"I'm a lead farmer"

Although my goal when I left the house this afternoon was to find someplace where I could be productive and get some work done, I was undone by a phone call from Mikey J, who invited me to see an afternoon showing of Tropic Thunder with him and his new squeeze. My work was not fun. Tropic Thunder, on the other hand, sounded really fun.

And it was.

But maybe not for the reasons that I thought. Because, it is my opinion--and before I write this I just want to say that this is perhaps the most unlikely sentence to ever issue forth from my fingertips--that the performances by Matthew McConaughey and Tom Cruise are reasons enough to see this film.* Because these performances are very, very strange. And they would suggest that both actors have a sense of humor, something I don't tend to attribute to either of them. There is one moment in particular, when McConaughey deeply interrogates his conscience, that I think might be my favorite McConaughey moment of all time. (Of course, there aren't a lot of other moments in the running, but still.) Again, I can't believe that I'm actually writing this, but I'm ultimately very glad that Owen Wilson went all nutty and the McConaughey had to take his place. I think that it was smart of the studio to keep Cruise and the un-shirted one out of the previews. Too often the best jokes end up in the previews, ruining the few really good comedic moments in the film.

Um. Yeah. And that's all I really have to say about it. The thing that made me laugh the hardest I can't really write about, because it would give something worthwhile away. So, that's it.

Oh yeah, and did anyone else think that Downey looks strangely like Jude Law with the weird blue contacts and blonde hair? Cuz that is who he looked like to me . . .

*And, for the record, I am not primarily talking about the dancing, which is more disturbing than anything else.