Last night we saw The Other Guys, which is actually getting strong reviews. I feel like this film was written by the Coen brothers, had they grown up as cool jock types with lower IQs. Hmm that is confusing. What I mean is, there is more than meets the eye with The Other Guys, but probably not as much as in the best Coen bros films. Fargo, O Brother, and The Big L come immediately to mind of course!
Let me explain. For me it has to do with the movie having multiple layers and the sense that these guys, Will Ferrell (the feeler) and Mark Wahlberg (the angry dude) are dealing with literally everything in their lives all at once. Gone are the days of action movies with a single plot and reliably evil bad guys. No, instead these guys are having identity crises (as in, do I want to be a respected, macho detective or a traffic cop? A pimp or a steady sweet husband?), relationship crises, emotional crises, and figuring out how to behave in public, all while they're trying to catch (kind of) bad guys and stop a retirement fund from being robbed.
Boys, welcome to the club. For several decades now, women have been struggling with these very issues! As in: how do we manage to be Donna Reed perfect uncomplaining mom and wife, sex kitten, accomplished careerists, all while maintaining some sense of ourselves and our interests in things that don't fit into those categories, like, oh, sleeping? It's enough to make a gal stay home, pun intended.
I'm actually really impressed with the guys in the movie, and for the people who made it. They are grappling with some serious shite and not embarrassed to fall down and make mistakes (the dudes who jump 20 stories to their death on accident, now, they were just idiots). It's really, really frickin' hard to balance all that life stuff all at once, and I have not the slightest clue how to do it. But certainly, I can recommend trying, and being open to guidance, and being open to learning stuff about yourself that you didn't realize before being kidnapped and shipped to the west in your red Prius (it's not a spoiler if I don't tell you how or when it happens in the movie).
Last night at quarteting, which was held in a peaceful gathering place, I saw a whiteboard that I liked. Something along the lines of:
RADICAL ACCEPTANCE
1. Notice not accepting.
2. Practice acceptance deliberately.
3. Do it over and over.
The actual version was definitely better though not any clearer about what, exactly, one should be accepting. Reality? The chance to make a better reality? I dunno, but I hope I get to have as much fun giving it a shot as The Other Guys.
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