Cinematic Junk Food
It is with great apprehension that I broach this subject matter. I usually reserved it for very close friends and family members where the teasing, laughing and pointing of fingers is kept to a minimum (most of the time).
Just as in every normal person's diet there exists some kind of junk food, the same also exists in our entertainment diet. We can choose to watch cinematic masterpieces such as The Godfather, Citizen Kane or Schindler's List. These films can inspire internal reflection as well as entertain us. But just as we need proper nutrition in order to live a healthier life, we often desire--sometimes with every fiber of our being--the caramel cookie crunch of a Twix© candy bar. (Don't blame me if that's not your favorite candy bar.)
The same exists with movies and television. We thrive for fulfilling entertainment but we sometimes crave a gross-out comedy, an over-the-top action spectacular, or the train wreck that is reality television. They can scratch that specific itch or they can help pass the time on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
STEP BROTHERS
Ever since the arrival of Adam Sandler, my generation of men have been unfortunately infatuated with the "man-boy complex": men who refuse to grow up and become self-reliant and independent adults. Instead, these man-boys move into their mother's basement (mostly to avoid being seen in an attempts to save the self respect of their mother), working a part-time job to pay for their weed and video games, never really learning life skills to become a functioning member of society.
My friends and I spent many an afternoon--in high school as well as in college--watching the likes of Dumb & Dumber, Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, just to name a few. Obviously seeded with a desire of not wanting to grow up ourselves, we lived out these outrageous and ridiculous fantasies by watching retarded, stupid, and immature movies about grown men who harbored some, if not all, of these attributes.
Seventeen years have come and gone and our generation of males is still obsessed with the man-boy complex. Just look at the material that Adam Sandler, David Spade or Will Ferrell still puts out. Step Brothers is the shinning example, the epitome, the crème de la crème shall we say of the man-boy complex displayed in motion pictures.
Will Ferrell and John C. Riley perfectly embody two middle-aged losers, who are forced against their will to live together as roommates when their single parents fall in love, get married and move in together. While this film doesn't have anything that even resembles any kind of redeeming value, I can't help but watch it when it's on. It's definitely not a movie that I would recommend to my parents, my grandmother, or anyone else easily offended. Be that as it may, if you're still even remotely interested in seeing this movie, I must point out that it is extremely crude and crass, with a healthy dose of foul language and lots of adult humor.
ROCKY II, ROCKY III, ROCKY IV, etc.
For all intents and purposes, any Rocky movie that's followed by a roman numeral, quickly degrades its predecessor: the original Oscar-winning film Rocky. To be completely honest, Rocky II really isn't that bad and I almost feel wrong putting it in the midst of its successors. And while the sixteen year belated arrival of Stallone's final chapter in this series isn't as poorly executed as Rocky V, Rocky Balboa still demonstrates how outlandish and implausible Sylvester Stallone is as a storyteller. For further proof of this statement, just slide your finger to the left just a little on the rental store shelf and try to lose yourself in the enlightening Rambo franchise: Rocky's cinematic twin brother who does more mumbling, has even less dialog, and who is extremely violent. (He's the less appreciated, abundantly angst-filled black sheep of the family.)
Every year or so I get in the mood to watch Rocky. What unfortunately follows is the rest of the saga, sometimes within the same day (but not always). I can't help it. It has somehow been ingrained in me to like Rocky Balboa. He fought for the little man, the underdog. He fought for America and our freedom, damn it! This probably stems from my generation's 1980s indoctrination of believing that the United States was the greatest country on the planet (which it still is... all sarcasm aside). Heaven forbid we have any kind of national pride these days. The last thing we want to do is offend someone.
But I think I've discovered why these movies have become so addictive. By the time you've reached Rocky III, you have Mr. T... excuse me, Clubber Lang, in all of his glorious bad-ass attitude. Rocky IV brings us the death of Apollo Creed, the introduction of the evil Soviets, their communist regime and their secret weapon: Ivan Drago. But as good as those characters and themes are, this is not what draws you into these movies. What I've realized is that these film's addictive quality is their training montages.
The training montage worked well in the first two films, where they showed the determination and dedication of our protagonist; and they only clocked in at around three minutes (for examples, see it for yourself here: Rocky, Rocky II). Stallone took full advantage of this and overloaded this young boy's sensors with the next two movies by making ninety minute boxing music videos.
Rocky III, however, opens with a four minute music video, showing Balboa's climb to fame and fortune after his triumphant victory over Apollo Creed. Stallone also gives us our cherished and coveted training montage as well. However, by the time we reach Rocky IV, Stallone has amped up the voltage and added a good fifteen minutes or more of training and music video montages. If you don't believe me, put in a copy of Rocky IV--or better yet, do a youtube search--and rediscover for yourself the Ultimate Rocky Training Montage. It's a downright disgrace to the craft of filmmaking; a horrible shortcut to show the passing of time, considering the film is only 91 minutes long... but I am unable change the channel. Curse you, Stallone!
In conclusion, the truly bad part about all of this is the adverse affects on me while doing the research for this post. Now all I want to do is heed to the commands of the young boy inside me, whispering the wanted desires to sit down and watch all of the Rocky movies straight through once again. These films, as corny or cheesy as they may be, still adhere themselves to the backbone of this writer, who sometime can't say no to the barbaric boxing charisma and charm of Philadelphia's underdog... the Italian Stallion himself... Rocky Balboa.
Until next time, dear readers.
Just as in every normal person's diet there exists some kind of junk food, the same also exists in our entertainment diet. We can choose to watch cinematic masterpieces such as The Godfather, Citizen Kane or Schindler's List. These films can inspire internal reflection as well as entertain us. But just as we need proper nutrition in order to live a healthier life, we often desire--sometimes with every fiber of our being--the caramel cookie crunch of a Twix© candy bar. (Don't blame me if that's not your favorite candy bar.)
The same exists with movies and television. We thrive for fulfilling entertainment but we sometimes crave a gross-out comedy, an over-the-top action spectacular, or the train wreck that is reality television. They can scratch that specific itch or they can help pass the time on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
STEP BROTHERS
Ever since the arrival of Adam Sandler, my generation of men have been unfortunately infatuated with the "man-boy complex": men who refuse to grow up and become self-reliant and independent adults. Instead, these man-boys move into their mother's basement (mostly to avoid being seen in an attempts to save the self respect of their mother), working a part-time job to pay for their weed and video games, never really learning life skills to become a functioning member of society.
My friends and I spent many an afternoon--in high school as well as in college--watching the likes of Dumb & Dumber, Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, just to name a few. Obviously seeded with a desire of not wanting to grow up ourselves, we lived out these outrageous and ridiculous fantasies by watching retarded, stupid, and immature movies about grown men who harbored some, if not all, of these attributes.
Will Ferrell and John C. Riley perfectly embody two middle-aged losers, who are forced against their will to live together as roommates when their single parents fall in love, get married and move in together. While this film doesn't have anything that even resembles any kind of redeeming value, I can't help but watch it when it's on. It's definitely not a movie that I would recommend to my parents, my grandmother, or anyone else easily offended. Be that as it may, if you're still even remotely interested in seeing this movie, I must point out that it is extremely crude and crass, with a healthy dose of foul language and lots of adult humor.
ROCKY II, ROCKY III, ROCKY IV, etc.
For all intents and purposes, any Rocky movie that's followed by a roman numeral, quickly degrades its predecessor: the original Oscar-winning film Rocky. To be completely honest, Rocky II really isn't that bad and I almost feel wrong putting it in the midst of its successors. And while the sixteen year belated arrival of Stallone's final chapter in this series isn't as poorly executed as Rocky V, Rocky Balboa still demonstrates how outlandish and implausible Sylvester Stallone is as a storyteller. For further proof of this statement, just slide your finger to the left just a little on the rental store shelf and try to lose yourself in the enlightening Rambo franchise: Rocky's cinematic twin brother who does more mumbling, has even less dialog, and who is extremely violent. (He's the less appreciated, abundantly angst-filled black sheep of the family.)
But I think I've discovered why these movies have become so addictive. By the time you've reached Rocky III, you have Mr. T... excuse me, Clubber Lang, in all of his glorious bad-ass attitude. Rocky IV brings us the death of Apollo Creed, the introduction of the evil Soviets, their communist regime and their secret weapon: Ivan Drago. But as good as those characters and themes are, this is not what draws you into these movies. What I've realized is that these film's addictive quality is their training montages.
Rocky III, however, opens with a four minute music video, showing Balboa's climb to fame and fortune after his triumphant victory over Apollo Creed. Stallone also gives us our cherished and coveted training montage as well. However, by the time we reach Rocky IV, Stallone has amped up the voltage and added a good fifteen minutes or more of training and music video montages. If you don't believe me, put in a copy of Rocky IV--or better yet, do a youtube search--and rediscover for yourself the Ultimate Rocky Training Montage. It's a downright disgrace to the craft of filmmaking; a horrible shortcut to show the passing of time, considering the film is only 91 minutes long... but I am unable change the channel. Curse you, Stallone!
In conclusion, the truly bad part about all of this is the adverse affects on me while doing the research for this post. Now all I want to do is heed to the commands of the young boy inside me, whispering the wanted desires to sit down and watch all of the Rocky movies straight through once again. These films, as corny or cheesy as they may be, still adhere themselves to the backbone of this writer, who sometime can't say no to the barbaric boxing charisma and charm of Philadelphia's underdog... the Italian Stallion himself... Rocky Balboa.
Until next time, dear readers.
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