"You think I don't know what folks are saying? That old Dink's a coward?"

Day 157
My Dog Skip
2000



Well folks, we've officially made it through the 90s. I'm so very sad to see them go, again, but they just weren't meant to last forever. And the Merethon must go on...

Leading us off in to the 2000s is My Dog Skip.

I must admit, I might sorta like this movie. It's not my favorite, and frankly, it's a bit too sentimental even for me...which is saying a lot. But it's certainly got something. Not everything, but something.

Dink Jenkins may be another for my list of all-time favorite Luke Wilson characters, though. I mean, it's hard not to love him. He's just that beautiful, ball-playing, good-natured, golden-boy-next-door (literally), who ships off to war, valiantly, like all the other good boys...And it just breaks your (my) heart when he comes back jaded, drunk and hopeless...

It all seems a bit...contrived, maybe? At any rate, I still think it's fairly poignant.

I've also got a soft spot for little Jack Russels. I don't think ours are nearly as talented as the one who plays Skip, but they're still pretty damn charming, when they want to be... But really, mostly, I think I've just got a soft spot for dogs in general. This movie could definitely strike a chord with anyone who's ever had a really amazing dog. I certainly have and I wish everyone were so lucky.

Well, I think that's enough. If ya like dags, maybe see this one. Or if you like sappy movies. Or movies with Kevin Bacon.




MERE'S OFFICAL RATING: 3 out of 5 stars
Leaving sandwich unattended within reach of dogs could result in sandwich scarcity.

Up next....
Committed (Yeah, I'm looking at you for this one, Liberty Hall...don't let me down! : )

"I don't think I've ever gotten all up on anything, sir."

Day 152
Blue Streak
1999



Ok, I have to be honest. I watched this movie once before, for the sake of the blog, but it was a long while ago and I don't remember it all that well. Though I had no desire to watch it again, I convinced myself that I must, in order to honor the blog and stay true to my quest to watch ALL of Mr. Wilson's movies before his 40th birthday.

However, when I went to the library to check it out, I searched for it on their computer system only to see its status listed as "Missing." Needless to say, I was...almost upset.

I've decided it was "divine intervention," or something, and will now just have to write about the movie from memory.

Shucks.

Contrary to my expectations, this movie wasn't completely terrible. It wasn't exactly good, either, though. It was watchable, I guess. There was a plot.

I was particularly disappointed with Mr. Wilson's character, though. He finally, almost comes through in the end, but it certainly feels like an unnecessarily long time coming.

There're also some winning scenes with Dave Chappelle, but...yeah, I think that's about it. See it. Don't see it. You probably won't lose any sleep either way.

MERE'S OFFICIAL RATING: 2 out of 5 stars.
"How's that sandwich coming?"*

Up next...
My Dog Skip

(*Matt just showed me that Dave Chappelle skit with Susan Sarandon a few weeks back to cheer me up when I was sick. Seeing as Chappelle's in the moive, it somehow seemed appropriate : )

"The only way we're gonna help our business is if we jog over there and set it on fire."

Day 107
Kill the Man
1998



Maybe I was just glad to no longer be completely bed-ridden and flu-stricken.

Or maybe, just maybe, this movie was worth every penny!! ($1.47 + shipping. Yes, the shipping was more expensive than the movie.)

Either way, thanks to the good people at Amazon.com and krbcommunications (whoever you are), I am now the proud owner of a VHS copy of Kill the Man. It arrived enclosed snugly in an awesome, old video rental store shell bearing a "New Release" sticker.

After viewing the movie, I'd have to say this introduction seemed all too appropriate. It was a stark reminder of the on-going (ever-growing?) game of Big Business versus the Little Guy, like the rental store I can only imagine this little gem came from. A good part of me likes to imagine it came from somewhere like Ardvark Video or...what was the name of that place on the Belt? Any help, St. Josephans? (St. Josephites?) Anyone? No?

Admittedly, I love Netflix as much as the next girl, but....


In any case, "renting a movie" just ain't what it used to be.

But back to the movie...I'm going to be really honest with you; I really liked this movie. A lot. I'm not sure what that says about me, and I'm not really even sure I care. The fact remains unchanged.

It was entertaining. I literally laughed out loud. And not in the "Wow, this movie is so bad, it's kinda funny"-sort of way, either! This movie actually, successfully entertained me. It even had that strange 90's-era-sway over me that makes me want to up and move to Seattle to serve coffee, work retail, start a band, or just walk around looking important. Oh the 90's...Well, and yeah, the movie is set in Seattle, so that might have contributed something, too...

Anyways, this movie has everything! Raps about Communism. Allusions to Greek mythology. A random deer. Even a wacky, inflatable arm-flailing-tube-man!

I'm willing to admit that perhaps the key to enjoying this movie was low expectations. Regardless, I still enjoyed it very much. It was my sincere hope that in the course of this blog I might chance upon just one, rare, perhaps altogether lost winner among the droves of films Mr. Wilson has worked on over the years. And maybe I'm speaking too soon, but I think this is the one! I even dare say this movie will have made the whole blog worthwhile, because I'm quite convinced I'd have never seen it otherwise, if for no other reason than its sheer lack of availability.

Truly, it was just sweet, simple and funny.

If nothing else, it cheered up this ill gal on an otherwise very dull day!

Let me know if you want to borrow my tape sometime : )


MERE'S OFFICIAL RATING: 4 out of 5 stars (...Oh, yes I did!)
Bring all of your favorite sandwiches along!




Up next...
Blue Streak

"These are O.R. scrubs..."

Day 104
Rushmore
1998




First of all, just because I know you're all thinking it...

"...Oh, are they?"

Do you feel better now? I do : ) That's honestly the only thing I remember about this movie from when it was advertised on television. Frankly, at the time, I'm not even sure I recognized the man in scrubs to be Luke Wilson.

But as is so often the case with Wes Anderson's films, the dialogue in Rushmore is just rampantly fantastic.

However, I'd have to say this movie strikes me as perhaps the least accessible of Mr. Anderson's work. I'm not really even sure why, other than that I guess you just know things are rather ill-fated from the start. Surely nothing could ever fully live up to the ideals of Max Fischer, and it's sometimes a little rough to watch things fall through. I guess that's just how that whole coming-of-age-thing goes, though...

Speaking of rough, Mr. Murray can play a broken-down man like no one's business. It's impressive, to say the least. And it's just inexplicably endearing. Something about his eyes...(Also, in half-assedly researching for this blog entry, I found that Mr. Murray shares a birthday with Mr. Wilson, wouldntchaknow...)

Really all of the characters in this film are incredibly endearing...save for the Blume twins.

Truly I apologize for the lackluster blog entry here, but words honestly fail me in talking about this movie. If someone asked me, "What's that one about?" I'm not even sure I'd know how to answer.

Maybe I'd just say, "Best play ever, man." But more likely, I'd just tell you to see it for yourself. Truly, as with most great movies, I like this one more and more everytime I watch it.



Mere's Official Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Surely there's a Sandwich Connoisseurs club in there somewhere...

Updates galore...

Ok, I'm officially falling behind with my blogging endeavor. The holidays, man. What can you do?

A lot's been going on behind the scenes of The Luke Wilson Merethon, though. Here're the updates:


Update #1: I watched the next film on the list, Home Fries.

Actually, I "accidently" subjected my sister and mother to an all-out Wilson Brother film-fest. It truly wasn't planned. Just coincindence. (Providence.)

Anyways....My parents have some free movie channels for the time being, thanks to their having recently switched to the AT&T U-verse set-up. (I cannot confirm what effect, if any, Luke Wilson had on their decision.) By chance, Marley and Me was beginning on one of these said channels just as my mom, sister and I went to work on our baby quilts for Miss Ellie. (Say what you will, but I love that movie. It's just adorable.)

After this, my mom and sister suggested we watch the Netflix movie that I had brought with me, which happened to be Home Fries.

Then finally, to round out the trio, right when we switched off the DVD player, Whip It (featuring eldest Wilson brother, Andrew) just haaappened to be starting on another movie channel.

Fantastic, no?!?!

Anyways, I will be relaying the review of Home Fries here in just a moment.


Update #2: I had intended to continue on with Rushmore after Home Fries, however, I convinced myself to wait another couple weeks.

Matt has watched this movie after every semester of his college education (well, except for one). A ritual if you will. As I was going to borrow the movie from him in the first place, I figured I should probably watch it with him, too. Truly I love an excuse to watch movies with the boyfriend, anyway. However, the end of the semester is not for another week yet, and I can't buck tradition and ask him to watch it early on this, his very LAST semester, right?! (Congrats, by the way! : ). So rest assured this movie will be watched sometime soon over the holiday season.


Update #3: ...The last one, I swear!

Having decided to wait on Matt for Rushmore, I thought I would just skip to the next film, Kill the Man. Unfortunately, this was not to be. I tried everywhere!

Netflix. The library. The good folks at Liberty Hall.

Even Blockbuster. No dice.

Jenna and I looked it up on Amazon and I quickly decided I was not willing to spend $15 for a DVD of a movie I've never seen and which could very well be terrible. (Not even for you, Mr. Wilson.)

Luckily, we've found it's available for a few dollars less...perhaps just a fistful of dollars, if you will...on VHS.

To be honest, I'd forgotten what you even call the machine that plays VHS tapes. I kept saying, "a VHS player." It never even occurred to me that there was any other way to say it until my sister told me she had a VCR (duh) that I could borrow. Anyways, I am moments away from ordering my very own VHS of Kill of the Man via the interwebs. I will keep you posted.


Ok, I think that's enough updates for one post. A girl's got to have some secrets, right?

Day 84
Home Fries
1998

Oh Home Fries...

I can't help but contemplate the possibility that the director/writer/producer of this movie just woke up one morning, called his friends and said, "Hey, I have a helicopter! Let's make a movie!!"

Secondly, I don't think it's fair when a movie preview purposefully leaves out any and all indication of the actual plot. I mean, sure you want to have some suspense. You can't give away everything, but I'd like to have some idea of what I'm getting in to.

My sister and I watched the preview on the special features of the DVD and I don't think they ever once mentioned the helicopter, or the crazy step-mother/step-brother plot. They were totally hoping you'd believe it was just a cute, little unconventional love-story about a pregnant girl working at a burger joint. Not so, my friends. Not so.

However, as I've already said many-a-time in this blog, this is certainly not the worst movie I've ever seen.

Drew Barrymore is her usual adorable self.

Mr. Wilson looks as lovely as ever, though perhaps a little on the thin side...

I also love that Shelley Duvall made the cast, but I can't say I've ever been able to think of her as anyone other than Mrs. Torrance.

And then there's even a plot, implausible and unfortunate though it may be...

I'd really like to think the movie could have stood on it's own without the helicopter and all the step-family drama. Although, maybe I should be applauding the filmmakers for not settling for just another romantic comedy. But maybe that'd be easier to do if I had liked the movie...

It all started out innocently enough, but soon thereafter, just went well beyond quirky to land somewhere closer to awkward and outrageous.

Maybe they really did set out to make just a simple, romantic comedy, but somewhere on the editing floor decided a helicopter and crazy step-mother were really the spice this film was missing.

I dare say you could have done better, folks, but you also certainly could have done a whole lot worse.

Mere's Official Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Maybe sub-ing out the sandwich for a burger would help...

Up Next....Rushmore?

"I wish they put something in the poo so it glowed in the dark."

Day 57
Dog Park
1998

Hey sports fans! Sorry it's been a while. Ever since little miss Ellie-B came in to the world a couple weeks ago, things have been a little more busy than usual. She is probably the world's most adorable niece, though, so I can't complain. : ) Can't wait to watch her grow up!!!

Ok, back to the blog.

Dog Park.

Ohhh, Dog Park.

This movie is to me as Gigli seems to be to a lot of people. (I still haven't seen that one.) It may be one of the worst movies ever. It's like someone watched a mid-90s romantic comedy one day and thought, "Hey! I could do that!". No, sir. No, you cannot. It feels like all the elements are there for a quirky 90s-era date flick, but they truly fall flat.

The most glaring example is the title/setting. To me, a dog park seems like a great setting for comedy. There's so much potential and it's a unique location that I don't think has really been overused in this genre.

All of the plot synopsises of this movie I read beforehand, however, seemed to incorrectly give undue weight to the dog park in this movie. In actuality, it always just seemed more like an aside. Like "filler." Like, maybe some afterthought to help make the title seem more fitting? It just seems to me that if you're going to name the movie after it, it should maybe be a bit more of a focal point, something that truly affects the plot.

And the dogs just seem...unnatural. Not really even for a good or witty, metaphorical purpose, and certainly not in any terribly crucial or meaningful way regarding the plot. More like animate furniture, who occasionally make an appearance in the background.

Regardless, the main dog, Mr. Mogley, is adorable, which almost makes up for something. He is easily one of my favorite characters of the film, second only to his "pet therapist."

The therapist is constantly dumbfounded by people, berating everyone, including his children, for not understanding, or being more like dogs. ("They are not our children; they're better.") It might have been better, had he been played by say...Will Ferrel, but he at least ups the comedy level considerably in this movie.

As does Callum, (Harland Williams), who you might remember best from a little classic called Dumb and Dumber. ("Tic-Tac, sir?)

Anyways, if nothing else, it can certainly be said that this movie is missing the following:

1. An interesting plot. Truly just a believable plot in general. As Andy (Luke Wilson) says, "It's like hitting on a waitress. It's just so obvious."
2. Hair. The very lovely Natasha Henstridge is in desperate need of hair.
   
3. A good script. Some witty banter. ("Will you crack my neck?" --What?!?!?!?!) Maybe just some chemistry. Somewhere. Something that might actually make me care a little bit. I realize Bruce McCulloch wrote for Kids in the Hall and SNL, but I'm not sold, buddy. You've got some decent one-liners, but that opening monologue?! It is just painful. : ( I won't lay that all on you, though, Mr. McCulloch. Maybe if you had some different actors? Maybe? Maybe. (Sorry, Mr. Wilson!)
   

I will say one positive thing about this movie; the DVD menu did NOT loop the music! Just one and done. Thank you for that.

MERE'S OFFICIAL RATING: 1 OUT OF 5 STARS
A sandwich might deliver better dialogue.




Up Next... Home Fries

"He doesn't even play ball."

Day 41
Telling Lies in America
1997


I've finally had the chance to catch up on that one we missed, Telling Lies in America.

Honestly, I can really only say I'm glad I watched it in the sense that otherwise my challenge would have been incomplete. Beyond that, I think I could have lived without seeing Kevin Bacon slinking around as a sleazy 1960's radio disc jockey. In his defense, he played the role all too well.

The highlight of the entire film for me, truly, was probably the whole 3 minutes of screen time given to Jonathon Rhys Meyers. What a loooovely lad.

Otherwise, the movie didn't do much for me. I didn't really even like any of the characters. Not even the protagonist, Karchy (Brad Renfro). He's just pretty misguided and a little sleazy at best. Kevin Bacon's character is even sleazier. Calista Flockhart's "Diney" is just plain weird and drab. I mean, you sort of feel bad for all of them, but it's fairly hard to want good things for any of them. You just sort of hope the movie will end soon and you can push it all out of your mind quickly thereafter. It lacks the wit or humor or the something that it desperately needs to really be watchable.

Mr. Wilson's character is about as loath-able as the rest, too, playing Karchy's straight-laced, hard-ass of a boss. Again, even if he is playing by the rules, you really don't like him any more for it. (Killer glasses though!)

It's all pretty formulaic, predictable, and bland. Basically, it's a movie devoid of any really entertaining qualities in this girl's mind. I do not recommend it.


MERE'S OFFICIAL RATING: 2 out of 5 stars.
You could probably step out for a sandwich mid-movie...

Up Next...
Dog Park
1998