No big deal - they, like, 'do it' earlier in the flick.. but the final kiss is supposed to be a big deal. I was surprised to find myself making laughing noises at my computer (where I was watching the video). What was supposed to be a passionate embrace, one fitting of an energetic, talented vocalist and stage presence uniting finally with an unwavering being of honor, skill and integrity, actually made me laugh.
The two muckled onto each other and wagged their heads back and forth for a while, wrinkled brows and white knuckled fingers on shoulders (please) abound. It was like watching two aliens who had been told to demonstrate on each other how they thought humans were supposed to make out. Fie.
I wanted fireworks! I wanted goosebumps and heart issues! I wanted the kind of thing you would expect to see emanating from two romantically involved nuclear power plants! Disruption! Explosions! Chaos at it's affectionate finest!
.. nothing!!
The face Mr. C is making at the very end of the film basically says it all-- there were a couple places where I started to understand why he's even involved in movie production from the point of view of aesthetics.. but this face he's got at the end of the movie.. isn't doing him any favors.
I did enjoy watching W.H. sing though, at the risk of sounding Batemanish. She has a great voice and does appear to really enjoy singing, which is a lot of fun to watch. Her version of Partons song is really nice-- if one were to rework the background music to get away from the cheesy Michael Boltonish/Kenny G.ish/Celine Dionish bullcrap and steer it more towards something a little more timeless it would actually be a really great song. Dolly doesn't have the pipes kids, sorry- but of course she wrote it.. and delivers it with sincerity which is not to be ignored.. and.. so on.
I was wondering this evening if it s a crime that we can hear the sincere delivery of a song like the one mentioned above and eventually stop liking it because it is "overplayed". Is that a bad thing? Is it a bad thing that I can never hear Beethovens 5th without thinking of all the lame commercials it's been featured in? Or perhaps that my sisters grammar school chorus did a chicken clucking version of the damned thing? Is this a bad thing? Or is it a really amazing thing that I even have access to such a piece (and others) in such variety and volume?
It's getting easier to see around the crap. I'm more able to listen to the 5th and hear it.. like it's a song and not a gimmick or a tag line. When it climbs I consider a universal and intangible outward expansion instead of mounting stress that some yuck wont get his cheeseburger on time. When I hear Huston sing about bittersweet memories in this big wonderful voice I just enjoy it.. instead of thinking of her as this shrieking overplayed pop-radio banshee-- which I certainly did for a while. These songs are energy and vibration and they are lovely, mostly.
I am not saying that these two songs are anything alike- that would be like saying that a sea cucumber is very similar to a riotous flock of flamingoes. However..
It is my feeling that overabundance of something is irrelevant if the quality of the item remains undiluted. The true things will remain true- the honest resonation will stand firm while everything else goes away. Same with art. Same with love. Same with relationships of any kind, on a grand or a fine scale.
I was asked earlier today what I believe in.
I guess I believe in that.
