Update Post - and Rango movie review

Yesterday I wrote a 2000 word story on the Baby Shoes theme mentioned in yesterday's contest announcement. (Go, check it out. Enter!) Of course I am not eligible to win, since I am the judge, and am also providing the prize.

The story is in the O. Henry style -- which means it is more of a yarn. An old-fashioned narrated or told story, rather than a modern dramatic scene. (In this case, the person selling the baby shoes explains the story to the newspaper editor who is taking the add down.) I have another idea which would have to be told in more modern dramatic style, but it will still be in the O. Henry style of story.

Today, I had dim sum for lunch and went to see Rango. When we got out of the movie I turned to my friend and said: "It's like the Coen Brothers directed a Bullwinkle cartoon." And then a while later I had to add, "and David Lynch was the creative director."

Rango is a VERY sophisticated movie. Not a movie like Shrek, which seems to actually wink at you with the double-entendres and cultural references. Rango is more like an early Robin Williams performance: it all just comes at you full speed -- double-entendres (sometimes racy), movie references, goofiness. Sometimes so subtle it's hard to follow what's going on, sometimes slap-you-in-the-face blatant, and often both at the same time. When there is a crude reference it tends to go by fast. (I'm not fond of crude humor, but it didn't bother me much in this, probably because of the speed.)

And like one of those old Robin Williams routines, it doesn't really matter if you miss things, because it just bounces on. It's visually grand (especially for movie buffs -- though heavy on classics of the sixties and seventies rather than earlier), with fun characters and an actual story.

In short, I loved this movie, but I'm not sure if it's in spite of or because of its rough edges.

And the kids in the audience definitely seemed to enjoy it, but I can't say I'm sure it's appropriate for the usual family audience. The inappropriate jokes are the sort to go straight over the kids' heads, and I suspect they might go over the heads of some adults too. (Which could explain the PG rating.) It might be best to see it before letting the kids see it. (Or at least read through IMDb's parent's guide on it.)

As for the rest of my day, I ended up with a migraine. Not a painful one, but I was half blind because of it. So I did not get more writing done, but I hope to do a little tonight before bed.

I also have some outlines scribbled for a blog post series on the "Mary Sue" story: what it is and how it can be useful to a writer in spite of it's well-deserved bad reputation.