"Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You", killing Holden Caulfield

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You- Peter Cameron

Marketing is lying. Advertising is all about cheating. And that does include literature. Yes, I know I sound infuriated. I am. This is not going to be a merciful review.

Critics have saluted "Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You", Peter Cameron's latest novel as "one of the all-time great New York books", a "comic gem" and the (here it goes, hear the drums rattling) perfect modern version of "The Catcher in the Rye". Now that's what I call advertising a book, don't you think?

Of course, "Someday..." is not what the ads say. To begin with While reading it, I couldn't help myself but thinking on how soon we were going to see a film adaption of the book, directed by the responsible of Little Miss Sunshine or Cameron Crowe... and while preparing this review I realized the screen version already exists. It’s understandable; the book has all the ingredients to be considered a potential “cool” film (even the indie ticks abound) but without losing any cross-over appealing… meaning without having any substance. Because, being honest, to me, this book is rather pointless, seriously empty.

I’m very sorry to say that “Someday…” is full of cheap tricks and bad writer resources. To avoid a tiring monologue or a book of young adult introspection, Cameron uses a psychiatrist. He also has an oracle character, James’s Grandma. Someone has even pointed out that it’s her own version of Holden Caulfield sister Phoebe. My goodness. Of course parents are divorced and odd, and her sister is dating an older married man. There’s even the shadow of 9/11 there. If Cameron quickly refuses to use that factor for the story, then why do we have that conversation? And then we have the resolution of the book, of course. I won’t spoil the “revelation”, but what gives sense to the erratic behaviour of main character James Sveck, that justifies the whole novel, is really lame as an argument. Comparing that to Holden Caulfield is offensive.

As a character, James Sveck is another main “concern” for me. He is just irritating, not fun (the only funny thing to me was the housing thing). But aside from that, he is completely untrue, like the rest of the characters. James thoughts and words are the ones of the author, not the ones from a heavily confused 18 years old kid. He is supposed to be extremely smart, to the point of being obnoxious. He talks about Denton Welch and architecture, and has really boring obsession for objects and brands, but he doesn’t know what alopecia means (just an example of incoherency).

I do believe “Someday…” is just an attempt to make a little novel (short, that’s another one of the few positive things) that fits ideally under the Young Adult label, of a kid looking to grow-up in a world that is confusing to him. It does aim to have a moral lesson (another “issue”): James will survive and grow stronger. Take life as a constant lesson, some of them are painful, but you will learn anyway. That might be a rather enlightening conclusion (it looks like a bland self improvement book to me) for a teenager to read, but to salute this as one of the best books published lately is ridiculous.

SCORE: 2,5/10

Best Movies of (My) Year 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Bloodbuzzed is back after our little holidays in London. Before we begin our regular posts, there was a 2012 best-of list pending (you can check gigs, EPs, books, records and songs of the year), the best movies of the year. As we have passed the date, we'll made it quickly (you can click on the movie names for their full blog reviews). 2012 has been quite mediocre in what regards to films (in our opinion, of course), but thankfully, there has been several music documentaries that saved the general impression of the past 365 days. Anyway, here you have the top 10 movies seen on 2012 that deserve to be recognized and celebrated. Enjoy!

10. Bridesmaids
9. Moonrise Kingdom
8. Young Adult
7. London, the Modern Babylon
6. The Music Never Stopped
5. Lemmy
4. Your Sister's Sister
3. The Ides of March
2. End of the Century: the Story of The Ramones
1. Searching For Sugar Man

Want to check last year's movie list? Just click here

"Bridesmaids", bye romantic comedies & weddings

Bridesmaids

Let's vindicate comedies. And the directors, screenwriters, actors, etc, that without missing the focus of making us laugh during 90-120 minutes, are capable of offering something, if not groundbreaking, at least refreshing, different. "Bridesmaids" might not be "high comedy" (whatever that means) but is an amusing comedy. And a big, much needed, kick in the ass to the abominable chick flick genre.

As the very recommendable and recently reviewed "Young Adult", "Bridesmaids" also subverts the archetype of female role, but now within the format of a comedy. Director Paul Feig (with the king of the new American comedy Judd Apatow behind him as producer) is capable of doing that "playing" in the most adverse of territories: the preparation of a wedding. Hard to imagine a more chick flick-bound scenario, but its hilariously used in its own benefit, providing the film the scenes, the munition to construct several unforgettable gags. Sorry lovers of weddings and traditional romantic comedies. This is not for you. We are closer to a female version of "The Hangover".

Still, that wouldn't make of "Bridesmaids" a recommendable film per se. If  you want to create a good comedy, you need an according script and a bunch of actors that can develop it. Which brings me to Kristen Wiig, unknown in Spain but a comic American icon. She's not only the absolute star of this movie, as the troubled, disastrous Annie Walker. She's also credited as co-writer of the script. What an immense work. At the very least, an Oscar nomination was in order (at the very least).

But Wiig is not alone, as all the secondary actresses are also amusing, with a deserved, very special mention to the explosive performance of Oscar-nominated Melissa McCarthy as Megan, while Rose Byrne is also remarkable as Helen, Annie's nemesis (and the caricature-archetype of the chick flick woman) and Maya Rudolph as Lilian, the bride and Annie's best friend. Male roles are quite marginalised here, being reduced to officer Nathan Rhodes (played by Chris O'Dowd) and Ted (Jon Hamm). Though both roles are nice, ridiculed updates of typical male characters (quite funny to see the Mad Men's star character turned into an evident XXI century asshole).  

The film doesn't have many misfires. Some (few) jokes might cross the line, and I could point an unbalance on its length, that hastens its conclusion to an unnatural extent, killing some secondary parts for the sake of reaching the climax of the film. But this are minor complaints in a film that for almost two hours keeps you laughing, with several scenes to be remembered, with actresses in a state of grace (especially Wiig and McCarthy), enjoying themselves while they dynamite all the romantic comedies clichés. Fun granted.

SCORE: 7,25/10

"Young Adult", unlikely princesses & painful fairy tales

Young Adult

After watching lately some quite hyped movies that didn't meet the expectations, it's nice to see one in which what matters is the story. Finally a film with an engaging script and a director developing it! The exclamation mark is in order. Cinema its getting so depressively empty that we have to celebrate works like "Young Adult". Director Jason Reitman and scriptwriter Diablo Cody are among the most interesting talents in recent years. As a duo, they created the charming, charismatic "Juno", a film that would have been insufferable in different hands. And Reitman alone has an immaculate curriculum including "Thank You for Smoking" and "Up in the Air".

Before going into the film, allow me a little complaint/warning. "Young Adult" has been marketed as a dark comedy. Which is utterly wrong. If people is looking for an adult "Juno", full of acid one-liners with a romantic background, the disappointment is going to be huge. "Young Adult" is, on the surface, a very simple film, with a very simple premise and development: a homecoming. But it is one of this rare films that suggests so much, that hides and retains such a (personal?) history behind and poses many questions and uncertainties for the future. Hell! its even the sort of film that scares a bit. It shows a human being completely lost, adrift. And is frighteningly recognisable.

To me this film works (and sometimes excels) thanks to Diablo Cody's script, in particular with the construction of the main character, Mavis Gary, the fundamental pillar in which the story revolves. Opposite to "Juno", she doesn't need to talk much to reveal how damaged she is, how desperate she is, to the point of creating a fantasy, based on her "glorious past" that she tries (extremely hard) to transform into reality. The amount of scenes in which her personality is exposed by little details (sort of personal "rituals": nails, dresses, tapes, hair) is extraordinary. Taking advantage of the fact/irony Mavis is supposed to be a writer herself, you don't see characters so well penned that often. 

Of course, such a potentially great character needed and actress capable of carrying it on her shoulders. And Charlize Theron took the challenge wonderfully. If you allow me the easy reference, she creates a real, credible "Monster", without having to transform herself physically (the Oscar's Academy should learn something about it). Along with Theron is Patton Oswalt as Matt Freehauf, the unexpected college friend, and also very damaged person, that serves as her support/conscience's voice. Without Oswalt's solid performance his role could have been very dangerous for the credibility of the film. 

The bitterness/darkness that prevails during the majority of "Young Adult" length (another fact to praise, against the tendency of making unnecessarily overlong films, this clocks in less than 90 minutes) makes you stuck into your chair, thrilled by the amount of refinements the story acquires in many levels, and waiting for a resolution (admittedly, a bit scared for it as well), and in this sense, when it arrives, its a bit unsatisfactory. It is shocking, even disturbing, but I'm afraid is (partially) based in what it seemed a very crucial scene that surprisingly doesn't have consequences. Related to that, the character of Buddy Slade, performed by Patrick Wilson, needed more development to fully understand his behaviour.  

"Young Adult"'s last chapters and resolution might harm the film as a whole. It's like Reitman tried too hard to condense, and with the laudable will of restrain what could have turn into an awful, cliché-driven drama about moral degradation and coming home (city versus rural, familiar values versus modern values, etc), sacrificing some of the possibilities the story had, in order to lead it into an open conclusion that works fine in terms of Mavis, the character, (what we are seeing contradicting the triumphant off-voice) but is somewhat weak in terms of the film's potential. Or maybe it's just me, cause I thought this disgusting, unlikely heroine was going to overblown me as she did during the majority of the film. Imperfect movie, but highly recommendable. 

SCORE: 7/10