fullest in punching numbers all day. I would rather give it my all and fail, then come back to reality and work a normal job and rot away in a cubicle. I have been a substitute teacher this whole past school year, its flexible and allows me to have a flexible schedule to pursue acting. This summer I made it my goal to not make any excuses to not do projects that are worth my time. I have spent a lot of time in Atlanta, the booming new movie hot spot. It sucks being away from family and ubering everywhere but luckily i have a supporting family and friends in the hotel industry to get me discounted rate. My friend’s dad, Joe Isernia, always helps me with rooms and really makes the burden of traveling a lot easier. My latest project was a very featured role on the show Brockmire starring Hank Azaria. I cant give many more details on this role, but it was one of my favorite experiences on set.

What was it like growing up in your home? What are some of your favorite memories?

Growing up in my home was great, I have two sisters one is Nicolina 25, she is a pharmacist and does really well for herself through hard work and years of school. My younger sister is 19, she is going to Ohio State University in the fall, she reminds me a lot of myself. My dad moved to this country at a very young age from Sicily with his family and has been working his whole life providing for us, he is truly my hero. My mother is my biggest fan in my acting career, she’s always bugging me with questions and is just always by my side. I have a beautiful girlfriend name Sami, who I have been with since junior year in high school, she is in her last year of nursing school. I have a very supportive family and i could not be more grateful for that. Some of my favorite memories are when life was simple and just enjoyed the little things, going on vacation, family dinners, and just family time, when we were all home and together.

When did you decide you wanted to become an actor? What was the reaction from your friends and family?

When I decided to be an actor at first it was a shock.I got into this industry randomly while working at Shinto Japanese Steakhouse, and ended up meeting a casting director.From there my life took a big change. It all started out as fun and games, and just doing any work I could do to get experience and learn. After awhile i got tired of being an extra and background and decided to start taking acting lessons, get professional headshots, get real acting experience. When I quit my full time job in October of 2018 it was scary, I did not know what I was going to do for $ and just in general, so I took a leap of faith, drove all around the country gaining more experience and started making it my full time job. I started applying auditioning and later getting 4 Talent Agencies in multiple cities which helped my career immensely. My parents and family are very supportive and its hard for them to understand this industry as its hard for anybody not in it to understand what they can do to help, but they are as supportive as they could be and i could not be more happy about that.

How important is your education to you? What do you like about the classroom?

My education is very important to me, I graduated with 2 degrees from college, and I am happy I did. Although it is not doing me much good now, but it is great to have something to fall back on. I never saw the point of acting classes until I started taking them, they are the most important tool an actor can have. Its not just “pretending to be someone” in acting – there is so much I have learned and am still learning from them. I love learning new things and constantly growing as an actor.

What was your first job in the industry and how did it happen for you?

My first job was an extra role in “Acts Of Violence” starring Bruce Willis, filmed in Cleveland. I was serving tables and met a local casting director,Angela Boehms,who I owe my whole career to, she saw something in me that night, even though it was for a featured extra role, she has been supportive and a mentor to me all of my career.

What is the difference between an “credited” and “uncredited” role?

Uncredited and credited is a big thing in this industry and it simply means if you are credited in the end credits of the film or not. Uncredited is very common for extras and background roles, while you may be in the movie and on screen for a lot, if you are not credited, you are not in the end credits. Usually when you are booked as something generic as “paramedic, jogger, coffee shop patron” those are uncredited roles, whereas a named character is a credited role, usually with speaking lines. There is exceptions to the rule, but that is the general outline.

What has been your three favorite films to work on and what made them special?

My 3 favorite films i have worked on would be White Boy Rick starring Matthew McConaughey, I got to spend a lot of time around him, and talked to him. It was just so surreal and he was so down to earth and gave me some nice advice- truly moments like that make me keep going. Other productions i have enjoyed working on was recently Brockmire in Atlanta, and Escape Plan 3 starring Sylvestor Stallone. It was 6 days of shooting in a haunted prison in Mansfield, it was very excruciating at times but it was nice being booked multiple days on a big project. I met some great people along the way and many continue to be good friends.

How does improv make you better as an actor? What has been the one area of your acting that has challenged you the most?

Improv is essential for an actor, I always avoided this while studying acting. It made me super uncomfortable getting a random category and a random story and just in a matter of seconds acting it out in front of others. However I finally started training and attending improv classes because it is essential, so many times in an audition you are told to improv a scene based off of what they tell you. You have to think fast and be creative, and when you are uncomfortable you are learning and growing as a an actor. Improv allows you as an actor to be creative, there is no right or wrong, and the only time you are wrong is when you are not taking chances and being creative. My hardest part about acting has been acting in roles that are not really how i would cast myself, I am usually always casted as a bad guy or a tough guy because of my size, hair , and beard. When I get cast or audition for a role that is not dramatic or the bad guy, it takes me a lot more time to get into that character. I have grown a lot as an actor doing roles outside my comfort zone, because acting is not always the same role you have to be open and ready to do anything.

If you were at an audition and a follow actor who going for the same part asked for your help,would you do or not and why?

I would always help out an actor by any means, this industry is cut throat and many people think it’s all about themselves. That is not the case,if we all helped each other out this industry,it would be so much more fun and positive. There is a role out there for everyone, if I can help anyone get a role or help them grow, I will. I have learned if someone else is meant for a role opposed to myself, kudos to them by helping them get it, it is just as good of a feeling as if I got it. I am on so many groups on FB and am constantly applying for roles and sharing that information to others, even if they may get it opposed to me. I love helping others and seeing people succeed in this industry. There are too many people that are only thinking about themselves, and those people are truly the worst. I support and respect anybody taking a leap of faith and trying to make it in this industry.

What haa been the biggest adjustment for you moving from Ohio to Georgia?

So I haven’t fully moved down to Georgia just yet. Just have been spending a lot of time down here, because around here we have not gotten much work. I am not a tree, I need to go wherever and whenever if I truly want to make it. The biggest adjustment is coming from a smaller market to a bigger market, the competition is more fierce and i do not know many people down here. I went from having connections and a reputation, to just a small fish in a huge pond. It’s like starting from scratch, it’s scary and overwhelming but you just got to keep pushing and stop making excuses for yourself.

What does “ambition” mean to you?

Ambition means having a motor that just does not quit. I face constant rejection with auditions and submissions, but you just got to keep pushing. I want this more than I have wanted anything in life, and i will not give up until I have either,one- made it, or two- do not have the ambition or drive to keep going. This industry is brutal and the chance for success is very very little, it’s like hitting the lottery, but hey if your dreams don’t scare you, are they big enough? You got one life, each day is not an guarantee, its a blessing and I want to make the most of my limited time on this Earth, doing what I love with the ones I love.

What are your 5 five favorite films amd why?

My 5 favorite films are Avatar, Apocalypto, Dazed and Confused, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Gran Torino. Apocalypto is by far my favorite as it is just so raw and packed with real emotion and powerful storytelling. Mel Gibson does a phenomenal movie directing this, if you have not seen it I highly recommend it.

The cheetah and I are flying in to watch you do some improv but we are a day early,now you are our tour guide,what are we doing?

Cleveland, Ohio baby. There is no place like this city, this city was built off grit and truly a blue collar town, everything is earned and not given in this city. So many fun things to do here, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 3 major professional sports teams, little Italy,the natural history museum, beautiful scenery right on the lake, breathtaking metro parks. I am proud to say I am from Cleveland, there is no place like this city. I do not know what it is, but I always find my way back, it is truly home.

I like to thank Dominic for his time and patience as I am once again swamped with new films to review and interviews to get out. We wish him great success in his career!

But you can follow Dominic on his various social media outlets:

See which film he is working on his IMDb page. Follow Dominic on Twitter. And of course he has a InstaGram.

I also like to address something as well…..Dominic offered to pay me for a interview and I am saddened to say that isn’t the first time I have heard that. While I’m no formal “journalist” and make zero pretense to be one,anyone who would charge a actor,writer or musucian to write a interview or a review is completely unethical and dishonest. I have seen people offer to do this “service” and have called them out on that. No one will ever have to pay me for something I love to do. I’m sorry Dominic felt he had to pay me,no one should have to pay anyone to tell their story,especially to a small blogger and his cheetah…..rant over. If someone asks you for cash they don’t have your best interests at heart.

As always,I like to thank you all for your support!! Feel free to leave a comment!

8 Questions with…………….actor Dominic Cancelliere Its 12:23 am night Welcome to "8 Questions with......." When I used to book bands,my first booking job was at a small bar called Marsugi's.

#8 Questions With #actor #Atlanta #Cleveland State #Cleveland-Ohio #college football #Dominic Cancelliere #education #family #generous #improv #Matthew McConaughey #sports #teamwork

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