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Friday, January 16, 2015

Report Card---"The Fault In Our Stars"

"The Fault In Our Stars" is about two young cancer patients who fall in love as life is slipping away.
Sounds like pretty depressing stuff, huh?
NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST!!!
It never succumbs to that.
It is warm, touching, caring, and contains many delights.
I have only the highest praise for it.

On to the scoring:

Is it interesting?

It can't help itself. You are consumed by it.
A+.

Compelling even?

Totally.
A+.

Is it controversial?

Very.
The characters continually wrestle with their prospects for immortality, or whether everyone whoever was anyone will imminently turn into dust.
It made me ponder the same questions.
A+.

Is it a story worth telling?

Unquestionably.
A+.

Is it good storytelling?

There is a bit of a sag at the two-thirds point, but it rallies tremendously at the end.
A-.

Is it well written?

Extremely.
A.

Is it well cast? Well played?

The two kids were wonderful. Laura Dern played the girl's mother. You can't go wrong with that.
Willem Dafoe has a key part in it, and is terrific, and for the life of me, while I was watching him, throughout the movie, I couldn't think of his name. I kept thinking "C'mon!! He played Jesus in that Scorcese movie!! The man's a star!!
I needed the end credits to tell me it was Willem Dafoe. Then, a half-hour later, I was in bed, and the name flew out of my head again!!
In the film, there is an exchange of dialogue where one character says to another "Pretty soon, nobody will remember Cleopatra, or
Muhammad Ali. And I've already forgotten Willem Dafoe twice in two hours!
A+.

Well shot?

Very.
A+.

Is it too long? Too short?

A tad long. But just a tad.
B+.

Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?

I believed it totally, and I cared totally.
A+.

Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?

Some of it is predictable, but it takes a very satisfying left turn at the very end.
A+.

Do you think about it after you've seen it?

It leaves you with all sorts of thoughts swirling around your head.
A+.

Is it funny?

That's the thing of it. Considering what it's about, it is EXTREMELY funny.
This is not a comedy, but it's far funnier than many that purport to be. (See "Report Card---"Bridesmaids")
A+.

Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?

I could have waited, but was glad I didn't have to.
A+.

Is it impressive?

It is an outstanding movie, and what movies should be.
A+.

Overall grade: A+.

WILLEM DAFOE!!! WILLEM DAFOE!!!!

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My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.

And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

*****

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About Me

Hi. I am, according to my Wikipedia entry,(which I did not create) a noted television writer, playwright, screenwriter, and occasional actor. You can Google me or go to the IMDB to get my credits, and you can come here to get my opinions on things, which I'll try to express eloquently. Hopefully I'll succeed. You can also e-mail me at macchus999@aol.com. Perhaps my biggest claim to fame is being responsible, for about six months in 1975, while Head Writer for the "Happy Days" TV series, for Americans saying to each other "Sit on it."