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>Three Venues

>I went to see Rope on stage last night for free, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at the movie theater today and Against the Ropes on my television this evening.

I thoroughly enjoyed the acting in Rope but I gotta say the story was just eh. It was especially disappointing after reading this TheaterSource description:

In ‘Rope,’ two young Oxford men who attempt “the perfect murder” to prove that they are above ordinary people. After killing a college friend, they hide the body in a trunk in their living room and host a cocktail party, serving dinner off of the trunk. The play served as the source of the 1948 Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name, which starred James Stewart.

OOooooohhhhhh, right? Murder and a party? Right up my alley! But it was dated and ultimately had a “so what” kind of ending. A fifteen minute delayed start plus two (unnecessary, I think) intermissions made the blah ending feel especially more blah. But, that said, the acting was superb as was the direction. That’s more than enough to make me happy I braved the cold while sniffly and stuffy-headed. I know I didn’t quite “sell” it, but I can score you free tickets if you want them. Just email me.

Potter was predictable in that I enjoyed it but wasn’t blown away by it. Is the latter even possible when you’ve read the book first? My favorite part about the Potter movies is hearing the completely organic reactions of the children around us. The best quote came afterwards when I overheard a boy of ten or so years say, “They left out all the important parts.” Heh.

Against the Ropes and Meg Ryan’s performance were universally panned. I rate it glad-I-didn’t-see-it-in-the-theater,-but-hmmm-this-is-much-better-than-I-expected-good. I agree, it’s formulaic and Ryan’s accent is a bit much but it still kept me engaged. There’s something about a sports movie (in this case boxing) that “ropes” me in and won’t let go. It wasn’t till the end when I remembered that it was inpired by the true story of Jackie Kallen. Excellent.

So-so entertainment with its ups and downs but since I paid $0.00 and still got something out of all of it, I say I’m up.

Kambri
Still on my winning streak.