Ok, so I saw it a second time tonight. We were going to see "Weather Man" but missed our show.

I think I liked it more the second time. Maybe it had something to do with going back and skimming through the script or just thinking about the book, but a lot of details came out the second time that I sort of missed or glossed over. Mostly in Steve Martin's performance. I was thinking cold asshole the first time, but I was completely wrong. He's very fragile in this movie, a really broken man. Some of his reaction shots are really heartbreaking.

Things that I wasn't sure about the first time really grew on me the second time, the score being the main one. I'm pretty sure now it's not meant to be ironic, but perhaps the epic nature is supposed to reflect how such a simple love story is so epic in the life of Mirabelle. The narration also grew on me. It made more sense the second time to have Steve Martin narrate instead of Claire Danes or a 3rd party.

One thing that didn't grow on me was her friends. That scene was worse the second time around. Not only because her friends were so empty, but because the scene made Mirabelle come off a little too naive. The other thing that I felt sort of subtracted from Mirabelle was the radio interview explaining the types of post-sex-cuddling. In the book that's her inner thoughts, that's her fetish, not something she hears on the radio. I have no idea how they would have conveyed it, more Martin narration might have been awkward, maybe the radio was the only way. It's just too bad cause it's such an important visual reference in the movie (Mirabelle and Jeremy laying in bed not touching, Mirabelle and Ray laying in bed with Ray's hand on her back and finally Mirabelle and Jeremy spooning).

Her friends and Bridget Wilson's character sort of date the movie, they feel like devices that were all over movies in the '90s (which I guess makes sense considering when the book was written). I liked Bridget's character though, absurdly over the top but it still works somehow.

I still wanted her can't-get-out-of-bed days to be longer and heavier. Maybe it's because I want to cry during that scene, but they don't quite push it hard enough to give me a chance.

On the other side the scenes with her parents really is amazing. So simple and so beautiful. Jason was just as funny the second time. They're first sex scene is so horribly, perfectly real. The performances in general really shined with the repeat viewing.

Speaking of repetition I think I'm just repeating everything I said the first time. So I'll stop now. Go see the movie.

Labels: critiqua