Love's Labour's Lust
07. Aug, 2008 
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Elegy
Cradle Robber Barren
Trailers & Mo
We’ve only read two of Philip Roth’s books (Portnoy’s Complaint, the gold standard of any Jewish male’s library and the revisionist history page turner The Plot Against America) and seen one movie adaptation (the zzzzzzz that was The Human Stain), so we wouldn’t dare claim that we’re any sorta texpert expert on the celebrated novelist. That frees us from having to finger out of his 2001 novella The Dying Animal turned into Spanish director Isabel Coixet‘s Elegy either hits the mark or sh%ts the bed. Good thing that is the case, cause after taking in this affecting and heartrending pure adult film (we need a lot more of these), we don’t really want to bother comparing and contrasting it with anything else
OK, we’re liars. Did you see Jake ‘Yes, Chris Martin is my brother-in-law’ Paltrow’s The Good Night [TWS review]? Yeah, we didn’t sphinx yo, so we’ll fill you in. In that flick, a sleepy Tim from the British Office is in the midst of a midlife crisis when he finally finds the girl of his dreams… IN HIS DREAMS! That girl is Penelope Cruz, and to us non-movie characters, she’s every man’s dream girl, and in most cases, the girl on the mind of every man during their pre-sleep activities [read: JO]. Tim from the British Office becomes beyond obsessed/thunderdome with her, but can his dream become a permanent reality or remain a flight of fancy? In Elegy, Ben Kingsley (appearing in his 1237817th movie this year) is in the midst of a latelife crisis (occasionally banging Patricia Clarkson, occasionally having to deal with his surly estranged son Peter Sarsgaaaaaaard, and occasionally playing racquetball with Dennis Hopper) when he finally finds the girl of his dreams… IN HIS CLASSROOM (don’t worry, he’s a college professor)! That student is Penelope Cruz, and to us non-movie characters, we’d probably ask her to stay after class even if we were her kindergarten teacher. Ben Kingsley becomes beyond beyond obsessed/astrodome with her, but how long can this wild ride go on when he’s about as old as Oscar Wilde? The questions are similar, but the movies are not, cause Elegy is excellent and The Good Night is a lower-rent The Science of Sleep, which was interesting and cool to look at, but not much more than that. This Cruz controlled mini-genre of men falling at her feet totally rocks, and if there happens to be a third film of this ilk, apparently it’s required to have a tender moment on a beach…
A Philip Roth Reader: Kingsley’s character David Kepesh appears in two other Roth novels, The Professor of Desire and The Breast, where he wakes up one day transformed into a… BREAST!
Verdictgo: Breast In Show
Elegy opens in limited release today
until next thyme the balcony is clothed…
