Based on the short story by Chuck Palahniuk of the same name, Indie film maker Andy Mingo brings this true romantic comedy to life. I figured with a bunch of Chuck P. fans kicking around you'd want to see this, and with it just released on video on demand, this seemed like a good place to promote a baby that fiction and film made.
I'd love to discuss this with anyone who watches it, and at less than two bucks, who isn't watching it?
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/romance
OH how i wish humans would WATCH THIS ... and not just because i'm all MINGOED. i'd love to know what people think! loved the story. love the process of watching the story go from page to screen. love the transformation that happened, since NO TEXT is ever the same as ANY FILM -- two different art objects -- though i love love love the dialetical synergy...viva art multiplications!
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/romance
At less than two bucks you are absolutely REMISS if you don't watch it. After we had Andy Mingo on B&B I bought tickets to see it at the film festival and I was blown AWAY. It is so good. Funny, thought provoking, funny, and just amazing! I will hold back all my discussion points until a few more people have seen it so we can spoiler away, because there are moments in that film I don't DARE give away, because everyone deserves to experience them for themselves.
I'm putting the link in my post because I don't want to be left out:
YAY! I want us to be be discussing this : )
I just watched it. I thought it was well cast and I loved the narration straight from the pages. It was true to the story, so if you liked the story, I'd be hard pressed to find anyone disappointed with the film. If I wanted to gripe and be overly picky, it's that I wanted another line or two from the final paragraphs in there - but that's a small gripe, only because I loved that last bit in the short story. But those final moments were well done, and as Renee pointed out, thought provoking.
Well done.
I kept meaning to get the story before seeing it and didn't. Now I feel like I NEED to get the story, I know there are some videos of Chuck doing readings...
The reading from Cooper Union was seriously brilliant and delivered perfectly.
Watched it :)
Loved Chuck's original story and this was great. Gives me the same kind of warm feeling in my tummy I got from the book tour reading. (Just me or did anyone else get that?)
I'm not going to be a spoiler either but oh yeah, that scene. Made me proper laugh out loud ~ awesome.
I'm happy to discuss when we're all ready to.
I think I need to have a friend or two over and watch this with them, knowing they haven't read it or know nothing about it. It's obviously a lot different when you watch it and already know what's up.
OTB-- Yeah, I can't imagine seeing that scene already knowing what was going to happen. It's honestly my favorite bit of the movie. I think it's a great combo of her "crazy" and just general badassedness.
I plan on watching this movie this evening. But I haven't read the story yet, so I was going to plan on reading the story or watching/listening to Chuck read it before i watched the movie. After reading this thread I'm confused as to which I should do first.
Sugestions?
This is the story he read during the Damned tour, right? There's video of his readings floating around still. If I'm remembering the story correctly, it is one of Palahniuk's funniest. The premise is kind of well-trodden but his narrator really makes up for it. I'll have to remember to watch this sometime this week.
Jonathan-- depends on how you like to be thrown for a loop. I haven't read the story/heard the reading, but when that happened on screen there was a full on gasp-laugh from everyone in the theater. It was pretty special.
Jonathan, I would LOVE an unadulterated take on the film sans story/reading. Especially from you.
Drea,
I think that means you want me to watch the movie first. And then not read the story until after a film discussion? ( I looked up "sans" in the dictionary and it said "without") Ha. I wasn't sure if I knew what it meant. And I didn't.
Cool, I'd like to watch it first anyway. I think I love films more than literature, though If I like the movie I usually go back and read the book, and if I like a book then I'll pretty much always go and watch the film.
Pretty sure sans has something to due with type font.
Side-topic: I always prefer to see movies before reading the book, which I think is the less popular choice, because people say they like to imagine the book uninfluenced by actors/directorial stuff. But I figure if I fall in love with a book then the movie is gonna be disappointing from all the stuff not done right, if I love a movie then I just get to spend more intimate time in that world with the book. Short stories make better movies than novels, though, anyway.
Sorry! I sprechen my own language. Back to film talk now! Renfield, I think you're right. Movies can be very tough on readers, but when a filmaker gets it right? WOW. It takes artistry to realize literature on a screen. I don't think ROMANCE the film is just a square telling of Romance the story. I definitely saw the vision the director brought to the work, and it's one of those cases of a great example of meshing the two arts.
I watched it! I knew nothing. Especially not about that scene. OMG!
I think I'm going to have to watch it again tomorrow, I'll say why later.
Ok, we have waited long enough. Let's talk about this film now!
Puppet Show! Magic Trick!!!
Mary had a little lamb.
I liked the scene outside the abortion clinic especially. I laughed out loud when she ate the limb.
So really: IS the film/story about seeing what we want to see in the people we partner with?
I think so. Actually, one of my favorite parts was noticing that his buddy who clinked glasses with him at the "intervention" was one of the only people who showed to the wedding.
I'm going to watch this tonight, but I'll probably check out the reading first. There was a study cited on Cracked (I'll get the link tonight, I'm dashing this off before running to class) that showed that spoilers actually enhance the watching of a movie because knowing what's coming actually makes it better -- wondering what happens next draws you out of the story. That's why rewatching movies and rereading books is one of my favorite things.
I love spoilers, honestly. I rarely watch films, but I read synopses and analyses constantly because it's like hearing someone tell me a story.
Anyway, you all have me hyped for this film, and I'm super excited.
I rarely watch films, but I read synopses and analyses constantly
That's interesting...my brother rarely watches sports, but instead talks to drunk hicks at the restaurant where he works or watches the score-ticker at the bottom of the tv screen. The unfortunate thing about this is that he then tries to tell people (i.e. ME) about some random game (even when I flat-out say that I don't care), having no knowledge of any concrete details except for what he has assumed via the above third-party sources. It doesn't work very well.
Sounds like an alcohol tinged game of telephone.
Purple monkey dishwasher.
FREE TO WATCH FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS
I feel like this movie could use more discussion. It's a short: Less than half an hour, based on a Chuck short story. IT's free to view for the next 48 hours. check it out here.
I'd LOVE to discuss this with the LR people. It was a fantastic film, a lot of fun.
I'm not sure how I feel about it. I have not read the short, and really don't think I need to now. It's well put together and acted, but it's just another Chuck story put to film, and to be perfectly honest, 'just another chuck story' pretty much encompasses every one of his stories. What I think bothers me the most is that you could swap any of the narrators from any of his books into another book and chances are you wouldn't notice the difference. But this isn't about Chuck. What I'm trying to say today is that I'm not impressed with the story, which certainly doesn't reflect on the film makers and actors. The way it was presented and shot was good, and I did get a chuckle out of the bus scene (which was typical Chuck shock technique) but I guess since I'm a bit jaded with Chuck's lack of change or diversity, I didn't find the film overly remarkable.
I'll say what I said elsewhere: Romance is just a bit too close to the whole Rita Leeds/Michael Bluth relationship on Arrested Development.
Except Brandon, Michael Bluth would generally pull more pussy than the narrator of Romance. Bluth just isn't same level of beta...his almost fling with Lucille 2 notwithstanding.
Well, and I would say that Michael Bluth's denial of Rita's behavior and the narrator's denial come from two totally different places. The narrator is just like "whatever, I love her!" And, you know, actually had a half decent reason to believe his own denial.
