Kathleen Recommends

It's late All Hallows Eve, and here be Wall-E, two witches, and a rock star, all safely tucked in bed now.

My granddaughters are the two on the right, their friend in the middle, and the amazing Wall-E costume hand crafted by my youngest for his son out of cardboard, paper and aluminum foil. The arms move. The front opens and the loot bag emerges. He was quite a hit on this beautiful fall night.

But for the cold nights ahead, I give you a couple of recommendations and ask for yours in return. First a DVD. "Leaves of Grass" must have moved in and out of the theaters like a hummingbird. We snatched it up the day it came out. Enthusiastic thumbs up from both the Indian cowboy and me, and that's unusual with a comedy. After the movie we played the bonus features, and Clyde googled on the laptop. Discovered the move grossed $68,000 at the box office. Sad, especially when you think about some of the poor excuses for movies that are making money.

And the talent in this one--Edward Norton, Susan Sarandon, Richard Dreyfuss and Tim Blake Nelson--is top notch. The minute Clyde saw Nelson, who played his favorite character, Delmar, in "O Brother, Where Art Thou," he was hooked. Turns out Nelson wrote and directed "Leaves Of Grass." But it's Edward Norton who brings this one home with his portrayal of identical twins as you've never seen it done before. Watching him play off himself, you'll swear there's been some cloning. Bill is the Ivy League classics professor who has done everything he can to divorce himself from his rural Oklahoma roots. Brother Brady is a genius, too. He takes his grass growing very seriously.

But this is not a Cheech and Chong-type comedy. Nelson has worked on numerous Coen brothers projects, and this one has a bit of a "Fargo" flavor to it. Apparently Nelson wrote the screenplay with Norton in mine, and he says in the interview that "there was no second choice." Norton is a favorite of mine, and he's great in this flick, which is downright funny.


Next, for your reading pleasure, I recommend COWBOYS NEVER CRY by Tina Welling. I read this one in advance, and my endorsement is quoted on the back cover. A good contemporary Western romance is hard to find these days, especially in single title. This is the second book I've read and enjoyed by this relatively new author.

The young widow of a mountain climber, takes a summer job on a dude ranch near Jackson Hole, where she meets and locks horns with the owner's son, a disillusioned and erstwhile self-destructive movie star. He's cool and cocky, but he's just out of rehab and still rocky. She's no shrinking violet, but putting her life back together has been a struggle, both emotionally and financially. Welling is a skilled writer, and she knows how to bring characters to life and tug at the heart strings. Good stuff.

It's comin' on cocooning time. What's the best book you've read lately? How about the best movie? Give me some titles to put on my list.

Kathleen Presents: Chick Flicks Guys Like

I have some book news, but I'll save that until the end, when I'll also mention that I'll be giving away a book in celebration of said book news. But I digress.

We talk about chick flicks here periodically, and I'm usually the bearer of the bucket of cold water because I'm not a huge fan. Or the one I rave about is likely to be the one everyone else hates. But I saved an article called "A Guy's Guide to Rom-Coms" from last Friday's Minneapolis Star Tribune partly because I found Strib columnist Tom Horgen's 11 picks worthy of discussion, but mainly because unprompted my husband said, "Hey, did you see this article? I think this guy's got something here." And that cowboy of mine is definitely not a big romantic comedy fan.

I realize not every chick flick is a romantic comedy, but chick flicks are all aimed at women, and I would say the basic theme is building relationships. Going out on a limb here, I think all rom-coms are chick flicks. Men regard them as chick flicks. So rom-coms are chick flicks that men might like. But which ones? The article is all about recent flicks, but for my money it's still hard to beat some of the classics like "It Happened One Night" and any number of Tracy-Hepburn movies. Many of our novels certainly reflect the timeless appeal of those match-ups. But these days I generally wait for the rom-coms to come out on DVD if I see them at all. Horgen starts out by saying that the rom-com is "on life support" and pans recent releases "The Switch" with Jennifer Aniston and Drew Barrymore's "Going the Distance." I haven't seen them. I've seen ads. Not interested. As often as not, Hollywood seems to hand a log line to couple of stars who have CHICK APPROVED stamped on their SAG cards and offer them a bunch of money. Script to follow. Maybe.

Romantic comedy is a popular genre, and every genre has its set of basic formulas. Nothing wrong with that. But listen up, Hollywood: We get tired of seeing the same actors playing the same stock characters in the same story with the same tired dialogue. Script, please.


Horgen claims that the contemporary rom-com took off with "When Harry Met Sally" (1989). He acknowledges the basics: unlikely pair finds irresistible attraction complicated by seemingly immovable obstacle, comedy spices things up at every turn, couple ends up together in one way or another. Then he picks his favorites, which he says "maximized the genre's potential" from a guy's point of view. Here are his picks. See what you think.

11. Return To Me (David Duchovny, Minnie Driver) His wife was killed in an accident. She's the transplant recipient of his dead wife's heart.

10. Notting Hill (Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant) She's a big star. He's an ordinary bookstore owner.

9. Maid In Manhattan (Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes) Classic Cinderella.

8. Shakespeare In Love (Gwenneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes) The young Bard meets his match.

7. Brown Sugar (Taye Diggs, Sanaa Lathan) Old friends rediscover each other. Note: Mos Def and Queen Latifah really do steal the show.

6. Chasing Amy (Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams) He's a comic book artist, she's not interested. Note: an indie that doesn't fit the mold, but guys--my sons among them--really like this one.

5. Shall We Dance (the Japanese version) Married man secretly takes ballroom dance lessons from a bombshell.

4. High Fidelity (John Cusack, Jack Black, forgettable female) Record store owner breaking up with yet another girlfriend.

3. The American President (Michael Douglas, Annette Benning) President (single dad) falls for a lobbyist.

2. When Harry Met Sally (Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan) Will sex spoil a perfectly good friendship?

1. Knocked Up (Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl) This one turns the secret baby story on its head.

Horgen briefly explains his picks in the article. I haven't seen all of them, but I think the choices are interesting. Do you agree? Any puzzlers? Is this a case of Mars/Venus? What was the last rom-com you and your date both truly enjoyed?

I have an autographed book waiting to go out to one of our commenters.




And my good news is...

ONCE A FATHER is a USA Today Bestseller!

Kathleen recommends "Taking Chance"

I watched HBO's "Taking Chance" last night and had to post this morning, partly as a bookend for my post on Friday. "That Lucky Ones" is about coming home from war wounded inside and out. "Taking Chance" is the true story of a Lt. Col. who volunteered to escort the remains of a soldier killed in Iraq--to take him home. It, too, is a simple story--an experience, really. It's moving from beginning to end. Very understated. Kevin Bacon is wonderful. I had no idea how carefully the military treats the remains of our fallen soldiers. It's beautiful. Don't shy away for fear that it's too morbid. It's not presented that way.

Back in 1973 when I was on my way home for Daddy's funeral (he's buried at Arlington) I watched from the plane window as a military escort supervised the loading of a casket onto the conveyor belt and into the belly of our plane. I was still in denial, but I remember that moment vividly.

"Taking Chance" shows ordinary Americans honoring Chance Phelps all along the journey home, and in that way it presents a real contrast with "The Lucky Ones." There's truth in both, of course. I read recently that Iraq War veterans are joining the ranks of the homeless in ever-increasing numbers. So many Vietnam vets on the streets, and I often wonder what "Support Our Troops" means. Certainly nothing that can be reduced to a 3-word bumper sticker. I do feel that movies like these help us realize as a community that these are our sons and daughters.

Chance Phelps was buried in Wyoming. The horse-drawn wagon reminded me of so many funerals for members of Clyde's family. I've blogged about this before--in Indian country, the VFW plays a big part in every veteran's funeral, and reservations are replete with veterans. There's nothing more moving to me than Taps and a 21-gun salute. At Arlington there was a fly-over for Daddy. For my retired cavalry officer grandfather, there was a horse-drawn caisson and the riderless horse, Blackjack. The spit and polish, the pomp and circumstance--until we find a way to get along in this world without sending our young people into the line of fire, these things somehow remind us of the gravity of it all even as they comfort us.

Even if you don't get HBO, watch the trailer.

Iron Man. . . a hero with flaws

Movie junkie here. The summer movie season was kicked off in grand style last night with the premier of "Iron Man." I saw it last night and LOVED it. Director Jon Favreau hit the perfect balance between human story and superhero hype.

His choice for the savagely amoral hero Tony Stark was perfect: Robert Downey Jr. . . who has plenty of demons of his own in real life. I didn't expect to like him in this role. Turns out, I didn't like him, I LOVED him in it!

This is the cream of the crop of "comic book movies." A nine out of ten. A real, plausible, believable, sci-fi movie merged with a super-hero keyed in to current events. If only we had a real Tony Stark who would grow into this role. Unfortunately, greedy geniuses in the real world tend to stay greedy geniuses. . . and munitions makers tend to stay munitions makers.

The story is simple: a genius playboy munitions maker is captured in Afghanistan and forced to work on making a deadly missile for a terrorist warlord bent on taking over his own country and more. But with the courageous help of another captured scientist, instead of building the missile, Tony builds himself a suit of armor and breaks out of captivity.

He is a changed man by the time he returns home. He's experienced first-hand what his weapons do and wants to quit making them and turn his company's efforts to more peaceful ends. His father's old partner won't let him. . . chaos ensues. . . soon it's Iron Man vs the monster creation he himself inspired.

Robert Downey is so very believable as the playboy-jerk who thinks only of his own interests and is removed enough from life and real relationships to view the death he deals out as little more than a game. In captivity, his life in peril, he learns hard lessons and comes to value his own life and the lives of others. His change of heart is convincing without being maudlin or sentimental. And he doesn't turn into a saint overnight; he still has flaws aplenty.

Realism in a comic book hero movie. Interesting.

It helps that Downey isn't 22. He's old enough and strong enough to make the character multi-faceted. Plus, he's a lot more buff and appealing than I expected. And the Iron Man he builds is. . . well. . . if he were real. . . he'd be major a heart-throb. I'll have to see this movie a second time just to glory in the spectacular mecha sequences and the terrific special effects.

I now have such a crush on Jon Favreau. He's adorable AND smart AND talented. He's a good actor, but he's quickly becoming my favorite Hollywood director.

Go see it. Let me know what you think.