Hottest State & Ethan H.
The one actor who has come to define those who came of independence in the early to mid-1990s is Ethan H. He cursed us with the loving the wrong guy in Reality Bites, a cash in of post-teen angst. He even "performed" a track. Then he embodied the romance at it's highest with Richard Linklaters Before Sunrise. Who doesn't want to meet a cute french girl, drink wine, and consumate the relationship in one night? (the follow up was more tedious, however. Adulthood is boring, dude.) He was in Great Expectations, which was good. The guy even wrote a book about the girl he got on the Reality Bites soundtrack, resulting in her big break. That girl? Lisa Loeb, she of the horrible reality show "Number 1 Single," where she forces conversations and is poetic justice that sometimes that cute flaky girl grows up to be a not-so-cute, flaky lady who's trying to harvest her eggs
Alas, we were punished with "Stay- you say... because you're so scared to lose..." (and his boring music video...) Some girls I knew loved it so much they read it to one another and swooned. Chik lit by a dude. WTF? Well, romance doesn't always become a life long relationship. Oh, well. Knowing and doing are different things. So that book was called the Hottest State.
I knew the title, and found the DVD yesterday. The movie itself is pretty spot on with its commentary (I watch DVDs with the subtitle track and commetary tracks going. Saves the double watch.) There were three interesting lines. The first is "Everyone tells you to follow your dreams when you're a child. When you grow up, they get mad at you for trying." The last was something else... And the third? It's from Ethan himself, saying "If you have the chance to leave an argument over a break up, leave. Don't try to talk it out. Leave." Easy to say. Hard to apply.
At it's core, if you're going through an intense love, you'll relate to this. If you've long ago experienced it, then perhaps this will answer questions or place it in context. An intense experience is worthwhile, the movie says, even if it only lasts 7 days and not a lifetime.
Still, it's a great commentary. And a watchable movie, but the commentary spells out stuff you might be scratching your head over.
My only critique is one of infatuation with Godard. I love Godard. I don't see why folks appropriate him yet fail the spirit of his work. I guess what they get is the spirit of love and freedom and forget the danger and politics. It's like citing Peckinpah if you do westerns, but frankly, I have Peckinpah. I don't need his style without the substance. A light saber without the mythology of the Force is just a stick of light. The magic disappears.
Oh well. Such is the standing on the necks of giants.
And the Hottest State? I thought it referred to feverish love. It does, and it also stands for Texas. A great title for a so so movie.
The DVD comes with an obnoxious short, the kind you hate actors for writing and directing. Even now, it's like, gosh, that really sucks. It probably screened at fests because of Ethan H., not because it was any good.
Alas, we were punished with "Stay- you say... because you're so scared to lose..." (and his boring music video...) Some girls I knew loved it so much they read it to one another and swooned. Chik lit by a dude. WTF? Well, romance doesn't always become a life long relationship. Oh, well. Knowing and doing are different things. So that book was called the Hottest State.
I knew the title, and found the DVD yesterday. The movie itself is pretty spot on with its commentary (I watch DVDs with the subtitle track and commetary tracks going. Saves the double watch.) There were three interesting lines. The first is "Everyone tells you to follow your dreams when you're a child. When you grow up, they get mad at you for trying." The last was something else... And the third? It's from Ethan himself, saying "If you have the chance to leave an argument over a break up, leave. Don't try to talk it out. Leave." Easy to say. Hard to apply.
At it's core, if you're going through an intense love, you'll relate to this. If you've long ago experienced it, then perhaps this will answer questions or place it in context. An intense experience is worthwhile, the movie says, even if it only lasts 7 days and not a lifetime.
Still, it's a great commentary. And a watchable movie, but the commentary spells out stuff you might be scratching your head over.
My only critique is one of infatuation with Godard. I love Godard. I don't see why folks appropriate him yet fail the spirit of his work. I guess what they get is the spirit of love and freedom and forget the danger and politics. It's like citing Peckinpah if you do westerns, but frankly, I have Peckinpah. I don't need his style without the substance. A light saber without the mythology of the Force is just a stick of light. The magic disappears.
Oh well. Such is the standing on the necks of giants.
And the Hottest State? I thought it referred to feverish love. It does, and it also stands for Texas. A great title for a so so movie.
The DVD comes with an obnoxious short, the kind you hate actors for writing and directing. Even now, it's like, gosh, that really sucks. It probably screened at fests because of Ethan H., not because it was any good.
posted by AET at
8/28/2008 12:30:00 PM
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