I'll Sing When I'm Old.

Hi there.

I've been busy seeing SXSW movies the last few days. I've seen IBID, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, The Promotion, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Run, Fatboy, Run. All of them have been quite good.

The most surprisingly good one out of the bunch so far is The Promotion. I actually went into it thinking I wouldn't like it, and in fact, I only saw it because I couldn't get into another movie. What I thought was supposed to be a wacky, slapstick farce turned out to be a slower, more thoughtful and developed comedy with dramatic undertones. Instead of having John C. Reilly (Richard) simply be Sean William Scott's (Doug's) foil, he was a fully-rounded individual. It was almost like watching two movies in one because of the attention and care that was given to each character. Elements were introduced that could normally lead to some biting, black comedy in another movie led to some serious moments with real repercussions in The Promotion. The movie made me laugh, but not at the expense of the characters.

Here's are some quick reviews about the other movies I've seen so far.

IBID is a surreal movie. Not sure what else to say other than that and it doesn't exactly clear up the more you think about it. That's not a negative thing here either. Harold and Kumar had more satire about race and politics than the first movie, as you'd expect it would for a movie with Guantanamo Bay in the title. It's also damn funny. Forgetting Sarah Marshall was hilarious and had characters that weren't simply good or bad, which is a staple of Judd Apatow-produced movies. Like Harold and Kumar Escape, I'll likely see Forgetting Sarah Marshall again to catch any jokes I didn't hear the first time because they were drowned out by laughter from the audience from the previous joke. Run, Fatboy, Run is funny and touching. It's a perfect movie for Simon Pegg who gets to play the charming schlub and David Schwimmer makes a nice directing debut.

Something I noticed about a lot of comedies that have come out in the last few years is a Robert Altman-like sensibility to dialogue. I say like because they don't copy his style directly, but movies like Harold and Kuman Escape and Forgetting Sarah Marshall had many moments where someone would quietly say a line as he or she walked off camera or quietly said something under his or her breath that wasn't given much or any attention in the middle of a scene. If you heard what was said, it was a bonus laugh or character moment for you. If you didn't, there's no great loss to the movie's overall structure. I'm a big fan of the off-camera comments or on-camera mumble talk that happens, and it's interesting to see a noticeable resurgence in this style.

Speaking of transferred styles, David Schwimmer mentioned in the Q&A session after Run, Fatboy, Run that the major difference he noticed between making American comedies and British comedies is that British comedies tend to undercut any serious moments with a joke. He said they tried to emulate that style in the movie, and I think they pulled it off quite well. There were a few moments that had their heart-wrenching or tender moments popped with a quick and well-timed punchline. If you liked About a Boy but wanted a bit more cursing and thought Hugh Grant wasn't relatable enough and are a fan of any of Simon Pegg's previous work, this is a movie you'll enjoy. Otherwise, I don't know you. I just don't know you at all.

I'm going to the Young@Heart film at The Paramount on Saturday, which is the reason for my subject title. Young@Heart is a choir made up of senior citizens who sing rock songs, both classic and new.

Here are some Young@Heart videos.

Young@Heart trailer
Staying Alive/I Will Survive
I Wanna Be Sedated
Road to Nowhere
Forever Young

The last one is a tearjerker because it's dedicated to one of the choir members who passed away the night before they sang it. If you don't get at least a little misty-eyed watching it, I worry for your soul. Your black, black soul.