Saturday, February 03, 2007

Local dads watch movie together. In other news, elderly Scots loose in women's clothing department

So today I went and saw Pan's Labyrinth at the Alamo Drafthouse with two of my dad friends, Tim and Sean. It easily goes into my short list of all time faves. Even though I just saw it, I think I can make that statement with confidence. I was pretty much bawling by the end, it was so damn beautiful and sad and wondrous. It deserves every bit of attention it's received. It's one of those films that's just so damn perfect, you can just let go and be affected by it. I haven't read anything from Guillermo Del Toro about any intentions he might have had with this film or what he was thinking about when he was writing and directing it, but something about setting a story of magic and fantasy in the midst of a war against evil communists seems remarkably subversive. Or maybe it's just the lens of our times.

Oh, and the Alamo Drafthouse...how I love thee. Do they have places like this in other cities? In all seriousness, when The Ash and I sometimes ponder moving away from Austin, one of the things I know I'll miss is the Alamo. How am I supposed to go watch a movie if there are no waiters to bring me beer or coffee or burgers or pizza or chicken wings or any number of overpriced unhealthy food items? I'm fucking ruined on movie theaters, I know.

It was good to hang with Tim and Sean. I don't get to spend enough social time with other dads. Our wives all hang out and eat bonbons and do shots of Jager during the day while we're at work, so this was our effort to do something on our own without the ladies around hogging all the alcohol. We gotta do it again. Any other dads wanna go?

After I got home, The Ash and I went to Sears to see about a new stove since ours is a baby accident from the 60's waiting to happen. As we were walking through the women's department towards the escalators, we passed by these odd skimpy camouflage items of clothing whose actual nature I couldn't readily discern. Skirts? Shorts? I couldn't tell and it bothered me for some reason. The following exchange occurred:

HOLMES: Is that a skirt or shorts?

THE ASH: (slightly horrified) What?

HOLMES: (way too loud) I said, is that a skirt or shorts?

At which point I immediately noticed an elderly gentleman nearby wearing a kilt. And not just a kilt, but the full-blown Scottish outfit. He even had the whole "If it's not Scottish it's CRAP!" expression on his face. The Ash had already noticed him, which is why she had the slightly horrified tone in her voice in regards to my high-volume skirt/shorts query. We proceeded up the escalator. Oh well. That'll teach ya to hang out in the women's clothing section in a kilt.

1 comment:

Marsha said...

David and I recently saw Pan's Labrynth as well. I found the realistic violence very, very difficult to watch. It was pretty tough as far as movies go. On the ride home we were trying to decide how we felt about the movie. Brilliant, beautiful, powerful - that part was easy. But we had a hard time deciding what to tell our babysitter and dear friend when we got home. David hit the nail on the head though, when he told Elaine that she may or may not enjoy the movie, but that it is something everyone should see because it is so good. Goonies it isn't, but it sure does stay with you long after the credits roll.