...and I had a great time! It was easily one of the best concerts i've attended. They were funny, original and engaging. I know some people don't get their humor, but I get it!Â
Here's a crappy video from their concert at the Berkeley Community Theater, on May 25th, 2009. I dare you not to laugh at this snippet.
This evening I saw The Soloist starring Jamie Fox and Robert Downy Jr. I rarely write movie reviews, but something about this film caused me to create this quick post.
I had not heard of Nathanial Anthony Ayers till this movie and I knew nothing of the LA Times articles from Steve Lopez. So this was a clean slate for me.
I'm also a sucker for the autobiographical films/books and tend to like many, if not all of them (Ray, Cinderella Man, Beautiful Mind, Georgiana, etc). Furthermore, I love films that are centered are music. But oddly enough, halfway through this film I felt a disconnect.
The acting was superb, but how could it be anything less than spectacular? I was beginning to feel the gravity of this true story was minimized.
Why did I not feel the emotion? Why didn't I connect with the characters? The only thing I could pinpoint was the screenplay. Was the script "hollywood-ized"? The answer is yes, and as I would soon find out, the liberties taken by the Director were clearly the wrong ones.
After the movie I read the review from the Los Angeles Times, and suddenly I began to understand why I had trouble with the film. As the article mentions, the psychedelic light show was not necessary (in the scene where Nathanial visits the symphony for the first time) -- and that's just one of the many little items I that bothered me.
The final nail in the coffin was the 60 Minutes piece above that I watched when I got home. It fills in the missing gaps! There's the emotion I wanted to feel for Nathanial. There's the understanding I was looking for in his plight. For me, this 14 minute piece from Morley Safer was much more touching and thorough than the movie. I'm fine with dramatization, but why didn't we see Nathanial visiting Steve's home and family? Why didn't we see the shock therapy, as mentioned in 60 Minutes?
For all it's faults, this is a movie that is worth seeing purely to support Mr. Ayers and Mr. Lopez -- and to that extent Mr. Downey Jr. and Mr. Foxx. But I can't help but think how much greater impact this film could have had on the plight of the homeless in LA and schizophrenia.
Today is the first day I've felt normal in over 2 weeks. Whatever flu/cold ailment I have is lingering a bit too long, but I will kick it dammit!
It felt great to finally get out and about! With such great weather in the Bay Area, we decided to head over to Ocean Beach -- more specifically Fort Funston. Jango gets a big run and I get to move around outdoors and have a small workout. Here's a little of what it looked like:
It really feels good to be a part of the land of the living again.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 09:59AM 
